4B — April 10, 2017
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
BASEBALL
Lugbauer’s grand slam
propels ‘M’ to victory
With one swing of the bat,
junior
third
baseman
Drew
Lugbauer rejuvenated the No. 18
Michigan
baseball
team
and
the
depleted crowd at Ray Fisher
stadium.
In the bottom of the fifth,
with the bases loaded and the
Wolverines down 8-3, Lugbauer
sent the ball over the left-field
wall for his second grand slam of
the season.
“Once Drew (Lugbauer) got
that big hit, even though we were
down a run, I think the mindset
of the guys was, ‘We know down
a run is nothing,’ ” said Michigan
Coach Erik Bakich. “The belief
system was we’re going to find a
way to tie it up and find a way on
top.”
And three at-bats later, the
team did just that, as redshirt
sophomore
left
fielder
Miles
Lewis scored on a fielder’s choice,
tying the game at eight apiece.
From there, Michigan (5-2 Big
Ten, 24-6 overall) completed its
seven-run comeback to notch a 9-8
victory against Illinois (0-4 Big Ten,
10-17 overall) on Friday, marking
the Wolverines’ largest come-from-
behind effort of the season.
In first game of the weekend
series, Michigan’s ace left-hander
Oliver
Jaskie
simply
wasn’t
himself. The junior survived just
three innings, surrendering seven
runs (five earned) on five hits
and three walks. It was Jaskie’s
shortest outing of the season.
The Fighting Illini got to Jaskie
right away, as leadoff batter Jack
Yalowitz began the game with a
home run. Illinois added another
run on a passed ball by senior
catcher Harrison Wenson.
After showing promise by
retiring the side in order in the
second inning, the Fighting Illini
again overwhelmed Jaskie in the
third, increasing their lead to 7-0.
The inning was highlighted by a
bloop single by designated hitter
Casey Dodge that scored two
runs.
Despite the large deficit, the
Wolverine players never thought
they were out of it.
“We kind of just felt like we
knew we were going to come
back,” Lugbauer said. “We believe
in each other and just play our
game.”
Bakich wasn’t as optimistic,
noting he was “very concerned”
with his team down seven runs.
However,
in
the
fourth,
Michigan began to mount its
comeback, putting up three runs.
The rally started with a one-
out single by senior centerfielder
Johnny Slater, who then stole
second. In the next at-bat, senior
shortstop Michael Brdar blasted
a double to left-center, scoring
Slater. Both Lewis and sophomore
right fielder Jonathan Engelmann
followed with a pair of singles,
scoring two more runs.
In the seventh, two innings
after the Wolverines tied the
game, Michigan established its
first lead. Lewis – who went 3-for-
3 on the day with two runs batted
in and two runs scored – hit a
double to the wall in left-center,
scoring Lugbauer to make it 9-8.
In the top of the eighth, Illinois
attempted a comeback of its own.
But with runners on the corners
and one out, senior right-hander
Mac Lozer produced a strikeout
and fly out to retire the side.
“(The victory) was great, it
sets the tone (for the rest of the
series),” Lewis said. “It’s maybe a
wake-up call to not come out so
flat tomorrow.”
The comeback win displayed
the fighters mentality that has
been stressed to the team all
season. Bakich and his players
credit this to their extensive
mental toughness training in the
offseason.
“I think the belief system is
there that we can comeback,”
Bakich said. “But it’s one thing to
think you can do it and it’s another
thing to actually do it.”
Wolverines notch one-hitter against Illinois
If the No. 18 Michigan
baseball team learned anything
from Friday’s comeback win
over Illinois, it was to come out
strong from the first pitch.
The Wolverines put that
lesson into practice in the
second
game
of
their series
against the
Fighting Illini (0-5 Big Ten,
10-18 overall), as Michigan
sent seven Wolverines up to bat
and scored three runs in the
first inning alone en route to a
7-0 victory.
Sophomore second baseman
Ako
Thomas
reached
base
first from the leadoff spot,
hitting a slow rolling ball to
the shortstop and beating the
throw to first. Though he was
later thrown out at the plate,
his hit started the ball rolling
for the rest of the lineup.
Redshirt
sophomore
left
fielder Miles Lewis smacked
a double to the corner of left
field, scoring senior shortstop
Michael
Brdar
and
senior
centerfielder Johnny Slater.
The Wolverines (6-2, 25-6)
are
currently
12-0
when
leading after the first inning, a
big incentive to
strike early.
“We
talked
about the last
two
games
and
playing
from a deficit
and
digging
ourselves
a
hole,”
said
Michigan
coach
Erik
Bakich.
“If
that’s the case, that’s the case,
we’ll do it if we need to, but it’s
not exactly how you want to
draw it up.
“We wanted to get a good
lead and establish a lead and
try to extend it.”
Michigan kept up its scoring
in the next inning, when junior
third baseman Drew Lugbauer
singled
to
centerfield
and
picked up two runs batted-in
to give him 41 on the season —
increasing his lead atop the Big
Ten.
On
the
mound
for
the
Wolverines was junior right-
hander
Ryan
Nutof,
who
had one of his
best outings of
the season. He
allowed
only
one hit through
six
scoreless
innings.
Nutof
had
been
struggling
the
most out of the
weekend starters
— posting a 5.84 earned-run
average — but he was sharp on
the bump against Illinois.
“We walked a few early, had
to pitch out of some pressure
situations early,” Bakich said.
“But as the game progressed,
Ryan Nutof in the fourth, fifth
and sixth was better than he
was in the first, second and
third.
“And then (junior right-
hander)
Jayce
Vancena
followed his lead and so did
(sophomore right-hander) Jack
Bredeson of just attacking the
strike zone and letting the
defense work behind them.”
Vancena
and
Bredeson
rounded out the pitching effort
for
Michigan
on
Saturday,
contributing to the one-hitter
— a feat the Wolverines hadn’t
accomplished since 2012.
The Fighting Illini posed
the biggest threat to Michigan
in the third inning. Third
baseman Trent Hammond got
the team’s first — and only —
hit of the day with a double
to left field. With a runner
in scoring position, Thomas
denied Illinois’ Jack Yalowitz
with a diving stop. When
Nutof later walked a Fighting
Illini batter to load the bases,
Thomas came up clutch once
again with an easy putout to
first to end the inning.
After putting up five runs
through the first two innings,
the Wolverines cooled down
for the rest of the game.
Michigan tacked on two more
runs in the sixth and eighth
innings to extend its lead, and
Illinois couldn’t come up with
a response.
All but two of the Wolverine
batters managed a hit, with
Thomas and Slater leading
the team with four and three,
respectively.
Both
singled
each time from the one and
two slots, respectively, in the
batting order. Their ability
to reach base is crucial for
Michigan.
“Anytime you can get the
top of your order on base,
those guys are table setters,
they’re catalysts,” Bakich said.
“Especially those two because
they can get in motion and
advance into scoring position, so
anytime we get them on base we
create scoring opportunities.”
The Wolverines have now
won nine straight games and
will look to continue their
streak in the series finale
Sunday afternoon.
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
ILLINOIS
MICHIGAN
0
7
LIZZY XIONG/Daily
Junior right-hander Ryan Nutof allowed only one hit through six innings against the Fighting Illini on Saturday.
“We wanted to
get a good lead
... and try to
extend it.”
HUNTER SHARF
Daily Sports Writer
ILLINOIS
MICHIGAN
8
9
Michigan can’t claim second comeback win
On
Sunday,
the
Michigan
baseball
team
learned
the
difference a day can make. After
taking their first two games in
the series against Illinois, the
Wolverines fell to the Fighting
Illini in the third game of the
series, 7-5.
Sunday’s
game
closely
mirrored Friday’s. In both games,
Michigan fell into a hole early,
surrendering six and seven runs,
respectively, through the first
three innings. The only difference
was the Wolverines’ ability to
forge a rally.
While they made an impressive
comeback in Friday’s outing to
steal the game, 9-8, the resurgence
wasn’t in the cards Sunday.
In the bottom of the ninth
inning with one out, sophomore
second baseman Ako Thomas
started off the effort by taking
base after being hit by a pitch.
With the tying run at the plate,
senior centerfielder Johnny Slater
hit a single to left field to put two
men on base.
In a situation like that, senior
shortstop Michael Brdar is the
one player the Wolverines would
want at the plate. Coming into
Sunday’s game, he carried a
17-game hitting streak and had
his chance to extend it in the
ninth frame. Unfortunately for
Michigan, that streak came to an
end. Brdar popped a ball up to left
field for the second out.
With one more out to work
with, junior third baseman Drew
Lugbauer stepped to the plate. He
has come to be known as the player
who can provide for Michigan
in big moments. Lugbauer is no
stranger to walk-off home runs,
as he hit a three-run home run
against
Northern
Illinois
on
March 19. He currently has nine
home runs on the season, with the
most recent being a grand slam in
Friday’s game against Illinois to
help the Wolverines overcome
their deficit.
The two-ball, two-strike, two-
out pitch was perfect. Lugbauer
crushed it towards the left-field
wall. But the high winds forced
the ball foul — robbing him of
the walk-off home run — and he
struck out swinging on the next
pitch to end the game.
“I don’t want to say there
is
(complacency),
but
that’s
obviously a slight part of it,” said
junior right-hander Alec Rennard.
“I think that is one factor, you
don’t want to get complacent, you
want to stay hungry. No matter
how much you win by, you always
want to focus on how much you
didn’t do right.”
The loss ended a nine-game
winning streak for the Wolverines,
who have been prone to pull out
comeback wins as of late. Michigan
came back from a three-run deficit
Tuesday against Notre Dame and
a seven-run deficit Friday against
the Fighting Illini.
“We kind of just felt like we
knew we were going to comeback
the whole time,” Lugbauer said
Friday. “Even when we were
down seven, we were like ‘Alright,
whatever.’ … We were smiling and
laughing, no worries, that’s just
kind of the team we have this
year.”
While this mindset worked
Friday, it may have hurt Michigan
on Sunday.
The Wolverines weren’t able
to connect their hits like they had
earlier in the series. Friday and
Saturday’s game saw a lot of action
from Michigan, as they totaled 25
hits through two days. On Sunday,
though, just five players combined
nine team hits.
“It’s just that early deficit
where we’ve been fortunate to
be able to comeback and come
out on top,” said Michigan coach
Erik Bakich. “It didn’t end up that
way today. That’s what happens
when you play with fire that many
times, eventually you get burned.
“It’s too bad we had to learn
this lesson this way. But if I know
this group at all, which I do,
they’ll bounce right back.”
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior shortstop Michael Brdar carried a 17-game hit streak into Michigan’s Sunday matchup with Illinois, but saw it broken after striking out in the ninth inning.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Michigan baseball team’s weekend series against Illinois
1
Hit allowed by Ryan Nutof
during his outing on the mound
Saturday.
34
Total hits amassed through
three games.
21
Total runs scored through three
games.
11
Hits surrendered in the
Wolverines’ sole loss on the
weekend.