10
Thursday, June 1, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Jacob Shames: What happened?
BASEBALL
The longest game in Big Ten
Tournament history — a 13-inning
epic
between
Michigan
and
Indiana — had just concluded. The
triumphant team entered the post-
game press conference to revisit the
previous four hours and 28 minutes.
“We’re almost better with our backs
against the wall,” said the player who
had delivered the game-winning hit in
the final frame. “We don’t give up.”
Added
the
winning
coach:
“They’re used to playing a little bit
better when there’s pressure. And it’s
been like that all season long.”
If one saw those quotes without
attribution, they might immediately
assign them to Michigan. But neither
statement was uttered by a Wolverine.
Instead, it was Hoosier left-fielder
Alex Krupa, and his coach, Chris
Lemonis, recounting their team’s
5-4 elimination-game victory, which
knocked Michigan (42-15) out of the
tournament after just two games.
It’s not only that the second-seeded
Wolverines suffered two straight upset
losses. Superior teams are sometimes
defeated. That’s the nature of sports,
and especially postseason play.
But Michigan was eliminated in a
fashion few could have predicted.
The Wolverines never forgot
their collapse at the end of last
season which knocked them out of
NCAA Tournament contention. In
the offseason they went to work,
steeling their resolve and using the
painful memories of 2016 to forge
the “fighter mentality” that coach
Erik Bakich has extolled all season.
Before the season, Michigan
believed it would have a potent
offense and a deep pitching staff.
Both of those assumptions turned
out to be true, as the Wolverines
scored more and allowed fewer runs
than anyone else in the Big Ten. In
terms of talent, this was the most
complete team in the conference.
But maybe just as importantly,
Michigan had an identity.
Mentality is, of course, impossible to
quantify. Not even the most dedicated
observer can say that the Wolverines’
success in the face of adversity has
come solely because they are tougher or
more motivated than their opponents.
But for 55 games, Michigan’s
results under pressure backed up
this idea of resiliency. Coming
into the Big Ten Tournament, the
Wolverines had won six games in
the ninth inning or later, as opposed
to just two such games a year ago.
With an emphasis on quality at-bats
(Michigan led the Big Ten in on-base
percentage) and two relievers in Mac
Lozer and Jackson Lamb who had not
given up a run in 51.1 innings, this is
a team used to dominating in clutch
scenarios — the same ones it faced
against Northwestern and Indiana.
Wednesday’s Big Ten Tournament
opener was the exact type of game
the Wolverines pride themselves on
their ability to win. In unpleasant,
rainy conditions, Michigan had
come back from an early two-run
deficit to shut down the Wildcats
and claw its way ahead, 4-3.
It wasn’t pretty. But this is
postseason baseball. An ugly win is still
a win. And it looked like the Wolverines
were going to get one, with Lamb
taking the mound in the ninth inning.
But to the surprise of everyone
except for Northwestern and its
fans, Lamb surrendered a leadoff
single. Then a wild pitch. Then a
single and a walk to load the bases
with no outs. Sophomore left-hander
William Tribucher couldn’t stop the
bleeding, and he allowed all three
inherited runners to score.
And down 6-4 with three outs left,
Michigan — maybe for the first time
all season — was without an answer.
“50-some games where we’ve been
pretty consistent (in the ninth inning)
so I just look at this as a fluke, just a
speed bump,” Bakich said. “Our guys
have responded every time they’ve
been knocked down all season and
they’ll respond tomorrow.”
But they didn’t.
Leading the Hoosiers 3-2 in the
eighth inning, Lozer — who had
given up just six hits in 23 innings —
gave up a leadoff double. He settled
down to record two quick outs, but
three straight base hits delivered
Indiana the lead.
The Wolverines staged their own
two-out rally to send the game to extras
in the ninth inning. But it was clear
they had met their match in late-inning
resiliency. The two most important
games of their season contradicted the
entire three months that came before.
Maybe we didn’t take all the
variables of postseason play into
account. Maybe we overlooked the
fact that Michigan, despite a 16-8
Big Ten record, was just 2-4 against
the conference’s top six teams.
Maybe fatigue had caught up to the
Wolverines — Bakich explained
that Lamb was dealing with some
shoulder soreness Wednesday.
“He didn’t look as sharp as he
normally is and sometimes when
you’re a closer that’s what happens,”
Bakich said. “If you’re a closer, some
days you’re going to have that happen.”
That’s what happens.
Maybe you could apply that to the
entire team.
It may not be the clearest answer.
But the question of “what happened?”
doesn’t call for clarity.
Shames
can
be
reached
at
jacosham@umich.edu
or
on
Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
CEREN BURCAK DAG/Daily
Junior third baseman Drew Lugbauer in a game against Ohio State on May 7.
JACOB SHAMES
Summer Managing Sports Editor
Indiana ousts ‘M’ from
Big Ten tournament
As the ball wrapped around third
base and rolled into the outfield,
the Michigan baseball team knew
its hopes of a Big Ten Tournament
Championship were over. Indiana
(33-21-2) had taken the Wolverines
to 13 innings and brought the runner
from second across the plate to hand
Michigan (42-15) a 5-4 loss.
“Heck of a college baseball game,”
said Michigan coach Erik Bakich.
“Two good teams going at it. A lot
of little plays under the microscop.
… Both teams had opportunities
throughout the game. Big defensive
plays were made by both teams, big
pitches were made by both teams, big
hits.
“A very good baseball game and
(I’m) disappointed we didn’t come
out on top.”
With their ace pitcher on the
bump, the Wolverines were primed
to redeem themselves after an
opening round loss to Northwestern
the day before. Junior left-hander
Oliver Jaskie didn’t allow a hit until
the fourth inning. He had nine
strikeouts through seven innings, but
in the bottom of the seventh inning
he allowed a two-run home run to
Indiana centerfielder Craig Dedelow
to tie the game.
The home run was the first scoring
play since the second inning, where
the Wolverines had struck first.
Junior first baseman Jake Bivens led
off with a single to right-field, stole
second and advanced to third on
a sacrifice fly. With the first run of
the game just 90 feet from the plate,
sophomore Jonathan Engelmann
blasted a single up the middle to score
Bivens. Engelmann would later be the
second run of the inning after senior
centerfielder Johnny Slater ripped a
ground rule double to centerfield.
After
Dedelow’s
game-tying
homer, Michigan had to go to work
again. It responded right away by
taking the lead in the top of the
eighth inning on an Indiana error
that allowed junior third baseman
Drew Lugbauer to score from second.
A groundout ended the inning and
stranded Bivens on third base, but the
Wolverines hoped the one-run lead
would be enough.
Senior right-hander Mac Lozer,
who coming into this contest had a
0.00 earned-run average and had
allowed just seven hits through
25 innings, took the mound. But
in similar fasion as Wednesday’s
contest, the bullpen couldn’t get the
job done. A leadoff double to left-
center field set the Hoosiers up for a
sacrifice bunt to advance the runner
to third. A slow grounder to shortstop
would score the tying run after senior
Michael Brdar considered trying to
make the play at the plate but went for
the guaranteed out at first base.
With two outs, Lozer allowed
three consecutive singles, which
scored another run and gave Indiana
the lead heading into the ninth
inning.
However, the Hoosiers weren’t
the only ones that could rally with
two outs. After sophomore second
baseman Ako Thomas was hit by a
pitch, a Brdar single through the right
side advanced him to second. But
Lugbauer did the most damage with
a single through the left side. Thomas
scored easily, but Indiana’s left-
fielder slightly bobbled the ball which
brought the go-ahead run to third
base. Unfortunately for Michigan,
a checked swing strikeout would
strand two men on base.
Eager to end it, the Wolverines
made some noise in the 12th inning.
Lugbauer began the inning with a
walk and was followed by a single.
With two men on and no outs,
Michigan’s chances of scoring looked
good. But Lugbauer was caught in
no man’s land and Indiana’s catcher
threw him out. The play shifted the
momentum of the inning, and the
Wolverines went down quietly.
In the 13th inning, it appeared
Michigan had played out of a jam
and would live to see another frame.
After an overthrow by sophomore
third baseman Jimmy Kerr and a
four-ball walk, the Hoosiers had two
men on with no outs. But two clutch
strikeouts from sophomore left-
hander William Tribucher gave the
Wolverines hope — until left-fielder
Alex Krupa’s hit ended Michigan’s
tournament.
It was a strong showing by both
teams. But in the end, the Wolverines
couldn’t string enough hits together,
and the 13 batters they left on base
came back to haunt them.
“There’s no question about the
fight and character of this group,”
Bakich said. “If I know this group
at all, which I do, this will piss them
off a little bit. They wanted to be Big
Ten Champions and we didn’t get
that done. But they’ll get back at it
this week, and whatever happens,
wherever we go, we’ll be ready.”
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer