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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

