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Thursday, June 8, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS

Michigan Baseball 2017 Season In Review

The Michigan baseball team

won 42 games, finished second in
the Big Ten and qualified for the
NCAA Tournament for the second
time in five seasons under coach
Erik Bakich. But while the ending
was different from last year’s, as the
Wolverines achieved their goal of
making the postseason, it still left a
sour taste in their mouths. Michigan
dropped its last four games of the
season, including two late-inning
heartbreakers
in
the
Big
Ten

Tournament and two straight in the
Chapel Hill Regional. Regardless,
the Wolverines were dominant
much of the season, including a
14-1 stretch in April, possessed the
Big Ten’s top scoring offense and
top pitching staff and maintained a
national ranking for most of the year,
reaching as high as 13th.

The
Daily
looks
back
on

Michigan’s winningest season since
2008, and offers season superlatives
as well as a look ahead to 2018.

Most Valuable Player: Michael

Brdar

Ako Thomas was hitting .371 with

20 stolen bases and had reached
base in every game when he injured
his hand on April 21 against Indiana,
which caused him to miss almost
an entire month. If this award had
been given then, the sophomore
second baseman probably would
have won it. Instead, it goes to the

other half of the Wolverines’ infield
tandem.
Brdar
was
Michigan’s

most consistent hitter all season,
ranking second on the team with
a .310 average primarily out of the
three-hole. The senior shortstop
also contributed with three home
runs, 37 runs batted-in, 19 stolen
bases on 24 attempts, and walked
just as often as he struck out (23
times), while improving upon his
2016 statistical output in every
single offensive category. But Brdar’s
defense shined the most — at the
most demanding position on the
diamond, he made just three errors
and recorded a pristine .988 fielding
percentage, while displaying a knack
for highlight-reel plays with his
quickness, instincts and powerful
arm.

An All-Big Ten First Team

selection, Brdar also made a lasting
impact as a leader during his time
as a Wolverine. After the season-
ending loss to North Carolina,
Bakich stated that Brdar will be “a
hell of a coach” once his playing days
are over.

Breakout Player: Johnny Slater
Everything written above about

Brdar could just as easily be written
about Slater. The senior centerfielder
came to Michigan as a top prospect
— a “five-tool” player who could run,
throw, field, hit for average and hit
for power. However, his first three
seasons were inconsistent — he was
a career .207 hitter with just four
home runs and 32 RBIs entering his

senior year.

But in 2017, Slater finally put his

vast potential on display. He hit .299
with five home runs, ranked second
on the team in RBIs (47) and slugging
percentage (.493) and stole 15 bases
without being caught once. And
as the veteran leader of a youthful
outfield possessing two sophomores
at the corners, Slater committed only
one error as well.

“The guy works extremely hard,”

Bakich said after Slater went 4-for-4
with four doubles against Michigan
State on April 18. “Part of this is
just a byproduct of someone with
tremendous work ethic… He’s going
to continue to get better as he gets
older, and it’s going to be exciting to
watch.”

Newcomer of the Year: Miles

Lewis

When Lewis’s original program,

North Dakota, dropped baseball
after last season, he became eligible
to transfer anywhere and play
immediately. And with Matt Ramsay
and Cody Bruder graduating, the
Wolverines desperately needed to
reinforce their outfield. Lewis, a
Freshman All-American who hit
.360 last season, was a perfect fit.

The
switch-hitting
redshirt

sophomore
gave
Michigan

everything it anticipated. He made
his mark as a Wolverine right away
with a walk-off base hit against
Seton Hall in the second game of
the season, and finished with a .296
average, .381 on-base percentage,

19 stolen bases in 23 attempts and
a team-leading 14 doubles. Lewis
should remain a reliable middle-of-
the-order bat and presence in the
field for Michigan in 2018, and as
he continues to tap into his athletic
potential — Bakich has described
him as having a “football body” — he
should only improve in his second
season against Big Ten competition.

Best individual performance:

Oliver Jaskie’s shutout of Ohio
State on May 5

The Wolverines lost all five of their

games against Ohio State last season,
including a season-ending loss in the
Big Ten Tournament. Bakich called
this year’s meeting “personal”, saying
it was marked on his team’s calendar.
A complete-game shutout with 14
strikeouts while allowing just seven
hits and only one walk is spectacular
in any context, but considering
how meaningful this game was to
Michigan, Jaskie’s performance was
perhaps legendary.

The junior left-hander retired

the first 10 Buckeyes that stepped to
the plate and recorded a strikeout in
every inning. And when Ohio State
loaded the bases with two outs in the
ninth, Jaskie induced a groundout
to third to finish the first complete-
game shutout by a Wolverine hurler
since 2012.

“I knew he would probably tackle

me if I tried to take him out,” Bakich
said. “That was his game and his
game to finish.”

High point: 2-1 victory against

Michigan State in regular season
finale

Michigan came into the season

priding itself on a “fighter mentality”
defined
by
resiliency,
mental

toughness and performance in late-
inning situations. As a result, Bakich
described the extra-inning victory
over the Wolverines’ in-state rivals
as a “microcosm” of the entire year.
Michigan had been shut out through
eight innings, but tied the score in the
top of the ninth — only to load the
bases with nobody out in the bottom
half of the frame. But redshirt junior
right-hander Jackson Lamb induced
two groundouts and a pop-out to
escape a near-certain loss, and Brdar
singled home the winning run the
next inning.

One week later, the Wolverines

found out they were the last team
in the NCAA Tournament. With
that in mind, it’s possible this game
could have been a deciding factor in
Michigan’s postseason fate, making it
even more significant.

Low point: Big Ten Tournament
The
Wolverines
entered
the

tournament with a real chance of
claiming their second conference
title in three seasons. Instead, upset
losses to Northwestern and Indiana
abruptly ended these hopes. Leading
the Wildcats, 4-3, in the ninth inning,
Lamb — who had not allowed a
run all season — gave up three, and
Michigan found itself in the loser’s
bracket. The Wolverines

JACOB SHAMES

Summer Managing Sports Editor

AARON BAKER/Daily

Michigan baseball coach Erik Bakich guided his team to a 42-17 record in his fifth season, the Wolverines’ winningest record since 2008.

See BASEBALL, Page 12