8 — Friday, March 16. 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Big Ten preview: Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana set to challenge for title
Snow and baseball are not two
things that people commonly
associate with one another, but
that’s typical in the world of
Big Ten baseball. It is difficult
for the conference to reach a
level of national success when
many of its schools still have
weather below freezing in mid-
March. Despite this, the Big Ten
is coming off a season in which
five conference teams made the
NCAA Tournament — tied for
a conference record — and an
impressive 35 combined players
were drafted. The Big Ten has
developed into one of the better
leagues in the nation, and looks
poised to continue its recent
success in the upcoming season.
Michigan (4-11) has kept up
with the rest of the conference in
recent years and has positioned
itself near the top, though early
returns hint that this year may
be different. This season, like
last, the Wolverines should see
a plethora of tough conference
competition,
highlighted
by
defending
Big
Ten
regular
season
champion
Nebraska,
defending Big Ten Tournament-
champion
Iowa
and
NCAA
Tournament-participant
Indiana.
Nebraska: Last season: (16-
7-1, 35-22-1) This Season: (0-0,
10-7)
Following
their
Big
Ten
regular season championship
— and a season that would
ultimately end with a defeat in
the first round of the tournament
— 2017 Big Ten Coach of the
Year Darin Erstad and Nebraska
look to bounce back from a
disappointing end to the season.
Following last year’s campaign,
the Cornhuskers return all but
seven players, including All-Big
Ten First Team senior outfielder
Scott Schreiber and All-Big Ten
Third Team shortstop Angelo
Altavilla. Erstad will rely on
Schreiber
and
Altavilla
to
carry the offensive load come
conference play. Schreiber, after
hitting .330/.376/.494 last year,
has followed up with another
stellar season thus far, hitting
.348/.436/.606.
Altavilla,
on
the other hand, who posted
a .316/.401/.406 stat line last
year, has struggled at the plate,
hitting
only
.246/.421/.298.
The rest of the team has also
struggled to hit the ball, as the
team’s average is just .258 thus
far, compared to last year’s team
average of .281.
On the mound
last
season,
Nebraska
had
the
Big
Ten’s
second-lowest
team
earned-
run
averaged
at
3.73,
but
lost its top two
starting pitchers
to
the
draft.
This season, the
Cornhuskers have registered a
significantly worse team ERA
of 4.92, good for fifth highest
in the conference. Redshirt
junior
Jake
McSteen,
who
recorded a 2.04 ERA in 39.2
innings of relief for Nebraska
last season, has struggled with
his transition to starter, posting
a 6.00 ERA thus far. Senior Luis
Alvarado, on the other hand, has
excelled as the Cornhuskers’ top
starting pitcher with a 2.70 ERA
in 23.1 innings. If last year is any
indication, this Nebraska team
could become very dangerous
if they can find
their
groove
come
Big
Ten
play. But for now,
they are playing
at
just
above
.500 and have
had their share
of struggles.
Iowa:
Last
season:
(15-
9, 39-22) This
Season:
(0-0,
8-6)
After a good but not great
regular season, Iowa entered
the Big Ten Tournament as the
No. 5 seed. Led by the Big Ten
Player of the Year, All-American
first baseman Jake Adams, the
Hawkeyes scraped their way to
an unlikely Big Ten Tournament
championship and an NCAA
Tournament berth. Adams and
his impressive .335/.417/.747 stat
line, 29 homers and 71 RBIs,
as well as All-Big Ten Second
Team shortstop Mason McCoy
are gone, and Iowa has had to
look for offensive production
and
leadership
elsewhere.
Junior
outfielder
Robert
Neustrom (.321/.403/.415) and
senior catcher Tyler Cropley
(.300/.417/.420),
both
All-Big
Ten Second Team selections
last year, have stepped up to
the challenge. Iowa, however,
has not seen the same offensive
success
it
saw
last
season
overall. The team is hitting just
.248 this season, as opposed to
.284 last year. Iowa has salvaged
a meager 8-6 record so far. It
has remained above .500 due in
large part to a weak schedule,
playing only five games against
over .500 teams, winning none
of those contests.
The
Hawkeyes’
pitching
has been a different story
from their hitting, taking full
advantage of the weak offensive
competition. Despite losing All-
Big Ten Second Team pitcher
Nick Gallagher to the draft,
redshirt junior Nick Allgeyer
— who has 24 strikeouts and
a 1.82 ERA in
four
starts
—
and the rest of
the roation have
combined
for
the
fifth-best
team ERA in the
Big Ten (4.20).
While Iowa has
players
who
can
continue
to produce all
season,
the
team’s lack of success against
above-average competition and
offensive struggles signal red
flags for the team heading into
conference play. Repeating the
success they saw last year seems
unlikely, but still possible, at
this point.
Indiana: Last season: (14-
9-1, 34-24-2) This Season:
(0-0, 12-4)
After placing a disappointing
sixth in Big Ten play last season
despite being showered with
praise, Indiana, the only Big
Ten team currently ranked, has
made the NCAA Tournament
in four of the past five years
and is poised to further its
recent
success
this
season.
Despite losing their top hitter
from last season, Tony Butler
(.314/.418/.454), the Hoosiers
have started the season strong,
holding the conference’s best
record.
Senior
All-Big
Ten
Second Team outfielder Logan
Sowers (.333/.413/.537) decided
to return to school for his final
season and has stepped into
the role as team leader, helping
Indiana obtain the fifth-best
team batting average in the
Big Ten at .275 thus far. Unlike
other most other teams in the
Big Ten, Indiana’s offensive
focus is more on the big hit as
opposed to stringing together
multiple singles; it is second in
the conference in both home
runs (15) and doubles (38).
While the offense has been
good for the Hoosiers, their
true
calling
card
is
their
pitching. With a miniscule 2.92
team ERA, Indiana’s pitching
leads the Big Ten in ERA by
nearly 0.3 points. All-Big Ten
Third Team pitcher Pauly Milto
has a 2.36 ERA in four starts to
go along with a
batting average
against of only
.216.
All-Big
Ten
Freshman
Team
pitcher
Cal Krueger has
been
dominant
in his sophomore
campaign,
not
allowing a single
run thus far in
11
innings
of
relief. Indiana’s hot start does
not appear to be cooling off
anytime soon, and the Hoosiers
should be successful in Big Ten
play this year. They are serious
contenders, if not favorites, to
win the Big Ten title.
FILE PHOTO
The Indiana baseball team made it to the NCAA Tournament last year and could do so again; the Hoosiers currently own the conference’s best record.
BENNETT BRAMSON
Daily Sports Writer
Position-by-position breakdown: Wolverines not as deep as last season
At the end of last season,
Michigan lost 11 players to
the
MLB
Draft
—
pitcher
Oliver Jaskie, infielder Drew
Lugbauer,
catcher
Harrison
Wenson and infielder Michael
Brdar. Jaskie was the team’s
ace and was drafted in the sixth
round. Lugbauer led the team
in slugging percentage, home
runs and runs batted in. With
such significant roster turnover
heading into this season, some
minor growing pains were to
be expected. Whether a current
4-11
record
can
be
called
“minor,” though, really depends
on how well Michigan fares in
conference play going forward.
A recruiting class ranked
tenth nationally was supposed
to plug the remaining holes
in the roster. But the youthful
Wolverines have struggled so far
to do so.
At
times,
Michigan
has
shown
that
it
is
capable
offensively. Through 15 games,
the Wolverines have recorded
107 hits and taken 65 walks. On
the flip side, a .221 team batting
average and 4.13 runs per game
average have let them down.
The pitching staff has also
proved to be inconsistent thus
far, posting a cumulative earned-
run average of 4.66. Defensively,
Michigan has recorded 27 errors
with
a
fielding
percentage
hovering around .950.
As
the
Wolverines
begin
a five-game homestand with
a three-game series against
Bowling
Green
beginning
Friday, The Daily breaks down
the team position-by-position:
Pitchers
Though Michigan lost Jaskie,
senior Mac Lozer and others to
the draft, the team does return
many from last year’s pitching
staff. Seniors Alec Rennard and
Jayce Vancena have starting
experience from last year, but
have stepped into the spotlight
as two of the main starters.
Rennard has pitched 16 innings
thus far with an ERA of 3.38 and
13 strikeouts. Vancena is still
regarded as one of Wolverines’
top pitchers, despite an 0-3
record, and a 9.35 ERA through
8.2 innings.
Sophomore Karl Kauffman,
who pitched a total of 13 innings
last year, has really come on
in his second season. With
Vancena’s struggles early on,
Kauffman has staked his claim
to become the No. 2 behind
Rennard. Kauffman has posted a
2-2 record with a 4.64 ERA. He
had stellar outings against Army
and Stanford, letting up only a
single run between the two.
Another sophomore fighting
for a starting position, left-
hander Tommy Henry, has put
up impressive numbers as well.
Against Stanford, Henry went
seven scoreless innings and has
a 2.74 ERA in 23 innings.
In the bullpen, junior William
Tribucher and freshman Ben
Dragani have been the go-to
guys. Tribucher has an ERA of
2.53, while Dragani has allowed
just six hits and four runs in
13 innings of work. Junior
Troy Miller and freshman Jeff
Criswell are also set to see a lot
of time in relief going forward.
Catcher
The
position
battle
that
received
the
most
attention
this offseason was behind the
plate. Senior Brock Keener may
have seemed destined to fill the
void left by Wenson, but three
younger guys have also been in
the mix for the job. Sophomore
Harrison
Salter,
redshirt
freshman Marcus Chavez and
freshman Joe Donovan have all
seen time at the position this
season. Keener has been the
most
productive
offensively
of the four, recording a .280
batting average, while Chavez
and Salter have performed well
defensively. Altogether, expect
it to be somewhat of a revolving
door behind the plate, with all
four seeing playing time going
forward, especially if the team
continues to struggle.
First Base
In
the
sixth
inning
of
Michigan’s first game of the
season,
fifth-year
senior
Hector Gutierrez powered a
grand slam to right field to
give the Wolverines a nine-run
advantage against Army. “Guti”
as he’s been christened by his
teammates, is one of the team’s
best hitters and as a result has
alternated between first and
third base in order to get at-bats.
Keener and talented freshman
slugger Jesse Franklin have also
seen time at first. All three can
be offensive weapons on their
day, so expect to see a lot of
rotation here throughout the
season.
Second Base
When the bottom of the
first inning rolls around at any
Michigan home game this year,
the first song is T.I.’s “Bring
Em’ Out” — junior Ako Thomas’
walkout music. One of the best
all-around players on the team,
Thomas burst onto the scene
last year as an All-Big Ten First
Team selection. Symbolic of the
Wolverines’ struggles so far,
Thomas, who helped solidify
one of the best defensive teams
in the nation last year, leads the
team with seven errors.
His .224 batting average this
season also hasn’t been on par
with the offensive numbers he
put up a year ago. And yet, if the
Wolverines are going to turn the
tide, Thomas will most likely be
the one to lead them.
Shortstop
The departure of the sure-
handed Michael Brdar left a gap
at the shortstop position coming
into
the
season.
Freshman
Jack
Blomgren
has
stepped
up to fill that void. Blomgren,
another member of this record-
breaking recruiting class for
the Wolverines has struggled at
times this season. Blomgren has
recorded six errors and a .154
batting average. Despite this, the
coaching staff appears content
on having the freshman press on.
Third Base
As has been a theme at other
positions this year, no one has
excelled at third base. Junior
Jimmy Kerr is widely considered
the starter at the position,
but only has a .880 fielding
percentage and a .125 batting
average. Kerr is a respected
veteran on the team though, and
despite his struggles, he will
remain a fixture in the starting
lineup.
Outfield
As a redshirt sophomore,
Miles Lewis started every game
in left field for the Wolverines.
Now a year later, Lewis should
do the same barring injury.
The current clubhouse leader
in RBIs and home runs with
12 and two respectively, Lewis
typically hits in the two-hole. In
addition to hitting for power, the
hulking 6-foot-1, 200-pounder
is quite capable of getting on
base and getting into scoring
opportunities, having recorded
29 walks and 19 stolen bases last
year. A 1.000 fielding percentage
this season also speaks to what a
great all-around player Lewis is.
To the right of Lewis is
another
powerful
junior,
Jonathan Engelmann. Typically
Michigan’s
cleanup
hitter,
Engelmann currently is hitting
at a rate of .237 with a team-high
14 hits. Like Lewis, the young
Wolverines look to Engelmann
for not only an offensive spark
but also as a source of leadership.
Sophomore
right-fielder
Christian Bullock rounds out the
outfield and leads the team with
four stolen bases. The speedster
has been capable of getting on
base as well, hitting .250 and
reaching base on four walks.
The
outfield
as
a
whole
has
been
fairly
consistent
defensively, with Bullock owning
the only error, which occurred at
the top of the 7th inning against
Lawrence Tech on Wednesday.
DH
Sophomore Dominic Clementi
has been a major contributor
this season as a designated
hitter, though he could also play
in the outfield. As a freshman
he finished last season with a
.409 batting average through 18
games. Thus far, Clementi has
been hitting at a significantly
lesser rate of .242. As the season
goes on though, Clementi could
be a valuable offensive weapon
for Michigan.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior pitcher Alec Rennard has been a consistent starter for the Wolverines thus far, pitching 16 innings with an earned-run average of 3.38.
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
Indiana’s hot
start does not
appear to be
cooling off.
Nebraska
could be very
dangerous if it
finds its groove.