Salter brothers’ final face off
For as different as the Michigan and
Michigan State baseball teams are, on
Wednesday they both had one thing
in common: a Salter brother squatting
behind home plate donning the num-
ber 11 on the back of his jersey.
In the non-conference rivalry con-
test, the younger brother Harrison
and his fellow Wolverines prevailed, as
Michigan (14-3 Big Ten, 31-14 overall)
trounced Michigan State (8-9, 17-26)
10-2.
It’s fitting that a rivalry depicted
as the squabbling between siblings
has now featured a legitimate battle
between brothers.
It was clear that this game would be
special for the Salter family from the
beginning. During the second inning,
Will Salter stepped up to the plate
where his younger brother Harrison
was waiting for him.
Sitting a mere inches from his broth-
er, Harrison anxiously awaited to see
how his brother would perform under
the unique circumstances. Not want-
ing to disappoint, the senior knocked
a single to left field to load the bases.
After a forceout and strikeout ended
the inning, it was the redshirt fresh-
man’s turn.
Not to be outdone, Harrison
knocked an RBI single also to left field
to match his brother hit-for-hit and
give the Wolverines the lead.
But the fraternal competition would
not stop there.
In the bottom half of that same
inning, Will would get another chance
to show his brother who was boss.
Will then legged out an infield single
which was hit to third base for his sec-
ond hit of the day.
After the Wolverines regained the
lead in the fourth inning, Harrison and
co. entered the fifth wanting to extend
that lead and show his brother up. The
younger Salter would do just that, clob-
bering his first career home run deep
over the right field fence again with his
brother within spitting distance.
“I haven’t hit a homerun since I was
12 years old,” Salter said, “but the past
couple weeks I’ve been working with
the coaching staff on getting balls to
drive and stuff like that. Luckily I got
that pitch to drive. It was kinda a blur
for me walking around the bases, but it
was a really cool experience.
“I’ll probably hold on to that forever.”
Wanting to add further to his career
day, Salter then slapped another RBI
single up the middle extending Michi-
gan’s lead even further to 6-2.
This would mark the end of the
Salter family’s fruitful day at the plate.
Ending with a combined five hits and
a lot of brotherly love, this contest will
surely be one the boys will remember.
“It was a little weird at first because
he’s always been my best friend, always
been on my side,” the younger Salter
said. “He’s definitely my role model, my
older brothers are my role models, so
it’s definitely a cool experience to defi-
nitely compete with him, but I got over
it now and it’s a great feeling.”
Besides sharing a field together, the
brothers also share a number — 11.
The number was worn by their
grandfather, legendary catcher Bill
Freehan and is even retired at Ray
Fisher stadium in Ann Arbor. Harri-
son was granted special permission to
wear the number in honor of his grand-
father.
“When you can assign deeper pur-
pose and deeper meaning to wearing
a number and playing for a school,
that’s how you get some magical per-
formances,” said Michigan coach Erik
Bakich. “And for he and his brother
Will and his brother Blaze, they have
been so strongly influenced by one of
the legends of the game in their grand-
father Bill Freehan, so it means an
awful lot to wear number 11 for him…
so he’s a totally selfless kid and it just
means so much for him to play for
Michigan and wear the block-M and
to be at a school that his grandfather
played at and coached at.
“There’s not a person on the field or
in the stands that isn’t happy for those
types of moments.”
Also contributing to the Wolverines’
big day was freshman left fielder Jor-
dan Nwogu.
The first-year had two momentous
plays that added crucial insurance runs
deep into the game.
The first came from an extremely
rare inside-the-park home run off a
ball clobbered to center field. After
flying out to center field earlier in the
game, Nwogu found better luck in the
seventh inning, as he turned on the jets
and rapidly slid into home plate.
“At first, I thought it was a line drive
to center field because at my first at-bat
I hit a very similar hit and he caught it,
so I was discouraged a bit because I saw
it went right to him, but then I saw him
dive for it and immediately I turned on
the burners,” Nwogu said. “It was just
exhilarating. I ran as fast as I could, and
it just felt like little league.”
Then, to follow up with the astound-
ing play, Nwogu cranked an absolute
moonshot over the left field wall for
perhaps the team’s farthest home run
of the year. The solo shot marked the
team’s 10th run and the last of Michi-
gan’s dominant performance.
For a game between conference
opponents but without conference
standings consequences, the dramat-
ics surely were not lacking. Despite
the outcome, this was a game that
both programs — and brothers — will
remember forever.
NATSUME ONO / DAILY
Wolverines victorious
over Central Michigan
Whether it wanted to or not, the
Michigan baseball team has faced its
last non-conference opponent.
On Tuesday, the Wolverines (14-3
Big Ten, 30-14 overall) trounced
Central
Michigan
(12-9
Mid-
American, 20-26-1) 9-2 in the kind
of play that one expects from a
program gearing up for its conference
tournament on the horizon.
While it eagerly awaits its shot at
glory in the remainder of conference
play, Michigan has had a love-hate
relationship with its non-conference
schedule, officially ending it with
a
non-conference
game
against
Michigan State on Wednesday.
Perhaps legendary rock group Led
Zeppelin best characterizes the testy
relationship in its smash-hit, “Good
Times Bad Times.”
Good times bad times you know I
had my share
Throughout
the
long
season,
the Wolverines suffered crushing
defeats, been on the wrong side of
walk-off hits and were dealt blistering
losing streaks while also surging to
walk-off wins, glorious victories and
uplifting win streaks all against non-
conference opponents.
In the days of my youth, I was told
what it means to be a man
And now I’ve reached that age, I’ve
tried to do all those things the best I can
No matter how I try, I find my way
into the same old jam
Starting
the
season
with
a
demoralizing 4-11 record, Michigan
was crushed by non-conference foes.
No matter how incessantly Michigan
coach Erik Bakich reminded his
players of the fundamentals of
Wolverine baseball, nothing seemed
to be working. Michigan knew what it
meant to be a man but couldn’t escape
the pangs of rebuilding.
Then, after returning from a
bruising west coast road trip, the
Wolverines turned it around and
began their famed 20-game win
streak against yet another non-
conference opponent: Bowling Green.
Then, sixteen, I fell in love with a girl
as sweet as could be
Since then, it’s been nothing but
blue skies against non-conference
combatants, as Michigan failed to lose
a game against them. The Wolverines
fell in love with winning and couldn’t
seem to quit it.
The driving factor behind their
success can largely be attributed to
mentality. In its successes this season,
Michigan has consistently stayed on
the offensive, letting the bats fly early
and often while being buttressed by
stout pitching and solid defense.
These positives were on full display
against the Chippewas as three
different Wolverines notched three-
hit games and on seven separate
occasions, Michigan put its leadoff
hitter on base.
“That’s the most leadoff hitters
that we’ve had reach base that I can
certainly remember this season and
in quite some time,” Bakich said. “It’s
something you strive to do. We have
a goal to always try to hit the leadoff
hitter on most innings, but it was an
advantage today. We were able to get
guys in motion and keep pressure on
‘em and score in multiple innings, so
just a good job by the offense of being
locked-in and ready to go.”
In a separate demonstration of
the team’s locked-in mental state,
the Wolverines suffocated Central
Michigan with a three run ninth
inning while already being up 6-1.
“They understand how valuable
those runs are and how fresh in
everybody’s mind was the beginning
we gave up at Rutgers on Friday,”
Bakich said. “So a 6-1 lead is a good
lead, but it’s not enough. Credit to the
guys for wanting to expand that lead
and put that pressure on ‘em and keep
competing in the box and not throw
any at-bats away.”
One player who surely did not
squander
any
opportunity
on
Tuesday was junior second baseman
Ako Thomas. Thomas went three-
for-five from the plate after missing
the previous weekend’s contests due
to injury.
Thomas
and
his
teammates
completed the dominant win despite
not playing at home — the final
piece of Michigan’s non-conference
success.
I sure do wish I was at home
Over the season, the Wolverines
are an astounding 17-1 at home and
undefeated against non-Big Ten foes
at Ray Fisher stadium.
Therefore, it’s fitting that Led
Zeppelin’s ballad concludes with a
touching sentiment that can also be
applied to Michigan’s affinity for the
turf field in Ann Arbor.
You can feel the beat within my heart
Realise, sweet babe, we ain’t ever
gonna be apart.
JACOB KOPNICK
Summer Managing Sports Editor
JACOB KOPNICK
Summer Managing Sports Editor
BASEBALL
11
Thursday, May 10, 2018
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