Katelyn Mulcahy & Alec Cohen / Daily
Design by Jack Silberman
As the first of two games on Sunday
wound down, it wasn’t entirely clear which
team would come out on top. It was tied,
2-2, in the seventh inning, and neither
Michigan nor Northwestern had mustered
any offense.
Then, junior center fielder Christian
Bullock sprung to action.
For the second time that game, he
worked his way to third base after stealing
second and advancing on the ensuing
throwing error. Wildcat second baseman
Alex Erro couldn’t handle sophomore Jack
Blomgren’s ground ball, and Bullock
scored the eventual winning run.
“It feels great to score
winning runs for this
team,” Bullock
said. “And to
score the
winning
run feels
amazing.”
The 3-2 win over Big Ten foe Northwestern
(16-19 overall, 5-6 Big Ten) was the first of the
day, as the Wolverines (27-11, 7-3) established
their dominance by taking the second game
of the double header, 10-1 to complete a three-
game sweep.
In both games, Michigan got off to a hot
start.
In the first game, the offense
manufactured two runs in the first two
innings to go up 2-0. The first came from
sophomore designated hitter Jordan Nwogu
after he had extended his hit streak to nine
games with a leadoff single and was advanced
to third. An error by Wildcat third baseman
Charlie Maxwell allowed the run to score.
Bullock scored in a nearly identical way to
the seventh, forcing his way to third base and
then coming home on a single.
“The two bases that (Bullock) stole in
the first game, the throw got away from the
fielders and he was able to advance to third
on an error and scored both times,” said
Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “So just by being
aggressive we had huge opportunities, and we
certainly needed it.”
In the later game, runs didn’t need to be
manufactured, two home runs in the second
inning — senior outfielder Blake Nelson’s first
career home run and Bullock’s first of the
season, a three-run shot to right field — gave
the Wolverines a 4-0 lead and they never
looked back.
It ended up being a career day for
Bullock, who found himself
behind strong
offensive and
defensive
starters.
But with
junior
outfielder Jordan Brewer and sophomore
outfielder Jesse Franklin struggling with
injuries, Bullock proved he can play, totaling
three runs and four RBI.
“Coach is always telling me to stay ready,”
Bullock said, “and is always working on me
in the morning and at night in the evening
practice just staying ready for the next
opportunity.
“ … I know (my speed) is a game changer
and coach always tells me to use it as much as
possible so I can score runs.”
Added Bakich: “Everybody likes playing
with a lead. It allows everybody to breathe
a little bit and play a little bit looser. Every
team in college baseball plays better with the
lead than playing with a deficit. You can be
aggressive, you can take chances, you don’t
have to be quite as conservative.”
Northwestern didn’t give up when it got
down, though, battling back in the first game.
It tied the game 2-2 with a pair of two-out
runs in the third inning after sophomore
shortstop Jack Blomgren missed a double
play throw to first base.
It had less success in the second game.
The Wildcats only managed to score one
run, unable to cut into the early lead as the
Michigan defense routinely made plays like
the one Blomgren missed.
Three double plays in three different ways
quickly snuffed out any hope of offense that
Northwestern could muster.
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The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | April 22, 2019
SPORTSMONDAY
WILLLDCATS.
Kent Schwartz Daily Sports Writer
SENIOR GOODBYE COLUMNS
INSIDE SPORTSMONDAY
See Page 2B
With doubleheader wins, Wolverines complete
weekend sweep of Northwestern
Katelyn Mulcahy & Alec Cohen / Daily
Design by Jack Silberman