14 Thursday, May 20, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS Redshirt sophomore left-hander Steven Hajjar and sophomore right- hander Cameron Weston have provided Michigan with a formidable 1-2 punch at the top of its rotation. Hajjar sports a 4-0 record with an impressive 3.02 ERA while Weston, the number two starter, has posted a 5-3 record and has an excellent 2.85 ERA. After those two, however, the Wolverines continue to search for consistency. On Sunday, sophomore left-hander Jacob Denner showcased himself as a pitching option. Denner has had a good 2021 campaign as the team’s third starting pitcher. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but there is still room for improvement. As the schedule winds down, each game increases in importance and in perhaps the biggest game of the year, Denner was lights out. On Sunday afternoon, Michigan met No. 21 Indiana in the rubber match of its three-game series. Considering their proximity atop the Big Ten standings, it had the feeling of a postseason tilt. In one of the most important games of the season, Michigan coach Erik Bakich needed a big outing from his third starting pitcher. “Coach Bakich does a great job of shrinking the moment,” Denner said. “Just taking it one game at a time, one inning at a time, one pitch at a time. That’s really the mindset he’s put into us, win every pitch and good things will happen.” The New Jersey product had arguably his best, and most clutch, game of the season versus the Hoosiers. He went six and one-third innings, gave up four hits, one walk, and six strikeouts. From the get-go, he was in control of the strike zone. He overpowered Indiana with his fastball and his changeup had good movement. He dictated the pace of the afternoon and allowed the offense to operate on their own terms. Denner’s lone mistake came in the top of the fifth. Hoosiers’ outfielder Morgan Colopy lined a ball into right field that carried over the wall. Despite the slip up, Denner remained poised. He went through the rest of the inning with ease and propelled the Wolverines into the seventh with a two-run lead. With the win, Denner improves to 4-3 on the year and his ERA is nearing the 4.00 mark. “He attacked with three pitches,” Bakich said. “That’s a tough lineup to navigate, they’re very good players. To only give up a solo home run and get us into the seventh inning was huge.” During game two on Saturday, the Wolverines’ bullpen was decimated by Indiana. They allowed nine runs during the seventh and eighth innings. More importantly, however, was that Michigan had an opportunity to pull off the comeback before the bullpen collapsed. Sunday afternoon, they redeemed themselves. Big hits power Michigan over Indiana, 6-1 Sophomore infielder Ted Burton stepped into the batters’ box at the bottom of the second with the full intention of hitting the ball. After an embarrassing loss to Indiana the day before, Burton knew giving his team a chance to score could make the difference in the game. After a 0-1 count, Burton lined the ball through left field for a single, giving life to the Wolverines’ offense and setting the tone for the entire game. Burton went on to hit three-of- four on the day, boosting Michigan for a win over the Hoosiers 6-1. The Michigan baseball team (25- 13 Big Ten) played No. 21 Indiana (24- 12 Big Ten) on Sunday for the final game of the series. The Wolverines opened the game with a swift relief of Indiana’s offense. Left-hander Jacob Denner and the Michigan defense allowed a single through to left field but quickly grounded out the remaining Hoosier batters to give the Wolverines a scoring opportunity. “Talking to (redshirt sophomore left-handerSteven Hajjar) and (sophomore right-hander Cameron Weston) really helped me,” Denner said. “Really thinking about a game plan to attack those hitters, who are all extremely talented.” In the second inning, Michigan capitalized. Fifth-year shortstop Benjamin Sems and Burton had back- to-back singles to put the Wolverines on first and third. After a sacrificial flyout by fifth-year catcher Griffin Mazur, Michigan put the first score on the board. Sophomore infielder Tito Flores continued the hitting barrage by crushing an RBI double into left field to push the Wolverines up 2-0. Michigan added another score in the fourth after Burton hit a double to center field and finished with a run on a wild pitch. Burton was able to initiate the Wolverines’ offense when it mattered most — which would allow the defense to continue to flourish. “We say our best defense is our offense,” Proctor said. “To show that we can put up those types of numbers gives our pitching staff and defense all the confidence in the world.” Despite allowing a lone home run in the fifth, Michigan continued to negate Indiana’s offense and give itself opportunities in the batters’ box. Senior right-hander Blake Beers pitched in relief for Denner in the seventh, immediately striking out the first Hoosier batter he faced. After giving up a single, Beers and the Michigan defense cleaned up with a critical ground out to maintain the Wolverines’ lead at 3-1. “For (Beers) to jump into a role as a high-leverage reliever is a huge boost for us,” Michigan coach Erik Bakich said. “He throws 95, 97 with a nasty breaking ball as well. When he’s filling up the strike zone with those two pitches like he was today, he’s really good.” Junior right-hander Willie Weiss replaced Beers in the eighth, striking out Indiana utility player Drew Ashley, who had given the Hoosiers quality offensive production the day before. The Wolverines made another pitching change after Weiss gave up two walks, putting junior right-hander Will Proctor on the mound. “Something that’s been instilled in us since the fall is a ‘next man up’ attitude,” Proctor said. “If one guy can’t get it done, it’ll be the next guy. That attitude is the bread and butter on this team.” Proctor and the Michigan defense quickly got themselves out of trouble, grounding out Indiana to maintain the Wolverines’ lead and looked to close out the game. Almost mirroring the second inning, Sems and Burton again hit singles to put runners on base, and Flores had another RBI double to put Michigan up 4-1. ABBAS KAGAL Daily Sports Writer Denner deals, pushes Michigan past Indiana in crucial win SAM BERNARDI Daily Sports Writer BECCA MAHON/Daily Denner’s pitching was the key to Michigan’s win on Sunday. BECCA MAHON/Daily Michigan defeated Indiana on Sunday to win the series. Read more at michigandaily.com Read more at michigandaily.com