Despite losing its midweek matchup with Kent State, Michigan entered the final weekend of the regular season in good position to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, even getting the chance to boost its resume a bit with three games against an above-average Ohio State team.
Here’s a look at how the Wolverines closed out the year at home.
Game 1 – Thursday
Michigan and Ohio State traded scoreless innings in the first to start the game, but it would be Michigan getting on the board first in the bottom of the second.
Noah Miller and Cade Ladehoff led of the inning with back-to-back singles and Brenden Stressler followed it up with a walk to load the bases. Greg Pace was then hit by a pitch to bring in a run, making it 1-0. Ohio State would even the score later in the top of the fourth as Dane Harvey hit a solo homer to left field.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Buckeye offense started to inflict some more damage. After a walk, Henry Kaczmar hit a homer to right field to give Ohio State a 3-1 lead. Shortly thereafter, Harvey hit his second homer of the gam, a mammoth blast to center field that made it a 4-1 game and chased Michigan starter Kurt Barr from the game. The Wolverines would get a run back in the bottom of the inning though, with Brayden Jefferis hitting a single through the left side of the infield to score Colby Turner.
Ohio State would keep the pressure on by scoring a run in the top of the sixth, but really opened the game up in the top of the seventh. Noah Furcht hit yet another Buckeye home run to make it 6-2, ultimately opening the floodgates for an eight-run inning that forced the Wolverines to got through three different relief pitchers. The Buckeyes got out to a 13-2 lead, which led to the game being called after seven by the run rule with Michigan being unable to score in the bottom half of the inning.
Game 2 – Friday
Ohio State’s bats would keep their momentum going in the early part of Friday’s game, scoring a run in the top of the second inning off starter Shane Brinham, as Lee Ellis would single up the middle for the game’s first RBI. Michigan would bounce back in the bottom half of the inning though, loading the bases with nobody out before scoring twice on a fielder’s choice and sacrifice bunt to grab a 2-1 lead.
Michigan would hold the lead until the top of the fifth, which is when Ohio State’s Grant Mangrum evened the score on a solo homer to left field. Ohio State would add on in the top of the sixth as well. With runners on first and second, Dane Harvey singled to right field to drive in a run, then Maddix Simpson lofted a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-2 game. A Brayden Jefferis solo homer in the bottom of the sixth would make it 4-3.
Needing to keep things close in the top of the eighth, Ohio State was able to load the bases against Michigan reliever Gavin DeVooght with a walk and two hit batters. Alex Bemis would then drive in two runs with a single, and Noah Furcht would drive in another with a sacrifice fly to grab a 7-3 lead. The Buckeyes would hold on from there to win the game and clinch their first series win in Ann Arbor since 1999.
Game 3 – Saturday
Needing a win to salvage the series, the Wolverines once again came out flat, with Ohio State scoring four runs in the top of the first inning on Saturday. Starter Michael Quedens hit two Buckeye batters before Maddix Simpson singled to drive in two runs. Lee Ellis would double shortly thereafter to drive in two more.
David Lally would come in in the second inning and shut the Buckeyes down, while Michigan was able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of a solo homer from Brayden Jefferis. Ohio State would get back on the board with a run in the top of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. Michigan’s bats weren’t able to get anything going for much of the afternoon though, with Ohio State starter Chris Domke cruising along.
Ohio state would score three more in the top of the ninth to go ahead 8-1, effectively icing any chances Michigan had of a late-inning comeback. Domke was able to finish off the game, holding the Wolverine bats in check for the whole afternoon, allowing just one run on three hits in nine innings.
With a win in the finale, Ohio State secured the sweep, its first in Ann Arbor since 1994. Not only did Ohio State finish its season on a strong note, it dealt a big blow to Michigan, which was already on the bubble for a bid in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan finished the regular season 32-22 overall and on a four-game losing streak, now needing a solid showing in the Big Ten Tournament if it hopes to continue its season.
