The Michigan baseball team earned a series win over the weekend against Michigan State and was looking to parlay its momentum into another pair of wins in its midweek games this week. The Wolverines were set to play Toledo on the road on Tuesday before coming home for a game against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the Eastern Michigan matchup was rained out, so the trip to Toledo would be it for the week. Here’s a look at how Tuesday’s game transpired.
Michigan-Toledo Recap
Erik Puodziunas got the start for
the Wolverines, but Toledo was able to get to him in the first inning. With two runners on, Troy Sudbrook hit a double that drove in two runs, giving the Rockets a quick 2-0 lead. Michigan wouldn’t wait around too much longer to respond. With runners on first and second base, Evan Haegar got a single through the infield on the right side, driving in Colby Turner to make it a 2-1 game.
In the top of the fourth, Michigan took advantage of some Toledo miscues, with Josh Campbell scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game. Shortly thereafter, the Wolverines would take the lead with a Noah Miller single up the middle, driving in Turner for his second run in as many innings.
Michigan added on in the top of the sixth, with Matthew Ossenfort and Brayden Jefferis driving in runs to make it a 5-2 game.
Toledo would start to chip away in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring a run on a bases-loaded walk from reliever Gavin DeVooght. The Rockets scored again in the bottom of the seventh on a steal of home plate to make it a 5-4 game. Fortunately, Michigan added an insurance run in the top of the eighth on a Jefferis opposite-field solo homer down the left field line. The bullpen closed things out from there, giving the Wolverines a 6-4 victory.
Northwestern Preview
After winning their lone midweek game, the Wolverines advanced to 21-15 overall. Entering the weekend, they’ll be in a three-way tie with Illinois and Washington for seventh-place in the Big Ten. Fortunately, they’ll have a chance to improve their standing by welcoming in Northwestern for a three-game set at Ray Fisher Stadium.
Northwestern is 14-18-1 and sits in a tie with Rutgers for a distant 16th-place in the Big Ten. The Wildcats were swept in their previous series against Purdue, but won their midweek game against UIC by a 12-11 final score on Tuesday.
The Wildcats aren’t exactly dominant at the plate or on the mound, but their offense is top-heavy with some bats that could case trouble for Michigan this weekend. Chief among them is center fielder Jack Lausch. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he was also the starting quarterback on Northwestern’s football team in 2024. At the plate in 2026, he’s leading Northwestern with eight home runs and a 1.020 OPS. He’s also tied for the team-lead in stolen bases with six.
Other names to know are Ryan Kucherak, Jackson Freeman and Owen McElfatrick, who are all tied for second on the team with seven home runs each. Kucherak and Freeman, along with Noah Ruiz and Nick Barron are the other regulars in Northwestern’s linup with an OPS higher than .800. Kucherak is also a threat on the bases with six steals in seven attempts.
Northwestern’s pitching staff has been hit around quite a bit this year with a team ERA of 7.39 and WHIP of 1.76. Ryan Weaver has the team-lead in innings-pitched with 44.2 this year, but he also owns a dismal ERA of 7.66. Jake Rifenberg has only made two starts for the Wildcats this year, but one came against Purdue last Friday. He’s been a bit more successful with a 5.09 ERA, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Northwestern trot him out to open the series.
Out of the bullpen, we’re likely to see plenty of Wildcats if the Michigan offense is able to keep clicking. Alex Grant and Drew Dickson will be the names to know there, as they’ve made the most appearances for Northwestern, with 5.27 and 6.59 ERAs, respectively.
Schedule
All games this weekend will be at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor.
- Game 1: Friday, April 17, 4 p.m. (Streaming on Big Ten+)
- Game 2: Saturday, April 18, 2 p.m. (Streaming on Big Ten+)
- Game 3: Sunday, April 19, 11 a.m. (Big Ten Network)
