Michigan had gotten some momentum going over the last week, winning three straight games and six of its last seven. This past weekend, the Wolverines had the chance to continue that momentum with a short road trip up to Michigan State to take on the reeling Spartans for three games.
Here’s a look at how the games transpired over the weekend.
Game 1 – Friday
Michigan’s ace Kurt Barr opened the series on Friday night, and he shined through the early innings. He allowed just three Spartans to reach base in the first
four innings of the game, keeping them off the scoreboard.
To start the fifth inning, the Wolverines had runners reach courtesy of a single and an error. They were moved to second and third base via a fielder’s choice, after which Greg Pace slapped a single through the left side of the infield to put the Wolverines up 1-0. Michigan State responded in the bottom of the inning, with Noah Bright hitting a leadoff solo homer to make it 1-1.
The Spartans led off the bottom of the sixth with a single Nick Williams would hit a double later in the inning to drive in the runner and give Michigan State a 2-1 lead. Even after allowing another baserunner courtesy of a walk, Barr was able to limit the damage and stayed in the game. In the top of the seventh, Michigan got the equalizer, with Evan Haegar hitting a leadoff homer to make it a 2-2 game.
The Michigan bats had one last gasp in them in the top of the eight, with Noah Miller and Haegar hitting back-to-back singles with the bases loaded to drive in two runs, putting the Wolverines up 4-2. The offense came through when it needed to, but it was actually Barr who’d be the star of the night, pitching all nine innings and surrendering just two runs in the process. His effort helped provide Michigan its fourth straight victory, as the Wolverines won by a 4-2 final score.
Game 2 – Saturday
Needing a big day from its offense, it was Michigan State scoring first on Saturday despite Michigan generating some early traffic through the first two innings. The Spartans scored in the bottom of the second, as Nick Williams drove in Ryan McKay with a one-out single off Michigan starter Shane Brinham.
Michigan would battle back in the top of the third to really open the game up. Colby Turner and Noah Miller both got on base via singles, then Brayden Jefferis drove in Michigan’s first run of the game with a single of his own. Brenden Stressler then hit a double, scoring Miller to give Michigan the 2-1 lead. The next man up was Greg Pace, who launched a three-run homer to make it 5-1.
The Wolverines tacked on an additional run with an RBI double from Miller to make it a 6-1 game in the fourth. Michigan State began to chip away, scoring a run on a throwing error in the sixth, and then scoring another run in the seventh courtesy of an RBI double from Parker Picot. That ended the day for Brinham, who went 6.2 innings and gave up three earned runs while striking out five.
The Spartans scored one more run, but the lead was safe thanks to the early-game outburst from the Wolverines, who held on to win the game 6-4 to take the series.
Game 3 – Sunday
Looking for the sweep, Michigan got off to another good start with a leadoff single and stolen base from Cooper Mullens in the first. Brayden Jefferis drove him in with two outs to give the Wolverines a quick 1-0 lead. Michigan got another run in the third to make it 2-0, but that is when the tide quickly changed.
The Spartans struck for three in the third inning to claim the lead, including a leadoff solo homer from Khamaree Thomas. Trailing by one, Michigan’s offense couldn’t respond through the middle innings, allowing Michigan State to put the game away late.
The Spartans dealt their biggest blow in the sixth, scoring one run from a wild pitch to go up 4-2. Later in the frame, freshman C.J. Deckinga would effectively ice the game with a two-out grand slam off Michigan reliever Brandon Mann to make it an 8-2 game. Two more runs would come in the bottom of the seventh courtesy of another homer from Randy Seymour.
The Wolverines scored two runs in the eight and one more in the ninth to cut into their deficit, but it would ultimately be far too much to overcome, as they dropped the series finale by a 10-5 final score.
By winning the series, Michigan advanced its record to 20-16 overall and 7-8 in Big Ten play. There will once again be two midweek games for the Wolverines, as they’ll travel to Toledo on Tuesday before hosting Eastern Michigan on Wednesday.
