Coming off a strong start to the season with wins over two ranked opponents, the Michigan baseball team was back in action over the weekend in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The series represented another chance for Michigan to pad its resume early in the season with matchups against Florida State, No. 15 Louisville and Kansas State.
The Seminoles were up first on Friday. Tate Carey got the start for the Wolverines and made it through the first inning
unscathed before Florida State got on the board with an RBI single from Jace Estes in the second inning. Estes would tack on another RBI single in the fourth inning, as would Noah Sheffield, to give the Seminoles an early 3-0 lead.
Michigan’s offense continued to struggle through the middle third of the game, but Florida State dealt its dagger in the bottom of the sixth inning, tagging the Wolverine bullpen for three runs via a two-run double and a sacrifice fly to go up 6-0. Michigan would save itself from being shut out with a Colby Turner solo home run in the top of the ninth, but it was much too little too late with the Wolverines falling, 6-1.
Nevertheless, Michigan had another chance to do some damage against a ranked opponent in Louisville on Saturday. The Cardinals got on the board first, scoring a run off Michigan starter Cade Montgomery in the top of the first inning. But the Wolverines battled back with five unanswered runs, including a homer from Cade Ladehoff in the third inning to grab a 5-1 lead.
After Michigan’s offensive outburst, Louisville was able to cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth, with three runs on four hits. Tague Davis had a two-run double and Griffin Crain had an RBI single to make it a 5-4 game.
The Wolverines wouldn’t go quietly. though, as Colby Turner came through in the bottom of the seventh with a three-run homer to left center field, giving Michigan a late 8-4 lead. Louisville scored on another run in the top of the eighth, but lost the game by an 8-5 final score, giving Michigan its third win of the year over a ranked opponent.
On Sunday night, Michigan wrapped up its weekend vs Kansas State. The Wolverines got off to a solid start with two runs in the top of the second inning courtesy of a Kansas State throwing error and an RBI double from Greg Pace Jr. However, the momentum would be short lived, with the Wildcats striking for five runs in the bottom of the second inning to grab a 5-2 lead.
After trading a run each in the third inning, the Wildcats struck with three runs in the fourth courtesy of a sac fly and two RBI singles. The Wolverines were able to get those three runs back in the seventh inning thanks to an RBI single from Brenden Stressler and a Turner two-run home run. Kansas State hit a solo shot in the ninth inning for an insurance run before closing things down to take the game by a final score of 10-6.
After the weekend, Michigan is now 4-3 on the season and will return to action on Friday to begin a three-game series at San Diego.
