Michigan Baseball: Wolverines one win away from national title shot

Michigan baseball beat Florida State 2-0 Monday night in the College World Series and the Wolverines are now one win from the championship series.

A few weeks ago, Michigan baseball didn’t even seem like a guarantee to make the NCAA tournament. Now, the Wolverines are one win from playing for the national championship.

With Tommy Henry on the mound, Michigan baseball didn’t just beat Florida State, the Wolverines controlled their second game in the College World Series in Omaha from start to finish.

Jesse Franklin set the tone in the top of the first inning with a home run that put Michigan in front 1-0. From there, Henry made it stick, tossing a complete-game, three-hit shutout, earning the win and the UM strikeout record in the process.

Henry allowed a double in the first inning to Florida State, but held the Noles scoreless and followed that up with a slew of 1-2-3 innings. In the top of the fifth, Jimmy Kerr came up with a clutch, two-out hit, giving him an RBI and UM a 2-0 lead.

In the seventh, Florida State got a runner on base, bringing the tying run to the plate. Yet, as he seemed to do all night, Henry got a key strikeout, ending the threat.

Henry added another big strikeout in the bottom of the eighth and two more in the bottom of the ninth to put the game away for Michigan baseball. The complete-game win was the third in the history of the Wolverines at the College World Series and more importantly, they are now one win away from playing for the national championship.

Essentially, Michigan has reached the Final Four of college baseball and are now the odds-on favorite to win their side of the bracket. Florida State will drop back into the loser’s bracket against Texas Tech, which beat Arkansas earlier Monday, after losing 5-3 to UM Saturday in Omaha.

Pitching continues to be a strength for Michigan, which got a strong start from Karl Kauffmann in the opening game. Kaufmann got through seven innings and Henry pitched the entire game, meaning in two games, head coach Erik Bakich has used just three arms. His team also gets three days rest.

The Wolverines will play Friday needing just one win to reach the national championship series. Florida State or Texas Tech will need to win three straight to advance, including two in a row over Michigan.