Wolverine roundup: Michigan Baseball punches Big Ten tourney ticket
Michigan baseball has been struggling of late but after beating Michigan State on Tuesday, the Wolverines beat the top team in the Big Ten on Thursday.
The Michigan baseball season has been a little up and down, and recently, there have been more downs than ups for the Wolverines, who recently lost six of seven games.
At one point, Michigan baseball lost five straight in the Big Ten. However, that losing streak ended on Tuesday with an 11-8 win over the Spartans, which clinched a season sweep over MSU (4-0), and Michigan followed it up with a 9-6 victory over Rutgers in Ann Arbor.
https://twitter.com/umichbaseball/status/1527639660800970752
Clark Elliott got the Wolverines started quickly in the bottom of the first inning with his third leadoff home run of the season. Joe Stewart also went yard in the first, giving U-M a 2-0 advantage.
Rutgers tied the score in the bottom of the second inning and plated three runs in the top of the fifth to grab a 5-4 lead over the Wolverines.
Yet, Michigan turned to the long ball again. Jimmy Obertop crushed a two-run shot to put the Wolverines back in front, and then, football player Joey Velazquez hit a two-run homer of his own to extend the lead to 8-5.
Michigan held on from there, but there were some tense moments such as in the eighth when Rutgers stranded two runners. Noah Rennard came on and pitched a solid inning of relief to earn the win, while Cameron Weston, a usual starter, was used in the ninth for the save.
Weston retired the side and the win was significant for Michigan baseball because it clinched a berth in the Big Ten Tournament. Clark, Stewart, and Velazquez all notched two hits and two RBI in the victory as U-M improved to 27-24 overall and 11-11 in the Big Ten.
Men’s tennis falls to Ohio State in Elite 8
Michigan was hoping to advance to the Final Four in men’s tennis and Ohio State was the team standing in the way of the Wolverines on Thursday night.
https://twitter.com/umichtennis/status/1527510493031800851
Yet, the Wolverines dropped the match 4-2. Michigan won the doubles point but then went 1-3 in the singles matches against the Buckeyes who will advance.
Michigan softball starts Friday
The NCAA softball tournament starts Friday in Orlando for the Wolverines as Michigan, the second seed in the region will take on South Dakota State at 11 a.m.
There was a time change announced so be aware of that. Michigan is also in the regional with 16th-seeded UCF and Villanova. Alex Storako is expected to be in the circle for the Wolverines who are led by legendary head coach Carol Hutchins.