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Michigan baseball gets another key win with postseason looming

By Chris Peterson

Michigan's Ted Burton and Riley Bertram, left, celebrate the Wolverines' 7-3 win over Louisville in the 2022 NCAA Regional Saturday. June 4, 2022Louisville Plays Michigan In 2022 Ncaa Regional
Michigan's Ted Burton and Riley Bertram, left, celebrate the Wolverines' 7-3 win over Louisville in the 2022 NCAA Regional Saturday. June 4, 2022Louisville Plays Michigan In 2022 Ncaa Regional /
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Michigan baseball got another big victory on Saturday and clinched a series win which is huge for the Wolverines. 

Last weekend, it looked like Michigan baseball wasn’t even a sure thing for the Big Ten baseball tournament. The Wolverines were essentially tied for the last spot with only eight teams getting into the field.

However, after back-to-back wins over last-place Northwestern over the past two days, Michigan baseball is sitting in a much better position.

Following a 12-5 victory on Friday over the Wildcats, who are sitting in last place, Michigan notched another win on Saturday, 5-2, and suddenly, Michigan baseball is tied for fourth in the Big Ten and just two games out of first place.

That’s the way the league has gone this year. Nebraska is in a similar spot and jumped from the middle of the pack to a tie for fourth with two straight wins.

Frankly, anything short of a sweep will be disappointing for the Wolverines knowing what’s at stake. There are three games on the road next weekend against Ohio State and you want as much of this taken care of before that trip.

Ohio State is 6-15 and eliminated from the race but the Buckeyes would love nothing more than to spoil things for the Wolverines. Purdue and Michigan State are both sitting at 10-10. One of those teams will make it in, but U-M is in a three-way tie for fourth and two games clear of ninth.

Michigan baseball’s magic number for Big Ten tournament

Those two teams can finish with a total of 14 wins if MSU and Purdue each won out. That means Michigan baseball needs three wins (or losses) from those teams to clinch a spot. If Purdue and Michigan State won one game down the stretch, Michigan wouldn’t need to win one.

Yet, the Wolverines are playing two of the worst teams in the Big Ten and if they can string together a little winning streak, they could easily be in the top two or three, maybe even higher.

Ted Burton hammered a ball out of the park in the first inning on Saturday. Joey Velazquez, a football player too for Michigan, tripled in a run before Mitch Voit hit a three-run homer in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie.

Voit also got the win after pitching 2 2/3 innings in relief. He didn’t allow any runs and just one hit while striking out two. Noah Rennard allowed two runs in just over six innings and struck out six.

Michigan baseball will play at 3 PM EST on Sunday, followed by a three-game set against Ohio State next Friday-Sunday. There is also a home game against Xavier on Tuesday.

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