Michigan baseball sweeps Northwestern, clinches Big Ten tourney berth

Michigan baseball won its fourth straight game and clinched a spot in the Big Ten tournament after a sweep of Northwestern. 

Just like it did last season, the Michigan baseball team is closing out the regular season strong and won its fourth straight Big Ten game on Sunday with a 15-5 win over Northwestern.

The Wildcats, who are the last-place team in the Big Ten, actually jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the Wolverines, who needed a win to try and wrap up a berth in the Big Ten tournament.

Michigan baseball (26-22, 13-8) started the day tied for fourth place and it maintained that position thanks in large part to a cycle from Cody Jefferis.

The graduate transfer had a double in the third inning for the Wolverines and followed that up with a home run in the fourth before getting a single in the sixth and a triple in the seventh while driving in a total of six runs.

It was the first Michigan baseball cycle since 2006.

Jefferis homer in the fourth changed the game and put Michigan baseball in front 6-3. It also triggered a day of four home runs for the Wolverines. Mitch Voit hit a home run, as did Ted Burton and also Trevor Kilinski.

Jacob Denner got the win on the mound for Michigan baseball after going 6 2/3 innings for the Wolverines and allowing four earned runs on nine hits while striking out eight batters.

It was his second win of the season. For Michigan, it was the 26th win overall. More importantly, it was the 13th in the Big Ten and now that Illinois has finished the season at 12-12, Michigan can’t finish worse than eighth in the final Big Ten standings.

That means that Michigan will be able to defend its Big Ten tournament title in Omaha. Yet, the Wolverines are tied for fourth and two games back of first with three to go, so there is a lot to be determined.

A non-conference game against Xavier awaits on Tuesday, followed by a three-game set in Columbus at Ohio State to close out the regular season.