OMAHA, Neb. — After giving up 10 runs in just three innings against No. 1 UCLA, junior right-hander Cade Montgomery looked like he’d played his way out of the Michigan baseball team’s weekend rotation.
He rebounded from the debacle five days later with a shutout three innings against Michigan State March 18 — a game that proved to be Montgomery’s final start of the regular season.
But when Wolverines coach Tracy Smith handed him the helm for Tuesday’s Big Ten Tournament opener against Rutgers, Montgomery didn’t disappoint.
“You’re going to have to play a lot of games if you’re going to win the championship, and save the pen,” Smith said. “We talked about it this morning as a team. There’s going to have to be guys step up and do some really cool and unique things, and he certainly did that today. He gives us a fighting chance.”
Offered an opportunity to reclaim his starting role in a tournament format, Montgomery went the distance. He threw a complete-game shutout, pitching his longest outing in a Michigan uniform with all seven innings of the Wolverines’ 10-0 run-rule win over the Scarlet Knights.
Montgomery’s gem wasn’t just a feat of longevity. He struck out six Rutgers batters and gave up only a single hit, while allowing a meager four Scarlet Knights to reach base. In a high-pressure environment, Montgomery commanded the strike zone and singlehandedly prevented Rutgers’ lineup from finding a way back into the game.
The pitcher who carved up the Scarlet Knights Tuesday looked a far cry from the one who’d been dismantled by the Bruins a few months ago. Rutgers’ offense isn’t as potent as the Bruins’, but Montgomery proved he can thrive in whatever situation the Wolverines place him in.
“I love his mentality, because he’s even, he’s cool,” Smith said. “That’s the guy you want on the mound, because … they’re going to have to beat him. He’s not going to beat himself.”
Even when Montgomery didn’t start for the Wolverines, he still found a way to make an impact with his knack for performing in high-leverage situations. He dazzled as a closer down the stretch, notching six saves in his last eight appearances before the tournament — including clutch shutdowns in Michigan’s back-to-back wins over Minnesota.
On Tuesday, Montgomery applied the mentality he uses as a closer to his stint as a starter — and it ended up being a driving force behind his stellar showing.
“For me, it was just being able to stack some good outings coming out of the bullpen and using that mindset inning to inning in the start,” Montgomery said. “Just taking it one inning at a time and treating each inning like a closer opportunity.”
And when asked if he was ready to pitch the final two innings should he have needed to, Montgomery smiled and replied with just two words:
“For sure.”
