Exiting the field after the Michigan baseball team’s defeat to No. 20 Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament, Wolverines coach Tracy Smith had no problems with the game his team played.
“I will sleep peacefully tonight knowing my guys played hard and battled all the way to the end, and even made some really nice plays at the end,” Smith said May 23. “If you’re in sports, you’ve got to take the good with the bad. As disappointing as it is, I’m very proud of this group.”
Following that, Smith was asked to make a case for Michigan getting a berth in an NCAA regional bracket.
“It’s a good conference,” Smith said. “I get asked all the time about the addition of schools, and I think it’s played out and spoken for itself. This is one of the top three conferences in the country.”
Ultimately, Smith’s pleas weren’t heard. Selection Monday came and passed, and the Wolverines went unsummoned. But it wasn’t for lack of skill, as they’ve proven time and again that they can compete in the ever-strengthening Big Ten in their own way. Through relying on defense, Michigan can go toe-to-toe with the upper echelons of the conference. But to be a contender, the Wolverines needed to bring their A-game against every opponent, no matter what game — and they failed to do so.
Michigan is a team that ranks toward the bottom of the conference in the majority of offensive statistics. In the Big Ten, it’s dead last in homers and OPS, and third to last in runs. The only statistic the Wolverines don’t rank in the bottom seven is walks. They are, by all metrics, an underpowered team, turning to other measures for wins.
Opposing this, Michigan makes up for it on the defensive side of play. It ranks sixth in ERA and seventh in strikeouts, and the Wolverines’ staff has thrown five complete games — just shy of a third of all complete game performances in the Big Ten. Freshman left-hander Shane Brinham is also the only pitcher in the conference to throw two shutouts, displaying the skill Michigan has on the mound.
Cushioned by this elite pitching, Smith often employs small-ball tactics. Stifling their opponents in the box and then inching their way around the diamond for minute wins, the Wolverines have lived through this method — often dying by it too.
“Of our few losses, we’ve had, what — four walk-off (losses)?” Smith said March 18 after a narrow 2-0 victory over Michigan State.
The volatility of Michigan’s strategy is evident in these last-minute defeats. Staying ahead by just a pinch of runs means the Wolverines’ lead could come crashing down at a moment’s notice. One read sign, one wild pitch or one fielding error would give them a mountain to scale. While most other teams can launch a homer at any notice, Michigan can’t, and when it needed to scrounge up a spur-of-the-moment run, it failed.
There’s nothing wrong with leaning on defense. In fact, as a top-50 team in the NCAA in fielding percentage, it’s almost expected. One Big Ten team that mirrors the Wolverines’ strategy is USC, and with a top 15 fielding percentage overall and three pitchers that own top-10 ERAs in the Big Ten, it’s easy to imagine why. The Trojans share Michigan’s model and run with it, using pitching and defense to win games. USC has demonstrated it will make its opponents fight for every run, no matter if it’s a low-stakes conference series or a duel with a ranked team. While the Trojans possess superior bats to the Wolverines’, USC is still a team defined by its defense — a defense that obtained a No. 4 seeding in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Trojans were the pinnacle of this strategy because of their consistency. They ended the regular season 32-1 at home, and no matter what day of the week it was, they were a monstrous threat. Michigan possessed many aspects of this success during its season, owning one of the most competent staffs in the conference. But the Wolverines failed to be as consistent as USC, and are now suffering the results of it.
Being dismantled by Ohio State at the end of the regular season is an easy finger to point against Michigan, but it slipped several times throughout the season. Dropping Quad 1 games to Miami (Ohio) and Kent State in midweeks left a blemish on the Wolverines’ record. And their comeback victories — a burst in a season of miraculous walk-off performances — didn’t reflect as well as Michigan would’ve liked on its postseason chances.
Outside of their pair of Quad 1 wins against Oregon, many of the Wolverines’ most powerful games were against teams that didn’t help their postseason chances. Two Quad 4 walk-offs to Washington and a Quad 2 comeback against Minnesota felt resounding, but that’s ultimately all Michigan gained: the feeling of victory. It didn’t follow through when these results mattered most, demonstrated by its Big Ten Tournament run.
Moments of lights-out pitching performances, timely hitting and masterful fielding were all facets of the Wolverines’ run. But if even one aspect of Michigan’s playstyle was lacking, it fell short. If pitching falls short, as it did against the Huskies in the tournament, extra-base hits overwhelm the Wolverines. When the hits aren’t synchronized with one another, like against the RedHawks, runners are left stranded in situations where any score is a huge gain.
Michigan cannot afford to allow these deficiencies, costing it dearly whenever it does — once again preventing it from a postseason run. Smith has been unsuccessful in bringing his teams to the next stage of play during his tenure over the Wolverines, but this year is the closest they’ve come. Unfortunately, though, Michigan was unable to maintain the level of play its strengths call for.
“We’ve been struggling a little bit offensively, but our thing is, we can still scratch and claw and find ways (to win),” Smith said March 24 after being bested by Oakland. “But when we play the game the way we played it tonight: no execution, very little passion, it doesn’t matter. You’re probably gonna come out on the losing side.”
There is depth in the Wolverines’ dugout. There is talent, skill and sometimes sheer luck. But Michigan was unable to maintain those facets through the season, and now it is back in Ann Arbor early because of it.
If just one aspect of the Wolverines’ game faltered, it fell short. And over the season, these lackluster performances piled up and sank them.
Michigan dropped many games during the season by just a hair, and it has now missed the NCAA Tournament by inches as well — as one of the first four teams out. Falling just short of the goalpost, the Wolverines claimed to have the perfect playstyle to edge themselves ahead of the competition, but they simply couldn’t execute all aspects often enough.
