Against Akron, Michigan didn’t put up stellar numbers at the plate. It didn’t smash balls into the outfield, or execute aggressive base running. But it scored runs nonetheless. Securing 13 runs off of just 14 hits in the midweek competition, the Wolverines did just enough at the plate to secure the win.
On Tuesday, the Michigan baseball team (18-14) took on the Zips (9-23) in the first of a five home-game week. Coming off a 2-1 series loss to No. 15 Oregon, the Wolverines returned home looking to rejuvenate their team. The competition against Akron proved just the opportunity for that, as Michigan returned to simple baseball and executed the 13-0 win cleanly.
Entering the fourth inning, the Wolverines had recorded just three hits, with the single run coming off of a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning from redshirt freshman catcher Noah Miller. Miller brought senior third baseman Cole Caruso home. Caruso was just one of just two Michigan batters to get on base up to that point, the other was graduate first baseman Jeter Ybarra. After both reaching base in the second inning, the duo continued on to be a force in the middle of the Wolverines’ lineup.
In the fourth inning, after Caruso hit his first triple of the season, Ybarra smashed the ball over the center field wall for a home run, scoring both of them. The two runs were just a quarter of the scoring that Michigan completed in the fourth inning, but it was by far the most exciting. The rest of the inning, and in fact the entire competition, consisted of simple yet effective offensive tactics.
Throughout the season the Wolverines have struggled with leaving runners stranded, effectively leaving runs on the board. But against the Zips, Michigan didn’t have to work all that hard to bring runners home, instead it just had to take advantage of the opportunities that Akron provided. The Wolverines loaded the bases three times in the matchup, but never thanks to a solid hit. Instead, each time the bases were loaded off of a free base from the Zips.
The remainder of scoring in the fourth inning came from a combination of these free bases, sacrificial hits and the odd ground ball. Excluding the two RBI homer from Ybarra at the top of the inning, two-thirds of the runs scored came from free bases and sacrificial hits.
This clean yet effective offense was further motivated by a multitude of defensive errors Akron committed. Through the eight pitchers that took the mound for the Zips, 13 errors were committed. This, coupled with sloppy infield plays, gave the Michigan offense plenty of room to work in.
Within this room, the Wolverines mounted another large batch of scoring in the sixth inning. Up 9-0 heading into the inning, Michigan looked to secure at least one more run in order to end the game in the seventh. The offense did that and more, adding four runs to the tally in the sixth. This time it was a trio of singles, a walk and a wild pitch that propelled the Wolverines to the run-rule win.
Returning to basics was key for Michigan’s offense in its first of two midweek competitions. Getting out of the game early was imperative for the Wolverines in their busy week, and thanks to strategic scoring they did just that.
