Skying the ball into right field, junior second baseman Mitch Voit knew he wasn’t making it to first base. But graduate shortstop Benny Casillas saw his opportunity. From Bowling Green’s right fielder to the shortstop and ultimately to the third baseman, Casillas gambled that his legs were better than the Falcons’ arms. After tearing down the base line, he slid on his right leg as he pointed his left, and beat the tag by the teeth of his cleats.
This wasn’t the Michigan baseball team’s only gamble of the day. A combination of hustle plays and stolen bases gave the Wolverines the pressure they needed to secure the victory against Bowling Green.
Casillas’ slide into third all but guaranteed that he would make it home in the bottom of the first inning. In Michigan’s four hole, senior third baseman Cole Caruso sent another fly ball to right field, not to get himself on first, but to compliment Casillas’ hustle. With this sacrifice fly, the Wolverines earned the first run of the game.
Michigan’s first stolen base of the day also appeared in the first inning. Realizing that the Falcons’ left-hander Luke Krouse hadn’t taken a look over at first in a while, freshman outfielder Brayden Jefferis dashed towards second, and made it well before the tag. This stolen base marked Jefferis fourth attempt of the year but just the second successful one, showing the trust that the Wolverines’ coaching staff has in his ability to out run pitchers.
“It’s based off the situation of the game,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said of the steals. “Timing what they’re doing, from the start of the wind up through to the balking of the plate. It’s a lot of math, so the game will tell you what you need to do.”
The aggression from the Wolverines’ runners began to wear down Bowling Green pitchers in just the second inning. After reaching first base, freshman left fielder Tyler Inge took a sizable lead off, forcing Krouse to throw him back onto the bag. As another sizeable lead disrupted Krouse’s rhythm, he balked Inge into a scoring position.
However, not all gambles are so successful. In the fifth inning, Jefferis looked to copy Inge’s success by taking a strong lead off first. Following a timid run as the pitch flew in, Jefferis realized he was caught in no-man’s land, and turned back to first halfway between the bases. This moment of indecisiveness gave the catcher ample time to make the throw to first, culminating in Jefferis’ eventual out after a game of pickle.
“Even as we did some good stuff on the steals, we made some poor decisions as well,” Smith said.
Undeterred by Jefferis’ blunder, the baserunners kept their aggression, recording three more steals before the end of the game. Two came from Voit, who has been a prolific base runner all season, leading Michigan with 11 stolen bases. One more came from sophomore pinch runner AJ Garcia. Even though this marked his first of the season, Garcia has been a go-to pinchrunner for the Wolverines due his speed on the base paths.
Hustle plays didn’t disappear as the game progressed. In the bottom of the eighth inning, junior center fielder Greg Pace Jr. roped a ball into center field. Immediately, Pace pounded the baseline, turning a would-be double into a triple — his first of the year. With a runner on third, a single from graduate outfielder Robert Hamchuk brought Pace in, for Michigan’s ninth and final run of the game.
“We’re a bunch of crafty, speedy guys who want to produce runs,” Pace said. “And that’s what we did today.”
Even though they’re known as a power hitting team — with two home runs today alone — the Wolverines utilization of an aggressive baserunning approach has widened their offensive opportunities. And against Bowling Green, pounding the turf before, between and after every hit aided Michigan in a landslide win.
