The Michigan baseball team’s win on Saturday points to the importance of controlling the error margin. Both the Wolverines and Michigan State have struggled with errors on the season, so minimizing miscues and mistakes was paramount to both team’s success.
And as Michigan (26-17 overall, 10-10 Big Ten) scored five runs on arguably the Big Ten’s best pitcher —left-hander Joseph Dzierwa —only two were earned as it capitalized on the Spartans’ (23-18, 9-11) mistakes to earn a 9-2 victory.
“Our whole preparation this week has been on this one guy,” junior center fielder Greg Pace Jr. said of Dzierwa. “I’d say he’s pretty darn good.”
The lanky left-hander from Michigan State has been lights out all season. However, the Wolverines’ ability to put balls in play forced the statistically worst fielding team in the conference, Michigan State, into allowing unearned runs early.
The Spartans showed their defensive flaws early in the second inning, as graduate catcher Matt Spear tapped a ground ball up the middle with runners on the corners, potentially setting up what would be an inning-ending double play. However, as Michigan State’s second baseman knocked the grounder down, he was unable to record an out — leaving all runners safe and giving Michigan its first run of the game.
The very next batter, Pace lofted an innocuous fly ball into shallow right field but it dropped out of the right fielder’s mitt, loading the bases. This forced Dzierwa to execute high-pressure pitches against the top of the Wolverines’ order and eventually even Michigan State’s ace made a mistake.
“It’s about not taking a pitch off,” Pace said. “On that flare to the outfield, I was a little bummed out but you have to trust that you’ll get the result you want.”
A high fastball rode too far inside on freshman right fielder Brayden Jefferis and his hit-by-pitch forced a run in. From there, junior second baseman Mitch Voit laced a single through the hole, scoring two more runs to bring the inning’s final tally to 4-0. While singles, fielders’ choices and an HBP aren’t flashy, capitalizing off mistakes to drop four runs in an inning is.
While junior right-hander David Lally Jr. got himself into some trouble in the top of the third inning, bases loaded with just one out, he executed pitches to escape giving up only one run. The bases-loaded situation is something that has been exacerbated by errors of late for Michigan, but when its defense and pitching stepped up, Lally showed how he can limit damage to preserve the Wolverines’ 4-1 lead.
An inning later, Pace found himself in a 0-2 count. But after waiting on a mistake, he capitalized on a rare middle-middle fastball by sending it over the left-field wall for a home run.
Once again, Michigan forced mistakes and capitalized on them when they occured.
“Baseball has been around a long time,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said. “The formula is you pitch, play good defense and get a timely hit. If you do that, you’ll have a good chance to win.”
On the day, Michigan’s own pitching staff limited free bases, an issue that has plagued it all season. Striking out more batters than they walked, the Wolverines’ arms did their part in keeping the game out of reach from Michigan State.
Doing his part to ice the game in the eighth inning, Voit blasted a three-run home run over the left-field wall extending Michigan’s lead to 9-1. Again, a mistake from a Spartans pitcher was punished.
The Wolverines’ pitching staff trusted their defense, and this strategy worked. With a gameplan to force mistakes while limiting their own, a big win clinched the series.
