OMAHA, Neb. — Every game of the Big Ten Tournament was do-or-die for the Michigan baseball team. The seventh-seeded Wolverines needed to win out if they wanted a spot in the semifinals and a chance at the tournament title. Game 1 against No. 11 seed Illinois was supposed to be a chance for Michigan to get its tournament legs under it before taking on No. 2 seed UCLA. But in just 15 pitches, junior right-hander Kurt Barr dug the Wolverines into a hole that proved inescapable.
“In the first we took advantage of some free bases and that was great for us,” the Fighting Illinis catcher Jacob Schroeder said. “And as the game went on, (Michigan) brought out who I thought was their best arm and he really shoved but we got his pitch count up enough.”
Three of the four pitchers who took the mound for Michigan on Tuesday had some previous experience in the Big Ten Tournament. Last year, Barr set the tone for the Wolverines in their win over Iowa, senior right-hander Will Rogers put on a show-stopping performance against Illinois and even sophomore right-hander Dylan Vigue had a brief 0.1 innings of tournament work under his belt. Entering the week, it seemed likely that some combination of Barr and Rogers would lead Michigan on the mound with the most productive previous experience. Instead though, the duo combined for just 2.1 innings and were responsible for letting up four of Illinois’ six runs.
Trotting to the mound in the first inning with the bases loaded and no outs, Vigue’s job was clear — minimize the damage and give the offense a chance to respond. Against the first batter he faced, Vigue fell behind in the count before eventually walking the batter, and with it, walking home the first of Barr’s three runs. The sophomore has struggled to command the zone in the past and after his first seven pitches, it seemed that these command issues had followed Vigue to the tournament. But battling against the next four batters he faced, Vigue let up only one hit and the batter he walked at the start of his outing never got past second base.
“I have all of the confidence in the world in Dylan,” junior second baseman Mitch Voit said. “He’s come through for us time and time again. He’s an amazing pitcher, so having him up there gives everyone in the field confidence.”
Through the remainder of Vigue’s outing, just two more Illinois batters were put in scoring position. Giving up just four free bases and recording a career-high seven strikeouts, Vigue showed a command on the mound that the Wolverines have been waiting for. And in the time that Vigue executed, Michigan’s bats finally began to heat up. When Vigue left the competition in the fifth inning, the Wolverines had lessened the deficit to 3-1 and were well within striking distance.
But in the remaining five innings of competition, the tone, and competitive margin, that Vigue set on the mound slowly dissipated. Junior right-hander David Lally Jr. entered the competition in the sixth inning, but lasted a mere two innings after letting up two runs on four hits and four walks. Now in the eighth inning, Rogers entered with hopes to close out the competition. While Rogers fared slightly better than Lally, a hanging slider left to Schroeder was promptly sent over the center-field wall, eventually proving the winning run.
“Dylan came in with very short time to prep and did a really good job of keeping us in the game,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said. “We figured we were going to score more than three, we just didn’t want that lead to get too far away. So everything worked according to plan, except for getting the result that we wanted.”
Vigue shouldn’t have had to put on the performance he did against Illinois. In postseason competition, the Wolverines expected their experienced arms to step up and set the tone defensively. But when Barr and Rogers fell short, it was up to Vigue to keep Michigan competitive. And while Vigue executed better than he has all season, the Wolverines simply needed a more complete performance from their bullpen in order to secure the win.
