OMAHA, Neb. — With a similar weight to their last meeting — a midweek non-conference contest — the No. 7 seed Michigan baseball team matched up against No. 2 UCLA for an all-but-exhibition match. With no more postseason left, graduate shortstop Benny Casillas suited up for nothing other than pride.
Trading places with Casillas each half inning was UCLA’s own shortstop, Roch Cholowsky. Walking into the game, Cholowsky was expected to be the best player on the field, having been awarded the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year alongside being a frontrunner for the first pick of the 2026 MLB draft.
Even as most eyes focused on Cholowsky, Casillas’ name still carried weight. Leading the Big Ten in batting average, Casillas was also honored as an All-Big Ten Second Team player. Despite Cholowsky entering the game with the edge, Casillas has never been a player to back down from a challenge.
“Here we are in the last game and it doesn’t really mean anything in the context of the season …,” Wolverines coach Tracy Smith said. “I was like, ‘You know what I’m gonna ask (Casillas a question).’ And before I did, I said, ‘Hey, man, I’m gonna ask an unfair question’ — because I think I know the answer — I said, ‘Hey, do you want to sit on .401? I want you to walk around the rest of your life telling your grandkids and everybody that you hit .400 for a college baseball season, which is really, really, really hard to do.’ Without hesitation, (Benny says) ‘Skip, there’s no way I don’t want to play.’ ”
After grounding out to the third baseman in his first at-bat, Casillas evaded the defense in the third inning, pushing a grounder down the left-field line for a double. With the ball tucked away in the left-field corner, Casillas also recorded an RBI as junior center fielder Greg Pace Jr. made his way from first to home plate. Two plays later, Cholowsky knocked a grounder down but couldn’t glove it cleanly, giving Casillas just enough time to score his own run.
With two outs on the board, Casillas stepped back up to the plate in the fourth inning. Still playing for the lead, Casillas swung hard, but topped the ball right into his foot. Instantly limping away, the Wolverines coaches came out to assess the situation. Still, nothing could stop Casillas from playing, so he waved off the Wolverines coaching staff and returned to the batting box.
And on the very next pitch, Casillas blasted the ball past left field into the opposing bullpen for a two-run home run.
Despite not playing his best ball, however, Cholowsky would not be denied. Going 1-for-5 on the day, Cholowsky made his single hit count, roping a solo homer to tie up the game in the fifth inning.
While both shortstops ended the day with no recorded errors, Casillas put in the extra mile on defense. A hard-hit grounder through the gap seemed destined for a base hit, but a sprint from Casillas and a 180 jump throw found graduate first baseman Jeter Ybarra’s glove, well in time to record an out.
“I always dream about making one of those plays,” Casillas said. “I’ve never made one before and it has to be the perfect ball — hit to your backhand — and it was. I didn’t know where I was throwing the ball, I just threw it (because) my glasses fell off.”
Even though the Bruins won due to a late-game rally, it was ultimately Casillas who eclipsed the future big leaguer. As Casillas exits his college baseball career, his perseverance will remain a testament to his character — he never took the easy way out. And by doing so, he’ll have over 400 stories to tell his grandchildren.
