With three innings left to potentially score, the Michigan baseball team dug itself into the same hole that it found itself in all series. This time, it couldn’t emerge from the wreckage that Washington’s well-balanced offense wrought.
The Wolverines (27-17 overall, 12-9 Big Ten) had a potential series sweep spoiled by the Huskies (18-25, 9-12), who added small ball components to their typical slugging. Michigan’s 7-5 loss showed flashes of the ninth-inning rallies that defined the series win, but the Wolverines were ultimately drowned out by Washington’s all-around offensive power.
Initially, Michigan appeared to chase some of the slugging that defined earlier games in the series. Redshirt sophomore center fielder Evan Haeger made moves early with a leadoff 403-foot solo homer. But he didn’t end up setting the tone for the Wolverines, who wouldn’t score again until the fifth inning.
Michigan kept the Huskies at bay in the first two innings with short plate appearances. When Washington began to get hot, though, it didn’t stop.
Neither Haeger nor redshirt freshman right fielder Dane Morrow could reach a gapper in the third inning, although Haeger kept it to a single. When the Huskies’ designated hitter Braeden Terry hit a long ball over right field, Michigan could only watch as its lead slipped away.
Two more singles led to runners on the corners, and Washington backed the Wolverines into a wall with another contact. But the ball found junior shortstop Drew Culbertson, who sent it to junior second baseman Colby Turner and junior first baseman Matt Ossenfort to turn a much-needed, inning-ending double play.
But a one-two-three inning restricted Michigan from making the most of its predicament. When the Huskies were back at bat in the top of the fourth, they struck immediately — center fielder Mic Paul put a dinger just past the right-field wall for a 3-1 lead. Although the Wolverines cleaned up the frame, going three up, three down to end the inning, the damage was done.
The Huskies continued their three-inning scoring streak not by their hot bats, but on a full-count walk. After a single and a flyout, Washington’s leadoff man reached third and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Michigan responded in the same manner. Two consecutive singles led off the bottom of the fifth, and a sacrifice bunt from Culbertson put them in scoring position. Despite limited opportunities earlier in the game, the Wolverines stayed sharp to pounce on a wild pitch. Morrow advanced to third, and Ossenfort scored easily to bring Michigan to a 4-2 deficit. Ossenfort kept the momentum going with a hit launched down the right field line for a one RBI double to bring the Wolverines to trail 4-3.
Meanwhile, Michigan rotated through an array of pitchers to attempt to stop the bleeding. The final straw for sophomore right-hander Grant Bradley was a leadoff single in the top of the seventh, and although sophomore left-hander Michael Quedens stepped up to the mound, a walk and single took him out in favor of senior right-hander Max Debiec. Rather than just loading the bases, the single led to a run on an error from Turner. The Huskies stayed up with another two runs in the frame, both from singles, to take a 7-3 lead.
When it came time for the Wolverines to respond, they stayed silenced. A walk and fielding error that put Turner and redshirt sophomore catcher Noah Miller on base never turned into runs. Despite three more Michigan pitchers rotating through in the eighth, Washington left the inning without scoring.
While closer and sophomore right-hander Erik Puodziunas held the Huskies scoreless for the final two innings, the Wolverines still needed to produce five runs to win. Sophomore third baseman Brayden Jefferis managed a bases-loaded single to knock one run in, and junior designated hitter Joonsung Park logged another run right after. But Park grounded into a double play, which proved fatal for Michigan and brought the game to a close before the Wolverines could pull off a third walk-off win.
The final-inning heroics that defined Michigan’s series win over Washington couldn’t save the Wolverines from the four-run lead that the Huskies built. While Michigan’s game stagnated over the course of the weekend, Washington turned up the volume on its offense to supplement its consistent slugging performance for the spoiler win.
