As of Monday, the Michigan baseball team ranked No. 42 in RPI, a feat pulled off after following through on an away-series sweep of Maryland. But while it snowballs into a more potent player in the NCAA postseason, its remaining regular season opponents have similarly grown. Hoping to lock in an NCAA tournament berth, the Wolverines’ don’t have very many wins they can squander for the sake of their RPI.
The first of Michigan’s two remaining series is against Minnesota, who currently rank No. 86 in RPI. Unassuming at first glance, the Golden Gophers have taken three of their last four series’ — their only defeat coming to No. 1 UCLA.
“You lose that game, it puts you in serious trouble for the postseason stuff,” Wolverines coach Tracy Smith said April 22 after a midweek victory.
While Minnesota isn’t the most powerful opponent, an away loss would be devastating for Michigan’s RPI. Against Maryland in College Park, a loss could have brought the Wolverines’ RPI down by a potential four to six points.
Looking further ahead, the bigger story is obvious: Ohio State. Trailing slightly behind the Gophers at No. 88, the Buckeyes also don’t outwardly look very dangerous. Losses to opponents Michigan has bested, such as Bowling Green and Washington, give Ohio State a far less impressive resume than the Wolverines — until its series with Nebraska, that is.
Against the team that bested Michigan in a series — one of which was a run-rule defeat — the Buckeyes completely swept the Cornhuskers, holding them to just five total runs over the entire weekend. Ohio State also embodied the slugging the Wolverines faced in their defeats, like Nebraska itself, as the Buckeyes launched 12 extra-base hits over the series. As of April 4, Ohio State has three batters in the Top 50 of the Big Ten, the same amount as Michigan, a sign of the two teams equal firepower.
Blossoming under coach Justin Haire, Ohio State has leveled up into a potential dark horse team in the Big Ten — a team that would potentially spoil the Wolverines’ NCAA postseason hopes if the series goes badly for Michigan.
“We want to be ready for conference play and ultimately put our RPI and our team in the best position for a postseason finish,” Smith said April 7.
To prepare for a tournament push, the Wolverines will likely have to win out their remaining series. With chances for RPI-boosting Q1 wins escaping them, such as Tuesday’s game against Xavier being cancelled, the catalyst to extending Michigan’s season lies in these remaining weekends. And while the Wolverines have secured themselves on a six-series win streak, their upcoming opponents find themselves heating up as well.
