OMAHA, Neb. — By the end of the second game of the Big Ten Tournament, the Michigan baseball team had commandeered eight hits off Washington, one above the Huskies’ seven successful swings. But the amount of hits was irrelevant at the end of the game, as one glaring difference in the two teams had arisen: Washington had five extra-base hits, five more than the Wolverines.
After redshirt junior right-fielder Greg Pace Jr. stole a ball seemingly bound for the stands, the Huskies successfully launched one out of the park in the top of the second inning. Their bats seemed magnetized to the walls from the jump, overriding any progress Michigan made through its strung-together singles.
“(If) we just chipped away a little bit, that’s probably a different ending,” Wolverines coach Tracy Smith said. “They got comfortable because we never could threaten them. And then they extended (the lead), and that’s the difference.”
Homers weren’t the only threats looming over Michigan, as Washington also slugged three doubles. Huskies shortstop Sam DeCarlo flew an RBI double all the way to the warning track, extending Washington’s lead further. The Huskies’ next hit three innings later was another double, as they continued to climb further ahead of the Wolverines. Comparatively, Michigan struggled to enter scoring position, with only six runners earning their push beyond first base.
The performance was a far cry from the run-rule shutout the Wolverines entered the tournament with. Junior right-hander Cade Montgomery didn’t let a single runner breach scoring position on Tuesday, giving game-winning weight to all Michigan hits, it was a different story against the Huskies — a fact they took advantage of.
“We were just seeing it up, especially the offspeed. They were throwing a lot of it, and they left it up” Washington left-fielder Jackson Hotchkiss said. “We were definitely hammering it, and then we were on all the heaters. That’s just the biggest part of it, just got to be on time.”
Playing catch-up has never been the Wolverines’ strong suit. Emphasized by defeats to Minnesota and Miami Ohio, once the opposing runs start rolling, it’s difficult for Michigan to surmount them. However, the Huskies never felt out of reach until the seventh inning. By then, the Wolverines only trailed by two runs, yet the flagpost was pushed further with each Washington hit. By the time the Huskies strung together four hits in the seventh and eighth innings — two of which were extra-base hits — the comeback chance for Michigan truly faded.
“We talked about hitting the ball hard all the time. Swing at strikes, swing at pitches you can hit 100 miles per hour and take balls,” Washington coach Eddie Smith said. “There were some really, really good swings out there tonight.”
To finalize the Huskies domination, Hotchkiss went yard for the 20th time this season, now ranking third in the Big Ten in homers. For being less successful at the plate in terms of hits themselves, Washington sure knew how to make them count against the Wolverines.
