<\/p>\n
For the majority of the season, graduate first baseman Jeter Ybarra has slotted in at the fourth or fifth spot in the lineup and has maintained about a .270 batting average. Of the other four batters on the Michigan baseball team that Ybarra has consistently hit behind or just above, he has held the lowest batting average. In short, Ybarra\u2019s offensive presence thus far has been mild as he hasn\u2019t had stellar performances nor made egregious errors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But in the Wolverines\u2019 series<\/a> sweep<\/a> against<\/a> Ohio State, Ybarra flipped the script and illustrated the offensive depth that Michigan has begun to unlock.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just trying to be really selective with the pitches we were swinging at,\u201d Ybarra said Saturday after the Wolverines\u2019 Game 1 win. \u201cWe noticed they weren\u2019t throwing a lot of strikes, so it was just a matter of being patient and allowing them to do something before we did something. That with some timely hitting really worked out well for us.\u201d<\/p>\n As the season has progressed, Ybarra\u2019s offensive production has remained relatively consistent. Sitting next to one another in the lineup, Ybarra and senior third baseman Cole Caruso have mirrored each another\u2019s offensive growth<\/a>.\u00a0 Caruso\u2019s offensive production has grown immensely, as his batting average has swelled from .238 in week two to .287 entering week 13. But just as Caruso is stagnating slightly at the plate, Ybarra\u2019s productivity <\/em>is only emerging.\u00a0<\/p>\n