<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the bottom of the ninth inning in Minneapolis, and Jake Cronenworth is one mistake away from disaster. Over the last four days, he\u2019s played 36 innings as a position player and five on the mound. If he falls short tonight, in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament final, none of it will matter.<\/p>\n
Cronenworth is facing the toughest spot of his collegiate career: a bases-loaded jam with Maryland first baseman Brandon Lowe looming at the plate. The Michigan baseball team\u2019s one-run lead has never looked more fragile.<\/p>\n
This is what Cronenworth signed up for two Christmases ago: the culmination of all those freezing Ann Arbor mornings at the batting cages, the countless hours toiling away in the pitching tunnel. The striped sleeves on his jersey still hang loose around the bicep, but there\u2019s a disguised strength behind his arms \u2014 the tirelessness of a boy used to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.<\/p>\n
Cronenworth comes to set position, then stops, calm and unmoving, clenching the ball with both hands. He stares down Lowe. They will be teammates next season on the Bowling Green Hot Rods, working their way up to the major leagues side-by-side. But now, on this next pitch, only one future All-Star\u2019s dream can come true.<\/p>\n