On Wednesday, March 6, Oakland University’s baseball team came up short to the University of Michigan (U-M) Wolverines with a final score of 13-5 on the road at Ray Fisher Stadium.
The loss marked OU’s ninth of the season and the first loss to the Wolverines since 2018, snapping a two-game win streak the Grizzlies have had over U-M dating back to the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The game featured 12 different Grizzlies batters — six players tallied seven hits and four recorded RBIs, including Sam Griffith, Brandon Nigh, Lucas Day and Ian Cleary. Notably, both Nigh’s and Day’s RBIs came from homerun swings.
In comparison, the Wolverines sent 10 different players up to bat. Seven of those 10 players batted in a runner, and two of them, Bradley Navarro and Cole Caruso, delivered home runs.
After both teams remained in a stalemate through the first two innings, OU scored first in the top of the third inning.
Aidan Orr sent the ball far into left field, resulting in a double. With a man on second base, Drew Gaskins grounded out, sending Orr to third base. Griffith brought Orr home on the following at-bat with his groundout to second base. By the end of OU’s chance to bat, the team led U-M 1-0.
At the bottom of the third, the Wolverines responded promptly. Following a triple from Kyle Dernedded, U-M got five additional hits in the inning, rallying the score to 6-1 in favor of the Wolverines.
In the next inning, OU got on the scoreboard once again. After Cleary was hit by the pitch to open the inning, Nigh sent the ball deep to left center, marking the Grizzlies’ first home run in the game.
On the following at-bat, Day went back-to-back for the Grizzlies, shortening the deficit for the OU as the Wolverines still led 6-4.
However, in the bottom of the fourth inning, U-M had a response for the Grizzlies once again. Dylan Stanton drove in two more runs for the Wolverines with a single to right field, expanding the U-M lead to 8-4.
Despite being down, the Grizzlies had a small resurgence in the top of the seventh inning, with Trent Rice tripling to right field. Rice made it back home on the next at-bat thanks to a single from Cleary, bringing the score to 8-5 and inching OU closer to the Wolverines.
In the bottom of the eighth, U-M’s bat caught fire. After a single off Stephen Hrustich’s bat, Mack Timbrook was able to score, bolstering the Wolverines’ lead to 9-5. Following the U-M score, Jonathan Kim singled up the middle, and an OU pitch hit Navarro, loading the bases for the Wolverines.
With a full house, Caruso homered for a grand slam on the first pitch of the count. By the end of the inning, the Wolverines poured in five runs to extend their lead for the last time in the game to 13-5.
OU had a chance to right their wrongs at the top of the 9th but couldn’t complete a comeback, ultimately losing to the Wolverines.
On deck, the Grizzlies will host the Cleary University Cougars at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, at the Oakland Baseball Field for the team’s home opener.
After their solitary game against the Cougars, the team will travel south to face the Northern Kentucky Norse in a three-game series starting on Friday, March 15, and ending on Sunday, March 17.
Notably, the series against the Norse marks the start of conference play in the Horizon League for the Grizzlies.