The Michigan baseball team picked up three impressive wins over the weekend, as the Wolverines swept Michigan State in Ann Arbor:
The Michigan Wolverines hosted in-state rival Michigan State for a three-game series over the weekend, and Michigan put together one of its best series of the season. The Wolverines defended home turf and took all three games from the Spartans.
Here is how it all went down:
Game 1: Michigan starts series with dominant win
This game took a long time to complete as stormy weather loomed over Ann Arbor on Friday, but the Wolverines didn’t let the rain spoil their dominant effort.
It didn’t take long for Michigan to get on the board, as Greg Pace knocked in a run on a double in the second inning. Benjamin Casillas then extended the lead to three with a two-run single.
Pace came up with another big hit in the fourth inning, as he launched a three-run homer to put Michigan up 6-0. The Spartans finally responded with a run in the fifth.
Colby Turner and Matt Spear both added to the lead with RBI singles in the seventh and eighth to put the Wolverines up by seven. Michigan State got one back in the ninth, but Michigan easily took this one, 8-2. Kurr Barr got the win on the mound for Michigan.
Game 2: Michigan clinches series with another dominant win
This game was pretty similar to the first one, as Michigan once again dominated its in-state rival. It didn’t take long for the Wolverines to start the scoring, as a Matt Spear RBI groundout put Michigan up 1-0, and the team was off and running.
Michigan scored another run when Brayden Jeffris was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Mitch Voit then knocked in two more on a single, and it was 4-0 Wolverines.
The Spartans got on the board in the third to make it 4-1, but Greg Pace continued his big weekend with a solo shot to get it right back. Brayden Jeffris then made it 6-1 in the sixth with an RBI single.
Voit really broke the game open in the eighth inning when he sent a three-run bomb into left center. That put the Wolverines up 9-1, and it got Voit to five RBIs on the day.
Michigan State added one more run in the ninth, but the Wolverines easily earned a 9-2 win. David Lally Jr. got the win on the rubber.
Game 3: Michigan holds off late rally to complete the sweep
Game 3: Michigan holds off late rally to complete the sweep
Michigan State put up its best fight of the weekend on Sunday. The Wolverines jumped on the Spartans quickly, but Michigan State did a good job getting back in it.
Jeter Ybarra got the party started in the bottom of the first with a two-run single to get the Wolverines on the board. Matt Spear knocked in two more runs with a single of his own, and then Keegan O’Hearn and Benjamin Casillas tacked on runs as well. When the first inning finally came to a close, Michigan led 6-0.
It looked like this one was over after the huge first inning, but Michigan State clawed back in it. The Spartans got on the board in the third inning, and they added another in the fifth inning to make it 6-2.
By the time the ninth inning rolled around, Michigan hadn’t added any more runs, and the Spartans had trimmed the deficit to three. Things ended up being a little too close for comfort, as Michigan State added two more runs in the ninth, but the Wolverines held off the comeback effort to earn a 6-5 win. Tate Carey got the win for Michigan and Will Rogers got the save.
After the sweep, Michigan moved to 27-17 overall and 11-10 in conference play. The Wolverines are now in seventh place in the Big Ten.
Up Next
Michigan will hit the road this weekend for three games against Ohio State . This is another good opportunity for Michigan to climb up the Big Ten standings, as Ohio State is currently in last place in the conference. The Buckeyes are 3-18 in Big Ten play.