Michigan Baseball got back on track over the weekend, starting the California trip by taking the three-game series against Long Beach State. The Wolverines will now turn their attention to UCLA and UC Riverside:
The Michigan Wolverines baseball team is currently out west for five games in California. They had a three-game series against Long Beach State over the weekend, and they will play UCLA and UC Riverside later this week.
The trip is off to a good start, as the Wolverines won two out of three against the Dirtbags. Here is how the series went down:
Game 1: Long Beach State uses quick start to outlast Michigan
Long Beach State started this series with a win on Friday. Gavin Devooght got the start on the mound for the Wolverines, and the Dirtbags jumped on him early.
Michigan fell behind early in this one, as Long Beach State exploded for four runs in the second inning. The Wolverines responded with a Mitch Voit RBI double in the third to make it 4-1, but the Dirtbags tacked on two more runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 6-1.
Devooght lasted five innings and gave up six earned runs before Michigan gave the ball to Max Debiec. He tossed three scoreless innings, but the offense couldn’t get going.
Michigan chipped away at the lead, as Cole Caruso came up with a big RBI double in the sixth and Benjamin Casillas knocked in a run in the eighth. The Wolverines cut the deficit down to three, but they weren’t able to get any closer. Long Beach State took this one, 6-3.
Game 2: Michigan ends four-game losing skid
Michigan started the season 4-0 after an incredibly impressive performance in the Puerto Rico Challenge. However, things went downhill last week as the Wolverines dropped all three games down in Arlington, Texas. After losing to Long Beach State, Michigan had a four-game losing streak on its hands.
But Michigan got back in the win column on Saturday, as a big lead early propelled the Wolverines to victory.
Long Beach State actually got the scoring started, as the Dirtbags took a 1-0 lead in the first on a bases loaded walk, but it was all Michigan after that. Robert Hamchuk and AJ Rausch both came through with RBI singles to put the Wolverines up 2-1 after two innings, but the third is really when Michigan pulled away.
Cole Caruso got the scoring started for Michigan in the third with an RBI single, and then Colby Turner drove in another run on a double. Noah Miller finished things off with a two-run single, and the Wolverines all of a sudden were up by five.
A Jeter Ybarra double in the fourth put Michigan up 7-1, but Long Beach State started to creep back in it after that. The Dirtbags found a way to score three quick runs to cut the deficit in half.
Ybarra came up with another clutch hit to drive in two runs in the eighth. Caruso followed that up with his second RBI of the game, and the Wolverines had some much-needed breathing room as they took a 10-4 lead.
Long Beach State was able to score a couple runs before the game ended, but Michigan ended up winning comfortably, 10-6.
Cade Connolly ended up getting the win for Michigan on the mound, while Will Rogers got the save.
Game 3: Michigan survives Long Beach State’s furious comeback
Michigan finished off the series with a victory, but it wasn’t easy. This one was quiet for the first five innings, as it looked like this was going to be a low-scoring slugfest. However, the contest completely flipped on its side in the final four innings.
David Lally Jr. got the start on the rubber for Michigan and pitched a great game, going 5.1 innings and allowing just one run. The Wolverines were able to muster up one run while he was in the game.
Mitch Voit got the scoring started in the top of the sixth to put the Wolverines up 1-0 before the Dirtbags tied things up in the bottom of the inning. Matt Spear gave Michigan the lead right back in the seventh with a solo shot, and the Wolverines started to create some separation as Jonathan Kim and Voit both drove in runs as well. Michigan led 4-1 after seven innings.
Michigan went up 5-1 in the eighth as Spear launched his second homer of the game. Voit went yard in the ninth inning as well. Long Beach State added a run between the two home runs, but the Wolverines were sitting pretty with a 7-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
It took three pitchers in the ninth inning, but Michigan eventually escaped with a win. Tate Carey got into trouble, as he gave up two runs in the inning, and then Grant Bradley came in and gave up two more. The Dirtbags got within one run, but Max Debiec shut the door to give the Wolverines the series win.
What’s next
Starting off this California trip with a series win was huge for Michigan, but there is still work to be done. The Wolverines have two more games in the Golden State, as they will be taking on UCLA on Tuesday and UC Riverside on Wednesday.
UCLA (9-3) is off to a strong start so far this season, so this will be a great challenge for Michigan. The Bruins and Wolverines will get going at 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, and the game will be streaming on BTN+.
Michigan and UC Riverside will get underway at 6:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, and that game will be airing on ESPN+. The Highlanders are 7-5 on the year so far.