Michigan dominates Akron ahead of three-game series at Indiana

Michigan has won three straight games heading into the weekend.

Following a series win over the weekend against Purdue , the Michigan baseball team was in action again in the middle of the week, taking on Akron on Tuesday afternoon. The game would be the final at Ray Fisher Stadium this season, so the Wolverines were looking to send the fans home happy one last time.

Michigan would start things quickly in the first inning, as third baseman Cole Caruso would drive a pitch back up the middle to bring in Stephen Hrustich and make the score 1-0. The Wolverines continued to swing the bats in the second inning, as Hrustich would club a three-run homer and another run would come in on a balk. That would make it 5-0 early.

Shortstop Kyle Dernedde would get in on the action in the third inning with a three-run homer to right field. Mitch Voit added a solo shot in the fourth inning to give Michigan a commanding 9-0 lead.

In the sixth inning, Cole Caruso, Collin Priest, and Cooper Mullens would each have RBI doubles to contribute to the scoring. Akron would scratch across four runs throughout the game, but the Zips were no match for Michigan. The game would be called after the seventh inning with Michigan winning by a final score of 14-4.

With the mid-week win, Michigan improved its record to 29-24 and will finish the season with a final record of 19-8 at home. Michigan will now have to head out on the road, where it has a record of 8-10 so far this year, for one final series against Indiana .

Indiana is currently 28-21-1 on the season and is currently tied with Michigan and Purdue for the third-best record in the conference, as each team is 13-8 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers will enter the weekend having lost two games in a row against Nebraska .

At the plate, sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor is the biggest threat for Indiana. He enters the weekend with a .347 average and 1.048 OPS. He also leads the Hoosiers in homers with 14. Junior outfielder Nick Mitchell has also been great this year with a .357 average and 1.032 OPS. Infielders Joey Brenczewski and Tyler Cerny are also having big seasons at the plate and will be players to watch in Indiana’s lineup.

While Indiana has been great on offense this year, its pitching staff is another story. Ty Bothwell leads the Hoosiers this year in innings pitched with 65.2 but enters the weekend with a 5.21 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. Connor Foley trails close behind with 52.2 innings pitched. In those innings, he’s struck out 72 batters to the tune of a 4.10 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.

To win this series, Michigan is going to need to stay hot at the plate, something that it should be able to do against Indiana’s pitching staff. A series win would also go a long way in keeping the momentum rolling ahead of the Big Ten Tournament, where Michigan will push to earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Weekend Schedule

Game 1: Thursday, May 16, 5 p.m.

Game 2: Friday, May 17, 6 p.m.

Game 3: Saturday, May 18, 2 p.m.