Re-living Michigan Baseball’s run to the 2019 College World Series

Michigan Baseball didn’t make this year’s NCAA Tournament, but we don’t have to go too far back in time to find its last run of postseason dominance. Here’s a look back at the Wolverines’ run to the College World Series in 2019:

One of the best times of the year for college athletics comes in the early part of the summer, when 64 of the nation’s best baseball teams battle for a trip to the College World Series and a chance to win the National Championship. The NCAA Tournament’s intensity is at its peak during the final week, when the last eight teams standing flock to Omaha, Nebraska to compete for the title.

While Michigan and the Big Ten don’t exactly have a sterling reputation of producing teams that routinely cause chaos in Omaha, we don’t have to go too far back to find the last time Michigan made it to college baseball’s biggest stage — or the “Greatest Show on Dirt” as it’s called. That came back in 2019, when Erik Bakich’s Wolverines came within one win of college baseball’s crown against all the odds.

Regular Season

The Big Ten doesn’t exactly garner the most respect in national college baseball circles. The conference hasn’t had the type of sustained success that other power conferences like the SEC, Big 12, and Pac-12 have had. As such, Big Ten teams usually have little room for error in the regular season if they hope to make it to the postseason.

In Michigan’s case in 2019, it looked the part. Jumping out to a 8-0 start, the Wolverines were making an impression right away. They bolstered their resume in mid-March with a victory over No. 2 ranked UCLA in Los Angeles. They finished the non-conference schedule 17-7 before entering Big Ten play.

The Wolverines were stellar to start of the Big Ten slate. They ended April standing at 31-11 overall and 11-3 in the conference. A 13-game winning streak padded the record into mid-May. The end of the regular season didn’t go so smoothly, however, as Michigan lost five of its final seven games.

Overall, Michigan finished 38-16 and second place in the Big Ten behind Indiana. To that point, Michigan had a handful of players that were among the nation’s best, including Jordan Nwogu and Jordan Brewer, who both finished the year with 12 homers and an OPS above .940. Senior first baseman Jimmy Kerr enjoyed a breakout season with 15 homers, while Jack Blomgren and Ako Thomas were forming a dominant duo in the middle infield.

Michigan’s real stars were its pitchers. Jeff Criswell, Tommy Henry and Karl Kauffmann formed a trio of starting pitchers that any team would love to have. They all finished the year with an ERA below 3.30, pitched more than 100 innings and struck out more than 110 hitters. They paved the way for Michigan’s postseason run.

Postseason Play

Things didn’t get off to the best start, as Michigan lost its opening game in the Big Ten Tournament to Ohio State . The Wolverines rebounded through the losers bracket with wins over Illinois, Maryland and Nebraska. However, Michigan ran out of gas and couldn’t pick up a win in the semifinals, losing the rematch against Nebraska.

Despite losing in the conference tournament, Michigan showed enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Corvallis regional. The Wolverines got the best of Creighton and Cincinnati in its first two games and was fortunate to avoid host Oregon State , which bowed out in its first two games. No. 2-seeded Creighton was pesky throughout the regional round, defeating Michigan with its back against the wall to force a win-or-go-home game. The Wolverines came out on top by a dominant 17-6 final score to advance to the Super Regionals.

UCLA awaited Michigan for a best-of-three series in Los Angeles. The Wolverines came out as the aggressor in the opening game, winning 3-2 behind a gutsy 8.1 innings pitched by Kaufmann. Michigan dropped the second game, 5-4, in a back-and-forth affair in 12 innings.

Michigan faced a do or die third game against the Bruins and got the job done with a 4-2 victory behind seven innings of two-run ball from Henry. Michigan punched its ticket to Omaha, defeating a UCLA team that featured future big leaguers Garrett Mitchell, Ryan Kreidler and Matt McClain.

College World Series

With a trip to the College World Series secured, Michigan’s path wasn’t getting any easier. It landed on a side of the bracket with three college baseball superpowers in Florida State , Texas Tech and Arkansas. The Wolverines were undaunted and made relatively light work of their bracket.

Michigan opened up its trip to Omaha with a 5-3 victory over Texas Tech, a team it had previously lost to three times in the regular season. It followed it up with a 2-0 victory over Florida State thanks to a complete game shutout from Henry in which he struck out 10 batters and only allowed three hits.

Michigan faced Texas Tech once again, as the Red Raiders came out of the elimination bracket. Michigan got the best of a talented Texas Tech team, 15-3, and punched its ticket to the finals.

Awaiting Michigan in the final best-of-three series was Vanderbilt, arguably the class of college baseball over the last 15 years. Michigan came out as the aggressor in the first game, winning by a 7-4 final score. The Wolverines used homers from Kerr and Joe Donovan to fuel their great offensive performance, while Henry tossed 8.1 innings of three-run ball to save the rest of the pitching staff. All of a sudden, Michigan was one win away from being crowned national champions.

During the second game, Vanderbilt began to show its strength. With Michigan starting Isaiah Paige on the mound, the Commodores only scratched across one unearned run in the first four innings, but were able to get to reliever Benjamin Keizer for two more runs in the sixth to go up 3-0. Michigan was unable to solve star pitcher Kumar Rocker, and ultimately lost the game, 4-1.

With its back against the ball once again, Michigan turned to Kauffmann, but he unfortunately didn’t have his best stuff. Vanderbilt chased him from the game thanks to five walks and five earned runs in just three innings. Jeff Criswell surrendered just three runs through the final five innings of the game, but Michigan’s bats went cold and lost by an 8-2 final score.

While Michigan was unable to get the job done, its 2019 season represents one of the major high points for the program this century. Its players have gone on to varying degrees of success in the pro ranks , while the program appears to once again be on steady footing with Tracy Smith at the helm. Even if it won’t be competing for a title this year, the arrow is pointing up, and another trip to Omaha could eventually be in the cards.