Ohio State Week

Michigan (25-14, 7-5)

vs

Ohio State(23-13, 7-5)

Friday 6:35pm ET, Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
TBA vs Alex Wimmers (9-0, 1.61 ERA)
Stats Audio (1290AM)      
Notes: Michigan is 157-89-1 all time, Last year: 1-2 series loss.

Michigan

vs

Ohio State

Saturday, 6pm ET, Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
TBA vs Drew Rucinski (3-2, 4.34 ERA)
Stats Audio (1290AM)   BTN.com  
Notes: Barry Larkin jersey retirement starts at 5:45p

Michigan

vs

Ohio State

Sunday 1:05pm ET, Ray Fisher Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
TBA vs Dean Wolosiansky (3-5, 5.95 ERA)
Stats Audio (1290AM)   BTN.com  
Notes:

The Buckeyes come to Ann Arbor this weekend with the rivals tied for first place in the Big Ten. The stakes are huge. The winner is in the driver's seat for the regular season championship and a number one seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The loser could conceivably fall as far back as a tie for 7th place if the cards fall the wrong way.

As an added bonus, Michigan will be celebrating the career of Barry Larkin. His #16 jersey will be added to the walls of the Fish, where it shall remain forever retired into Michigan lore.

Final notes and thoughts after the jump:

[Ed: Also on the site: Barry Larkin's press conference.]

For Ohio State week, We get to have a bit more "vicious" in the vicious electronic questioning. Not only is Chris Webb, of Buckeye State Baseball and the BuckeyeNine, one of the bloggers who has been around for a while, but he's also one who I keep up with on a near daily basis during the season. So the familiarity breeds comfort with making fun of him and the Buckeyes in such a public space.

So without further adieu, let's get to the Q&A:

Describe your season in 3 sentences.

Rocky but expected. It's better to be 3 words than 3 sentences. Was told if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything. Whoops that is 3 sentences after all.

d3andnaiaSpeaking of rocky, how did OSU manage to lose to a D2 and an NAIA team? 

Plead the fifth.

Yeah, I'm sure losing to a pair of teams with a total of ZERO scholarship athletes has to be rough. So glad Ohio State could show us that.

What's the chances of Alex Wimmers making me post pictures of otters on Friday? We're not going to be no-hit again are we? [Ed: con't after the jump.]

Side Note: Derek Dennis's status is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

With half of the Big Ten regular season complete, it's time to take a look at the conference to see where Michigan is and what it will take to get a good seed in the Big Ten Tournament. In this post, we'll walk through the series we've already completed and then look at the opponents we still have on the schedule.

So, for all you late comers to the baseball season, here's what you need to know.

Where We've Been

@Indiana

Series Record

2-1

Indiana Recap

Scores

16-10

6-4

6-26

Game One

Wild and crazy high scoring affair as it goes back and forth
after Michigan was all but dead early. Dufek wins it in the
10th with a RBI double. Two bench clearings. Crazy.

Game Two

Brosnahan is sporadic but his emotion carries him through
for the win in a well pitched game by both teams. Michigan's
early lead is enough to get by.

Game Three

Katzman makes the start and can't get through the first. Yours
truly quits the game early as Michigan was down 17.

Outlook Then

For as exciting and tense as the first two games of the series
were, the last game left a sour taste in the mouth. IU was
better than expected and Leininger is the real deal.

While not much has changed in terms of outlook, Indiana hasn't turned out just as good as I expected either. They've been quite inconsistent, with their top hitters going ice cold the weak after they torched us. That freeze of course happened against Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes a pretty easy 2-1 series victory. They did sweep Iowa, though, something Michigan couldn't do.

Purdue

Series Record

2-1

Purdue Recap

Scores

5-8

6-4

9-4

Game One

Alan Oaks continued to struggle and Michigan could do nothing
with Purdue's Matt Bischoff in the loss.

Game Two

Big inning early and a solid Brosnahan start allows Michigan to
coast to a victory with Burgoon locking down the 8-9th.

Game Three

Brandon Sinnery gets his first start and makes good. A 7-run
4th inning caps off Ryan LaMarre's POTW winning series.

Outlook Then

Michigan is going to continue to make decent to good pitchers
look great. We're hitting well overall though, and attendance
has been great. We'll take 2-1 if the loss is Bischoff.

The loss to Bischoff is still nothing to worry about. It really would have helped for Michigan to get a sweep. Ohio State isn't on their schedule, but I'm not sure if that helps or hurts us. Purdue may be able to steal a game from the Buckeyes, or they may get blown out in all three.

@Illinois

Series Record

2-1

Illinois Recap

Scores

17-1

2-6

11-4

Game One

Alan Oaks is back! 8 innings of great pitching and the offense
explodes for 17 runs? We're rolling.

Game Two

The bats fall asleep and Brosnahan has his shaky start that
should be good enough for a win. Bad defense doesn't help.

Game Three

After 3 ugly innings by both teams, Tyler Burgoon steps in and
shuts down the Illini for Pitcher OTW honors. Offense explodes
late, sparked by POTW Patrick Biondi.

Outlook Then

2-1 series win over a BTT contender will work. We really had
a good chance to sweep if offense can stay consistent.

Things haven't changed much here in a week. Illinois lost 2 of 3 at Michigan State, which means the Spartans are just keeping pace with us.

Iowa

Series Record

1-2

Iowa Recap

Scores

2-5

3-5

7-5

Game One

Jarred Hippen is really good. He overshadowed anything
Michigan related in this game.

Game Two

Due to rain in the forecast, it was a double header, & Hippen
momentum carried right through game 2. Michigan grabbed an
early lead then blew a big inning. Brosnahan's luck runs dry.

Game Three

Michigan jumps ahead and, for the most part, stays ahead.
Offense finally shows up late in the game.

Outlook Then

1-2 isn't going to cut it. Losing one to Iowa in the Hippen
start would have been alright. Letting game 2 get away
shows lack of leadership.

That happened. Nothing has happened in our season and it still stings. I can't wait for this weekend to come so I can get it out of my head. Plus, the Buckeyes did us a favor losing a home series to Penn State just so we could keep pace.

After the jump, we look at the present and then haphazardly predict the future.