Baseball's win streak at 19 after 11th inning walkoff over PSU
Michigan slugged Penn State yesterday, 19-5 in a game that was 19-0 until the 9th when PSU added some garbage time runs.
Today was a much different game to say the least.
PSU is very bad just like their softball program. They're in last place in the B1G with a 1-14 record. Still, the game of baseball is very weird especially college baseball.
Michigan got out to a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning on a Blake Nelson RBI, but PSU tied the score in the 3rd at 1-1, but not for long as Jonathan Engelmann and Jesse Franklin knotched RBIs to give Michigan a 3-1 lead.
Then the trouble started.
Penn State put up 4 runs in the 5th inning, chasing Ben Dragani and going up 5-3. But the Wolverine battled back, with Christian Bullock hitting his first career home run in the bottom of that same 5th inning to cut the PSU lead to 5-4.
PSU increased their lead in the 7th to 6-4, but Michigan again would not go away and let their streak die. Michigan had bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th with Jordan Nwogu up to bat. The Ann Arbor freshman came up big, nailing a 2 run double to tie the game at 6-6.
It appeared the comeback was complete in the 8th when Jonathan Engelmann's sac fly gave Michigan the 7-6 lead, but Penn State hit a one out solo shot to tie the game at 7-7. Into extras we went.
In the 11th inning, Michigan put two men the corners in Dom Clementi and Brock Keener. Freshman Jack Blomgren sent Clementi home with a walkoff squeeze bunt.
Michigan beats Penn State, 8-7 in 11 innings. The team's winning streak is now up to 19 in a row.
A loss here would've sucked as PSU is really bad. The streak might not last forever so make sure it ends against a decent team at least.
Michigan is now 23-11, 10-0 in the B1G.
They'll face Penn State tomorrow in the series finale at 1pm. There are only 5 home games left the rest of the regular season so make sure you get out and check out this team as well as Michigan Softball who is also on a win streak of their own at 13 straight.
I've only been somewhat following baseball (no secret around these parts that softball is my true love!), so I'm curious, WD, how real do you take this win streak to be? 19 in a row is impressive no matter how you slice it, but we also certainly haven't faced the cream of the Big 10 either. Do you think a light has really gone on for this team, or is it just a product of scheduling? And, related, how good do you think our chances are at a Big 10 crown?
It's strikingly similar to Indiana's run in conference with softball. Terrible non-conference record, breezing through conference. Although, I think our baseball team has figured some things out and can compete, we've taken advantage of a fairly weak B1G. We don't play the highest ranked team, which is coincidentally, Indiana.
I'm not knocking our baseball team, I think the top teams in the B1G are a lot closer to each other compared to Michigan having a lot more talent in softball and the fact that Beaubien is basically unhittable for the ladies. It will be a fun stretch to see if we can maintain this streak and win the crown in both!
I will also say, the baseball team is winning in blowouts and also clutch ways too. This is something that has sort of been an achilles heel for the team in recent years. IIRC, this is the second or third game we have come back late to win recently during this streak, which is a really good sign. They seem very confident.
April 22nd, 2018 at 12:51 AM ^
would downvote wd for this info.... i am getting tired of this crap....
The schedule gets tougher next week at Iowa.
April 21st, 2018 at 10:33 PM ^
April 21st, 2018 at 10:49 PM ^
April 21st, 2018 at 10:54 PM ^
April 21st, 2018 at 10:51 PM ^
The squeeze bunt, the walk-off win, and the celebration.
— WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWolverine Baseball (@umichbaseball) April 21, 2018
Congrats, boys! #GoBlue #Team152 pic.twitter.com/ZcmYm7hndb
April 22nd, 2018 at 12:10 AM ^
The schedule has been insanely easy, but you can only play the teams you're scheduled against.
Even Iowa and Purdue are only middle of the road. The only good Big Ten team we will play will be Illinois.