Baseball walks off Iowa in B1G Tournament 10th inning victory
After a disapponting 5-8 finish to a B1G season that started out 10-0, Michigan has but one way to make the NCAA Tournament: win the B1G Tournament.
The 3 seed giants got off to a rocky start today, as a pitching change was needed just 1.1 innings in when Tommy Henry was struck by a comebacker and left the game (he still managed to get the out though).
Iowa took advantage and got on the board with an unearned run to go up 1-0.
But the freshman phenom Jesse Franklin took the game into his own hands. He jacked a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th into the right field seats at TD Ameritrade Park, to tie the game at 1-1.Something interesting to note: this park in Omaha is also the annual site of the College World Series and it is notorious for being difficult to hit home runs in.
The game stayed at 1-1 and went all the way into extra innings.
After Iowa walked two consecutive Wolverine batters, Jonathan Engelmann got on with a base hit and Michigan had bases loaded with one out and Jesse Franklin up to bat.
He predictably ended it with a fly ball deep into RF that allowed Christian Bullock to come home and score, with the Wolverine dugout pouring onto the field celebrating the 2-1 Michigan win.
3 Michigan advances to the B1G Tournament Quarterfinals and will play 2 Purdue tomorrow at 6pm. Michigan closed the regular season at Purdue last weekend and was swept. We'll see if we can get the all-important tournament win.
WALK-OFF ALERT! @umichbaseball tops Iowa on a 10th-inning sac fly. pic.twitter.com/iLEdTeyVml
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 23, 2018
Yes. Softball does the dumb single elimination one that doesn't prepare you for anything.
At no point is the NCAA Tournament single elimination. B1G needs to put it back to double elim.
The answer is, of course, Wolverine Devotee.
Go Blue!
what I'm talking 'bout.
UM threw a 1-hitter in 10 innings this morning, retiring 20 (I believe?) consecutive batters in order to end the game.
Coulda/woulda/shoulda taken that Purdon't game last Sunday...revenge is due.
Any official word on who will toe the rubber for us tomorrow?
You have to think it will be Ben Dragani, who has been the #2 pitcher all year. Kauffmann, the #3, did a little better against Purdue last week, but not so much that it would make sense to switch the rotation, IMO.
A win tomorrow is huge: the winner gets Friday off and then gets 2 chances to win 1 game Saturday to advance to the Sunday championship game.
auto-bid or bust? we're currently 56 in RPI, so i guess so.
That ending of the regular season was less than ideal. Maybe 3 wins and a loss in the final gets them in, but i wouldn't count on it.
You provided season background, underscoring the importance of winning the tournament.
Your post was timely and well crafted.
Beat the Boilermakers!
Baseball sure has had their opportunities the last 3 years but every year there is a end of season collapse..I mean like BIG Collapse so I dont have high hopes
How have 'the last 3 years' been such a big collapse?
Curious, as Michigan has made the NCAA Tourney 2 of those 3 years - the only 2 of the last decade.
2015 - A great B1G end of season run transitioning to a B1G tourney championship, followed by a NCAA tourney win as a #3 seed against a #2, and then a 4-3 loss against the #2 overall 1-seed at their place, followed by another W against the #2 seed and loss to the same powerhouse #1 is hardly underachieving, 2-2 against NCAA teams ranked ahead of you on the road...
2017 - Selected as an at-large for the first time since I can remember, great season...yes, lost 2 NCAA tourney games.
If anything, I believe the premise should be what a renaissance/statement the team has had the last 3 years after a 'dead' decade, as opposed to a 'collapse' narrative, just my 2c