Michigan basketball coach Dusty May swings for the fences
Michigan basketball coach Dusty May swings for the fences in U-M softball’s charity fundraiser
- Michigan baseball defeated Ohio State 23-1, achieving their largest margin of victory against Ohio State in series history.
- This win marks Michigan’s highest single-game run total since 2008.
A Michigan athletic team went to Ohio State and laid down a historic victory.
As the fans love to say, “just like football.”
Michigan baseball, which sits firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble entering the final month of the regular season, began the first of a three-game series against the Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon, and laid an absolute beatdown, coming away with a 23-1 victory in just seven innings.
This 22-run win marked not only the largest margin of victory in series history in more than 285 games, but was the most runs either team had ever scored against the other since they first played in 1895.
The Wolverines were winning 2-0 when they went to bat in the top of the fourth and the rout was on. Here’s how it went. Hit by pitch, walk, infield single to load the bases. Then, after consecutive fielder choices there were two outs, but the Wolverines were just getting started.
Walk, hit by pitch, walk, walk and U-M was up 6-0. After a Buckeyes pitching change there was another hit by pitch and a wild pitch to score two more runs before Keegan O’Hearn hit a two-run single to make it 10-0. There was another walk and a hit by pitch, before OSU made its third pitching change of the inning.
That didn’t help either, as the Buckeyes’ new arm hit the first batter he faced, Brayden Jefferis, to fall behind 11-0. Two consecutive wild pitches scored two more runs, then consecutive walks forced in another to make it 14-0 before Cole Caruso doubled to left field to plate another run.
Unbelievably, two more wild pitches scored yet another two runs to make it 17-0 before the at-bat finished in a walk. After a U-M single, O’Hearn reached on an error before Greg Pace, who reached in his first two plate appearances of the inning, struck out to end the frame.
Michigan scored two more on an RBI single in the 5th, then another on a double by Noah Miller to go up by three touchdowns, er, 21 runs. A Robert Hamchuk home run made it 22-0 in the 6th before OSU scored its lone run in the bottom of the inning on a fielders choice.
A sacrifice fly by Miller made it 23-1 in the seventh, which is how the score ended. In total, Michigan’s 23 runs came on 13 hits, six wild pitches, three walks, a fielder’s choice and an error. It was the program’s highest single-game run total since 2008, when they scored 27 against Michigan State.
The game was supposed to be played Friday, but was postponed due to rain. A double-header was scheduled for Saturday, but Game 2 was again postponed to Sunday due to inclement weather. A double-header is scheduled to begin on May 4 at noon.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
