Old habits die hard — an adage the Michigan bullpen knows intently. But thankful for the Wolverines, their bats hold more power than their mound, and they are equally familiar with this lesson.
Against Central Michigan (15-33 overall), the Michigan (26-23) baseball team used eight total pitchers to secure its 9-5 win. An ever-changing mound has traditionally meant mayhem for the Wolverines, but against the Chippewas their powerful offense allowed the bump the ability to test its depth. Central Michigan likely looked to take advantage of an inconsistent mound, but Wednesday that strategy simply wasn’t enough.
Graduate right-hander Alexander Ogg started on the mound versus the Chippewas, marking his first collegiate start. The first four pitches Ogg threw were peppered outside the strike zone, with him unable to find control. And just 19 pitches later, the bases were loaded and Ogg walked to Central Michigan run home.
Ogg didn’t see the end of the first inning, and hints of a rotating mound were beginning to show as freshman right-hander Sachem Ramos entered the matchup. Ramos closed out the first inning and the unit escaped giving up only one run.
This wasn’t the first time the Michigan batters began their outing already playing catch up. Sophomore center fielder Jonathan Kim led off the offensive response and grounded the ball out to third base and reached first base off of a fielding error from the Chippewas first baseman. After advancing to third base off a walk from sophomore designated hitter Mitch Voit and a high pop-out from graduating right fielder Stephen Hrustich, Kim was looking to score. And he received just the opportunity, and scored a Wolverine run off of another throwing error from Central Michigan.
Back on the mound, Ramos struggled to gain consistency. The Chippewas batters often made contact with Ramos’s pitches and it seemed imminent that they would finally take advantage of the right-handers’ tosses.
Two quick ground balls allowed Central Michigan to get runners in scoring position, but it wasn’t power from their bats that allowed them to score. Instead a combination of wild-pitches and powerful base running eventually led the Chippewas to add two runs to their score.
But once again, the Michigan offense was ready to respond. The bottom of the third inning saw a plate explosion from the Wolverines as the usual suspects created fire at the plate. Voit barreled a ball down left field off the first pitch he saw, doubled, and advanced Kim to third base. Hrustich followed suit with a power hit of his own, smashing the ball to right field for a sacrificial fly that scored Kim.
Third inning scoring was far from over, as junior third baseman Cole Caruso stepped up to the plate. Caruso is known for providing exciting offensive moments for Michigan, and Wednesday was no different. Smashing the ball to right field, Caruso doubled and scored Voit from third base and freshman first baseman Colin Priest was brought home all the way from first base. The third inning saw four more Wolverine runs, and the inning ended with Michigan up 8-3.
The rest of the matchup didn’t see the same offensive explosion of the third inning, but the margin that those Wolverine batters created proved insurmountable for Central Michigan. Despite another six Michigan pitchers taking the mound, the Chippewas were never able to take advantage of the transitions.
Most would look at the Wolverines early season trends and believe that Michigan would find nothing worth replicating. But against Central Michigan, the Wolverines proved this belief wrong. Despite showing hints of the early-season bullpen inconsistencies, the Michigan plate provided a power that couldn’t be fazed by defensive deficiencies.
