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Michigan baseball out-slugs top-seeded Maryland, 15-8, to advance in Big Ten tournament

Michigan baseball’s Big Ten tournament opener was delayed and extended by storms running throughout the Omaha, Nebraska, area this week. Their second game, against top-seeded Maryland, was drawn out by a different kind of thunder, however.

The fifth-seeded Wolverines, who were outscored by the Terrapins by 20 runs in a three-game series earlier in May, did their best to even the score in one game, thumping the Terps, 15-8, at Charles Schwab Field on Friday night (stretching into Saturday morning).

Michigan (30-25) advances to the third game of Saturday’s action (tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern time), in which the Wolverines will face the winner of the day’s first game between third-seeded Iowa and sixth-seeded Penn State. A win in that game will send the Wolverines to the championship round Sunday.

Michigan's Joe Stewart runs to third base during the sixth inning in the game against Michigan State on Friday, April 15, 2022, at Jackson Field in Lansing.
Michigan's Joe Stewart runs to third base during the sixth inning in the game against Michigan State on Friday, April 15, 2022, at Jackson Field in Lansing.

GAME 1: Michigan blasts Illinois early, late in 7-5 win to advance

THE BRACKET: Michigan baseball enters Big Ten tournament as No. 5 seed

But to get there, the Wolverines had to beat the hot-hitting Terps at their own game. When the final out was recorded at 1:29 a.m. Omaha time Saturday — the second-latest end to a game in the 12 years of the ballpark and three hours and 39 minutes after the first pitch — the Wolverines had piled up 13 hits, five walks, four doubles, four steals, two home runs, two hit-by-pitches and, somehow, even a run in the seventh inning scored via three straight wild pitches. Seven of the nine Wolverines who batted had at least one hit — all but left fielder Joey Velasquez and first baseman Jake Marti — and eight scored a run. Three Wolverines had multiple hits, led by shortstop Riley Bertram, who went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.

The Michigan attack was launched by the two hitters at the top of the order, Clark Elliott and Joe Stewart. The duo went 3-for-6 with four walks and seven runs scored. Elliott was especially pesky, starting the Wolverines off with a five-pitch walk in the bottom of the first. After stealing second, he scored on a double by third baseman Matt Frey.

After Maryland answered with a run in both the second and third innings, Stewart worked a six-pitch walk in the bottom of the third, then stole second. He missed an opportunity to take third when the throw from the catcher sailed into center field, but soon ended up there anyway after Maryland starter Ryan Ramsey, a first-team All-Big Ten pitcher, fired a pickoff attempt to second into center. Frey singled to left, scoring Elliott and advancing Stewart. After a Stewart steal of third and a strikeout by Jimmy Obertop, Tito Flores sent a shot to third, where Nick Lorusso fired wild, allowing Stewart to score and Michigan’s inning to continue. That was followed by a Bertram double to make it 5-2 Michigan.

The Terrapins answered with two runs in the fourth off relievers John Torroella and Noah Rennard, but the Wolverines scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Velazquez opened the action with a hit-by-pitch, then advanced to second with one out on a wild pitch. Elliott then worked a six-pitch walk, his third of the game, and Steward singled to left to load the bases. After a Frey single and an Obertop double scored three more runs, Ramsey’s night was over. Flores kept the line moving, however, with a sac fly, and Bertram doubled to drive in Obertop. Ramsey, who allowed 18 runs in seven regular-season Big Ten starts, was charged with 10 runs (six earned) in Friday’s loss, on seven hits and four walks.

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Maryland made it close again with two quick runs off Rennard with no outs in the top of the fifth. But U-M head coach Erik Bakich turned to hard-throwing reliever Willie Weiss, who got out of the inning with just one more run allowed while striking out two. In the sixth, Weiss retired the Terrapins 1-2-3 in an unusual way: a hit-by-pitch, followed by a 4-6-3 double play and a strikeout of Big Ten Player of the Year Chris Alleyne (who finished 0-for-5 with two strikeouts).

Maryland made it a two-run game again with a homer by Troy Schreffler in the sixth, but the U-M bats picked up too, with Flores leading off the bottom of the inning with a homer, and Elliott adding a two-run blast to right field. Stewart followed Elliott's homer with a single, then advanced to second, third and home on separate wild pitches by reliever Will Glock. In all, the Wolverines added another five runs to make it 15-8.

Cameron Weston picked up his second save in as many days with a scoreless eighth and ninth, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out four.

Next up for the Wolverines: Either the Nittany Lions or the Hawkeyes. Michigan didn’t face Penn State during the regular season, but went 1-2 against Iowa in an April series, with the Hawkeyes outscoring the Wolverines, 18-7.

Horizon League tournament

Oakland 4, Youngstown State 2: The second-seeded Golden Grizzlies (31-26) staved off elimination with a win Friday night in Dayton as first baseman Gabe Lux went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and starter Travis Densmore struck out nine Penguins and scattered eight hits over seven innings. The win earns OU a rematch in the championship round at noon Saturday with top-seeded Wright State, which beat Oakland, 14-3, on Friday afternoon. An OU win would force a final game with the winner claiming the conference’s NCAA tournament berth.

MAC tournament

Ball State 9, Central Michigan 7: The second-seeded Chips (39-17) lost to the top-seeded Cardinals for the fifth time this season, but not before making it interesting with five runs in the top of the ninth inning in Muncie, Indiana. Mario Camillletti launched a three-run home run to cap the scoring for the Chips. With one out in the ninth, CMU brought the tying run to the plate, but Danny Wuestenfeld and Drew Lechnir each struck out swinging. The Chips will face Toledo in an elimination game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday; CMU took down the Rockets, 11-10, in the opening game of the four-team tournament. The winner faces Ball State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, needing a win then and a win at noon Sunday to claim the MAC’s auto-bid for the NCAA tournament.

Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan baseball out-slugs Maryland, 15-8, in Big Ten tournament