Going into the ninth inning, the Michigan baseball team was up 6-4 — a score that was upheaved minutes later by Oakland. And while the toe-to-toe match seems to call attention to its dramatic end at first glance, there’s a more pressing statistic that plagued the Wolverines: nine walks.
“I’m embarrassed by the way we represented ourselves,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said. “ … When you walk nine guys and hit a guy, when you don’t play the game the right way, it doesn’t matter who’s in the other dugout.”
In three separate instances, the majority of occupied bases for the Golden Grizzlies could be attributed to a lack of control on the mound. And in two of these nerve-wracking moments, a fourth batter was walked to complete the loop around the bases.
The first example came early on, in the top of the second inning, with freshman left-hander Shane Brinham starting off the pitching. After throwing 15 pitches — 14 of which were balls — Oakland had loaded all of the bases. The bullpen was called on for backup, and sophomore right-hander Erik Puodziunas found ground on the mound.
Two pitches were thrown. Both of which were balls, resulting in a fourth runner going on the move, scoring Grizzlies third baseman Boston Halloran from third.
“We start a game and we walk four guys, it’s just not who we are.” Smith said. “It’s not winning baseball.”
Puodziunas also assisted in loading the bases for the next walk to home plate in the fifth inning. Four balls and a single to right field were capped off with a wild pitch, monopolizing the board for Oakland. And like clockwork, another bullpen member was called upon — and a walk was gifted to the Grizzlies once again.
In a game where Michigan lost by a single run in the final moments of the game, maintaining composure on the mound was essential to its success. While the walks were manageable at moments, the final inning truly brought the heartbreak.
Substitutions aplenty found senior right-hander Max Debiec on the mound. After consecutive singles to right field, the third and final batter Debiec faced ended with a walk to fill the diamond. Once again, a reliever had to come and clean up the mess, with junior right-hander Cade Montgomery being called from his standard Friday starting role.
After a groundout batted a run in from third, Montgomery added the ninth walk of the day to load the bases once again. A mishandled ball on a single allowed Oakland to score from the latter two bases, climbing above the Wolverines at the last second.
“When you’re facing an opponent that’s struggling offensively, you throw strikes,” Smith said. “ … and we didn’t do that. We essentially gave them five of the runs scored.”
Amid an admittedly weak year in terms of slugging power for Michigan, the ramifications increase tenfold when the pitching staff can’t carry its weight as well. The Wolverines can only seek to keep the bases clear and work to prevent repeating the many late inning losses they’ve suffered — a goal the Grizzlies exposed them on during the game.
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