» Jimmy Obertop’s two outings and two races, the homer who was vacant in the ninth crowned an eight-race rally at the bottom of the frame.
»Michigan recorded seven of its 10 hits in the final inning.
»Michigan defeated MSU in 10 consecutive games.
Site: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Wilpon complex)
Punctuation: # 22 Michigan 8, Michigan State 7
Records: UM (9-2, 9-2 B1G), MSU (5-6, 5-6 B1G)
UM’s next event: Monday, March 22 – vs. Michigan State (Wilpon Complex), 16h
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Jimmy Obertop hit an opposite field, two home run walk-off races to cap a furious Michigan turnaround, while the Wolverines scored eight races at the end of the ninth inning to beat Michigan State 8-7 on Sunday (March 21) at Wilpon Complex where the Ray Fisher Stadium is located.
Michigan faced an uphill battle against a Spartan team that did not allow a baserunner to reach third base until the eighth inning and continually asserted himself in the attack, marking all his runs with two outs.
Losing 7-0, with only three eliminated, the Michigan clubs woke up when the first five hitters arrived at the base with Benjamin Sems (single) and Jake Marti (double) conducting home runs. A four-step walk to Logan Pollack loaded the bases with no way out, forcing MSU to summon Jordan Beatson from the bullpen. Beatson was eliminated before Clark Elliott fought in a difficult 3-2 shot through a single infield and a score of 7-3. With the bases still loaded, Beatson induced a flying ball for the second eliminated just to yield a double of base compensation for the center-right gap of Tito Flores to make it a 7-6 game. This brought Obertop to the plate.
Obertop, who hit a pair of home runs against Illinois on Friday (March 19), quickly fell behind in the score, 0-2, against Beatson, but worked the score to 2-2, as Beatson failed to make it. a swing on a pair of curved balls. Beatson then sent a 2-2 quick ball into the outer third of the plate and Obertop attacked, throwing a 373-foot ball over the right field wall to stun the Spartans.
MSU claimed a 2-0 advantage in the second round with a two-way rally driven by a Mitch Jebb soft liner that went to a triple on the left and two singles against the holder Jacob Denner.
It was another two-elimination rally in the fifth that gave MSU a 4-0 advantage, as Joe Stewart lined up his third hit in the game and scored from first base on a hard-hit grounder in the middle, which went into the gap in the center -right by Zach Iverson in a 0-2 field, looking for a double. Zaid Walker followed with a single in the middle on a quick 1-2 ball to score Iverson.
Michigan’s attack was silent until the sixth inning, when, with one eliminated, the Wolverines set up consecutive singles from Griffin Mazur and Flores to chase MSU starter Adam Berghorst from the game. The reliever William Christopherson was eliminated and then benefited from a beautiful move in the center of Stewart to pursue a deep attack from the right center. Christian Molfetta to keep UM out of the picture.
Another two-out streak in the seventh made Walker 5-0 with a double in the third base bag and UM failed to hit the cutoff man with Iverson scoring all the way from the first. Bryce Kelley and Stewart added two RBIs with a double and a single, respectively, to make it 7-0.
Angelo Smith (1-0) was worth the win for Michigan, eliminating a hitter in a goalless job inning. Elliott, Flores and Obertop had two hits.
The Michigan victory marked his 10th consecutive rivalry. The teams will conclude their two-game series on Monday (March 22) with a 4:00 pm game at the Wilpon Complex.