Quick responses fuel Michigan’s 7-5 win over Kent State

Veteran senior left fielder Tito Flores has seen a lot of pitches in the batter’s box throughout his four years on the Michigan baseball team.

So as his batting average tumbled below the dreaded .200 Mendoza Line during a nasty hitting slump earlier this season, Flores maintained his approach in every at-bat to get himself out of the rut.

And because of that consistency at the plate, he helped engineer the go-ahead runs for the Wolverines in Wednesday’s midweek game against Kent State. Facing a 2-2 count with two outs in a tie ballgame and his teammate senior designated hitter Jimmy Obertop on second, Flores connected on a pitch for a two-run homer to give his side the lead for good.

While the breathing room for either team was never large until late, the two-run long ball by Flores proved to be pivotal in Michigan’s (22-20 overall) 7-5 victory over the Golden Flashes (31-13), where the Wolverines’ bats resiliently fought back immediately after falling into multiple deficits.

“We’ve shown resiliency in the entire year, and I think it was pretty much sticking with that,” Smith said. “Just continue to have good at-bats no matter what the score is, and give yourself a chance to grind out at-bats and we did a really good job of that today.”

Senior right-hander Noah Rennard started the game for Michigan, throwing two innings after giving up one run off an RBI double in the first inning by Kent State shortstop Michael McNamara. But Rennard was able to get out of the jam without further damage, leaving the bases loaded and showing the necessary qualities of a strong pitcher.

“Bad innings are going to happen,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said. “… And I think that’s just maturity and having confidence in himself, so that was good for him to (leave the bases loaded). That was key today because they could have blown that thing open early and he didn’t let it happen.”

Within striking distance after Rennard escaped the inning, the Wolverines’ hitters responded in the following two innings to momentarily regain the lead — with an RBI single by the red-hot Obertop in the bottom of the first and a balk by Flashes right-hander Ciaran Caughey in the second that scored Flores.

But the Wolverines could not immediately sustain their thin advantage. Junior right-hander Chase Allen, still searching to have a positive outing after three consecutive rough starts, gave up a two-run home run in the fourth inning to designated hitter Kolton Schaller, on a ball that just snuck over the left-field wall. Nonetheless, Smith was encouraged by what he saw in Allen.

“On the home run, the wind was blowing out to left pretty good, he made a nice pitch,” Smith said. “It’s a short porch on a normal day, that’s a routine fly ball that blew out. So I thought he pitched pretty well and had some unlucky circumstances that led to the two runs. That’s baseball.”

Even following this perceived bad luck, Michigan maintained its approach to the first inning hole it faced, refusing to let the deficit marinate.

The Wolverines roared back to a 5-3 lead after a pair of home runs in the fourth and fifth innings off Kent State right-hander Richie Dell, as freshman third baseman Mitch Voit and Flores both took Dell yard.

“It was one of those we want to stay in it and keep it close,” Smith said. “But I thought our guys did a really good job, certainly, Mitch and then Tito.”

Yet the game tightened once again, as Kent State refused to succumb to Michigan’s long-ball hitting. With senior left-hander Jacob Denner replacing Allen, a triple by Kent State left fielder Josh Johnson cut the advantage to just a single run.

From then, the Wolverines’ relievers shut the door, nursing a lead for their hitters to expand in the bottom of the eighth. Denner and Voit shut the door on the Flashes’ bats, allowing for Michigan to pad two insurance runs off a bloop double to shallow left by freshman center fielder Jonathan Kim, even as Voit yielded a late solo homer in the top of the ninth.

Entering the contest on a three-game losing streak, the rapid responses by the Wolverines’ hitters to snatch back momentum propelled them to a much-needed bounce-back win.