Michigan wins final game against Northwestern behind explosive performances at the plate

With a chance at an important conference series sweep on Sunday, the Michigan baseball team fell behind early. But a flurry of hard hit balls and two big innings from its senior leaders allowed it to crawl back and earn the decisive victory.

The Wolverines (26-22 overall, 13-8 Big Ten) prevailed on senior day behind the power of their bats to sweep Northwestern (8-38, 3-18) by a score of 15-5.

Coming off of a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week performance against Minnesota, senior left-hander Jacob Denner looked to stay hot on the mound. But, stymied early by the Wildcats’ offense, Michigan entered an early hole, giving up two runs quickly in the first inning.

With Denner unable to replicate his dominance from a week ago in the early innings, the Wolverines needed their bats to keep them in the game — and they delivered. In the bottom of the third inning the bats unleashed, as back-to-back doubles from graduate shortstop Cody Jefferis and senior second baseman Ted Burton drove in two RBI to bring Michigan within one run. 

“I like a hot Teddy,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said. “When he’s hot, he’s fun to watch. That’s what your older guys are supposed to do, is lead by example and through their play. He’s doing an excellent job of that.”

But the best was still to come for the Wolverines.

The next inning, senior third baseman Brandon Lawrence ignited a two-out onslaught with an RBI single, followed by home runs from Jefferis and Burton — Jefferis’ first homer of the season and Burton’s third in just this series. Michigan entered the bottom of the fourth down by one, but exited up by four.

After the early blows, the Wolverines used the crucial bottom of the fourth inning to retake all momentum, only needing to close out the rest of the game — and series. 

Continuing that momentum, Denner’s pitching began to smooth, allowing just two more runs in the top of the seventh before handing off to senior right-hander John Torroella with a three run Michigan lead. 

“Even with the hits, (Denner) didn’t give up much solid contact,” Smith said. “Following up his unbelievable performance from last week is what we’re gonna need him to do.”

While not equal to his career best performance last weekend, Denner still kept the Wolverines in position to hold their lead.

While the lead was safe at the time of Denner’s exit, it needed insurance. And that is where Jefferis re-enters the equation.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, the senior roped a triple down the right field line. The hit scored all three runners, bolstering a six-run inning to close out a cycle performance at the plate for Jefferis. 

“That really spread it open there,” Smith said. “Not only did it give him the cycle, but we were just saying, ‘Gosh, we need one more run just to kind of get away,’ … so the triple was big.”

He delivered the knockout shot. By piling on six runs in the seventh inning, Michigan had replicated and gone beyond what it did in its dominant fourth inning. The game was no longer in reach for Northwestern and the Wolverines achieved their lead on the backs of their seniors. 

Earning the series sweep against the Wildcats is essential to Michigan’s hopes of another Big Ten Tournament run. And the final victory on Sunday shows that the Wolverines’ bats are heating up at just the right time.