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It was a well-known script for Michigan Baseball in its NCAA Tournament Regional Finals against 13-man Louisville on Sunday: Hit the ball early, challenge fielders with speed on bases, and force the opponent in hope hitting a comeback more often.
The only problem was that the Cardinals took the punches and the Wolverines fell behind. Louisville put six of its first eight batters on base and scored in six of the nine innings en route to a four-run first inning. The Wolverines had no answers on their plate, however, losing 20-1 to force a winner-take-all game for a spot in the Super Regional against Texas A&M on Monday.
The regional final between the Wolverines and the Cardinals was originally scheduled for Monday at 6:00 p.m. in Louisville but was pushed back to 12:00 p.m. due to weather concerns. The game will be broadcast online only on ESPN+.
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“It was good old-fashioned ass-whipping, but we’re just going to flush it,” said Michigan shortstop Riley Bertram, who went 0-on-3 with a strikeout on Sunday. “If you told Michigan Baseball’s 156 team three weeks ago that we’re going to have a game that goes winner to the super region (opportunity), I think everyone would jump at it.”
Angelo Smith, making his 16th appearance this season for Michigan, struggled to get the opener, bringing down four-court hitter Christian Knapczyk and No. 3 hitter Dalton Rushing. After a steal of third from Knapczyk, Smith went six pitches with DH Jack Payton to load bases. That was enough for Michigan coach Erik Bakich, who ordered freshman Avery Goldensoph out of the bullpen.
But while every bullpen move Bakich made in Saturday’s 7-3 win over the Cardinals worked, it backfired. Levi Usher singled up center to drive in two runs and after a walk from Goldensoph to reload the bases and choosing a fielder at home for the second out, second baseman chose Logan Beard for two more Run to the center. Goldensoph hit No. 9 batsman Ben Bianco to end the inning, but the Wolverines worked from behind.
Louisville starter Riley Phillips had no such troubles, mowing down the Wolverines back-to-back with three sweeping strikeouts in a total of 14 pitches.
As the top of the lineup returned in the second, the Cardinals piled on; Knapczyk scored in singles and Ben Metzinger hit the center from home to make it 6-0 and end Goldensoph’s outing. (Metzinger later added a second home run and hit a two-run blast to the left in the ninth inning.) Up came John Torroella, who got a lone out before walking Payton. After choosing a fielder for the second out and a blunder on a pickoff attempt to put another runner in goal position, Cameron Masterman doubled for a 7-0.
The Wolverines still had few answers on the plate, only a homer from Joey Velazquez with an out in the third and a leadoff single from Joe Stewart in the fourth tarnished Phillips’ dominance. The sophomore hit 11 over five innings, with two hits and no walks allowed.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals gained two more runs in the fourth, on a homer to the left by Masterman, and three more in the fifth as six consecutive Cardinals with an out caught fourth pitcher of the day for UM, Brandon Lawrence. Only Jake Keaser, starting the sixth game, was able to stem the bleeding and threw two scoreless innings. Keaton Carattini allowed six more runs in the eighth game and Ben Zimmer allowed two in the ninth game, although after five innings both teams were gathering their resources for Monday’s win-or-go-home match.
The good news for the Wolverines is standout assist Willie Weiss, who played in the Big Ten tournament before being suspended by the conference for four games for pitching with a foreign substance, is eligible to pitch again Monday.
The offensive stoppage for Michigan marked only the third time this season the Wolverines have been limited to one run or fewer. The others: a 6-1 loss to Oklahoma on February 20 and a 13-1 loss to Louisville on March 13 (in which Phillips won nine in six innings).
“Those two days I just felt the best, and obviously I had my curveball going both times,” Phillips said. “It helps if the transition is mixed in between.”
Sunday’s result also contrasted with UM’s last 21 games, in which the Wolverines averaged nine runs per game while going 12-9.
Brett Dawson, sportswriter for the Louisville Courier Journal, contributed to this report.
Contact Ryan Ford at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
