BLOOMINGTON — A day after clobbering five doubles, a triple, a grand slam, 20 total hits and 16 runs, Michigan bunted, squeezed and hustled its way to a scrappy 6-4 victory Saturday over Indiana.

The experts call it small ball, and the Wolverines executed it to perfection after hitting the long ball in their 16-10 win Friday.

In other words, they’re finding all different kinds of ways to win, a fact that bodes well for Michigan as the season progresses.

“If you want to be a contender, you have to be able to win a lot of different ways,” Michigan coach Rich Maloney said after Saturday’s win.

He referenced senior rightfielder Mike Kittle’s successful suicide squeeze to score a run in the fifth inning and his single in the eighth that came in a nerve-wracking, one-run game with the Wolverines desperate for runs.

It was the Clarkston native’s second such clutch single of the week. As in a nearly identical situation against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, he came through to extend Michigan’s lead with the game in doubt.

“Anytime you can add a run, it’s huge,” Kittle said. “Unless you’re blowing out someone, one hit can tie it up pretty easily. With wind like this … the game’s never locked up.”

But it wasn’t just Kittle. The whole team got involved in the hustling. Players stole bases, laid down bunts, scored from second on singles and advanced extra bases whenever they had even the slightest opportunity to do so.

Maloney said before the series that the team would have to “battle and claw” in the Big Ten season in order to find success. In the first weekend, and Saturday especially, the Wolverines answered his call.

Out of the team’s 11 hits, eight were singles and none were home runs. Yet the team still manufactured six runs and it resulted in the series-clinching victory.

Leininger is as advertised: Though Indiana sophomore starting pitcher Drew Leininger (4-1, 1.66) saw his run of 26 straight scoreless innings come to a halt in the week leading up to the series with Michigan, he still came in as one of the top hurlers in the conference.

The Wolverines were well aware of the difficult task before them when the lefty pitched Sunday. Maloney said as much after Saturday’s game.

“(Saturday’s win is) a big team win for us because (Leininger) is actually pitching tomorrow,” Maloney said. “We’re going to have our hands full, so it’s nice to be able to have two (wins) in the bag.”

After some early struggles, Leininger settled down and ended up with his typical excellent performance. He allowed three runs in 6.1 innings, and despite it being one of his wildest performances of the year, walked just one hitter.

Leininger utilizes a strange delivery to hide the ball and creates deception. The sophomore aligns his feet so that he’s closed off from the hitter and then turns even farther toward second base before firing, preventing batters from seeing the ball until late.

“He’s a pretty good pitcher,” senior first baseman Mike Dufek said. “He had a lot of movement on his fastball. He was able to keep the ball down in the zone. Anytime you can do those two things, you’re going to be successful.”

LaMarre returns: Junior centerfielder Ryan LaMarre made his long-awaited return from a broken thumb Friday. The preseason All-American didn’t hit, though, as he entered the game as a pinch runner in the eighth and then stayed in at left field.

LaMarre is expected back in the lineup this week, either Wednesday against Central Michigan or for the Purdue series that begins Friday.