April 3, 2013 - 10:53am
Ben Ballantine breaks two bones in left ankle
BY JEREMY SUMMITT
Senior right-handed pitcher Ben Ballantine ran to cover first base after a groundball came into play in the third inning of Tuesday’s game against Bowling Green. He made it over there fine, but once he stepped on the bag, something became visibly wrong.
Ballantine stepped awkwardly on his left ankle and was writhing in pain on the first base line. It was confirmed that he broke two bones in that ankle by Michigan coach Erik Bakich on WTKA radio early Wednesday morning. He was taken to the University of Michigan hospital Tuesday night after the Wolverines’ 2-0 victory.
Ballantine joins senior captain and center fielder Patrick Biondi on Michigan’s list of injured players. Biondi has been nursing a sprained left thumb since March 10, and has been used sparingly on defense and as a pinch runner since he sustained the injury.
When Biondi will make his return is still unknown, but it was stated by a team source Monday night that Ballantine may be out indefinitely. Bakich later confirmed that on WTKA by saying his career is most likely over at Michigan, as the rehab process is three to four months long from a pitching standpoint.
“He’s as tough a kid as there is,” Bakich said. “It’s a senior’s worst nightmare, but we’re going to continue to support him and he’s going to continue to be every bit of a leader, just in a different capacity from the dugout and from the bench, and still being a great teammate. But we all hurt for Ben and we all feel for him. We’re going to do whatever we can to support him.”
Ballantine’s absence will immediately affect the pitching rotation after he started in three weekend series and two weekday matchups. He has been a force out of the bullpen, too, and in his most recent appearance from the pen last Friday, he closed out the final three innings by allowing zero earned runs and only one hit to Minnesota. On the season, Ballantine boasts a 2.62 earned run average and has fanned 21 batters in 24 innings.
The most likely candidate to fill Ballantine’s role as the third or fourth spot in the rotation will be sophomore right-hander James Bourque. He has struggled recently with command issues, though, walking 17 batters in 23.1 innings this season, part of the reason for his hefty 5.79 ERA.
But experience-wise, Bourque has to be the go-to guy after starting four games this season. The only other Wolverine with at least one start is sophomore right-hander Matt Ogden, who should be called upon to provide more pitching depth in Ballantine’s absence.
Michigan hosts Central Michigan today before a crucial conference series against Michigan State this weekend. Bakich will hope to iron out those wrinkles in the pitching staff in today’s game before making any final decisions about the rotation heading forward.
