“No, it was (supposed to be) a drag bunt. It wasn’t a sac bunt, that’s for sure.”

— Michigan coach Rich Maloney

In the bottom of the seventh inning, with a Michigan runner on first base and nobody out, the Wolverines were trailing Oakland by three runs. Despite a 10-0 drubbing on opening day, the Golden Grizzlies were not hibernating on day two of the three-day series.

Michigan freshman Derek VanBuskirk stepped up to the plate — with senior Jeff Kunkel on first — and laid an unconventional bunt toward the pitcher. When the play ended, VanBuskirk was out, Kunkel was on second and fans were scratching their heads.

“It was a lousy bunt,” Maloney said. “But we needed to try and get the tying run to the plate. (The drag bunt) has been a great play in our program. We practice it more than anyone in America, and, for those very reasons, it won’t be the last time you see one during that time (down late in the game) either.”

With the brazenness of Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh and the calmness of Crash Davis, the Wolverines’ style of small-ball isn’t a comedy of errors but rather a classic. Harkening the days when chew wasn’t just something you did when you ate food and the ball was deader than Jose Conseco’s career, Michigan is using some of the oldest techniques in the baseball book to score runs.

From bunts to steals to hit-and-runs, Michigan’s aggressive brand of baseball has allowed the team to put runs on the board even when the team is struggling at the plate.

During the home opener against the Grizzlies, the Wolverines couldn’t push a run across the plate for the first four innings. But in the fifth, sophomore Leif Mahler executed a perfect square and slash — when the batter fakes a bunt, then swings — and roped a double down the line to put runners on second and third. Both would later score, and the inning proved to jumpstart Michigan to eight more runs before the game was done.

“You need all aspects of the game to have a championship team, and that’s what we want to be,” VanBuskirk said. “We have to play small-ball, and, every once in a while, we have to get the big hit. It’ll all come together, hopefully.”

The Wolverines’ small-ball also helped set up the game-tying double in the seventh inning of the second game. Michigan’s numerous stolen base attempts began to take their toll on Oakland pitcher Paul Phillips. Phillips balked the runners on first and second into scoring position, setting up senior Kyle Bohm for his two-run double.

“We were going to steal that base there, and it would have been interesting,” Maloney said of the situation in the seventh. “To (sophomore) Brad Roblin’s credit, he was way out there, and he put pressure on (Phillips). I think the kid was concerned, and he balked.”

The most important thing about Michigan’s style of play is that it forces batters to concentrate on reaching base early and often, which puts pressure on the defense. With the Big Ten season looming at the end of the week, the Wolverines must be able to score runs as quickly as possible and provide their pitching staff with comfortable leads. And because half the conference games are a part of a Saturday doubleheader, it is even more important to score early, especially when there are only seven innings instead of the traditional nine.

“Getting on base early is going be huge for us to win the conference,” senior Matt Butler said. “And cashing in with guys in scoring position is going to be big, too.”