Redshirt junior outfielder Danny Zimmerman stepped into the box and uncorked a missile over the wall in left field for a three-run home run. Zimmerman broke open the inning, plating three of the nine runs scored in the frame.
The No. 25 Michigan baseball team routed Ohio State behind a balanced and explosive offense.
The Wolverines recorded 17 hits in total, and nearly the entire lineup contributed to the damage. Eleven different batters reached base, with 10 of them recording a hit and 11 of them scoring.
“There were just a lot of guys having quality at-bats,” Michigan coach Erik Bakich said. “Our offense is very capable of exploding for a lot of runs.”
Graduate transfer infielder Christian Molfetta led the way offensively, collecting a walk to go with three hits, including a solo blast to left field in the fifth inning. Graduate transfer catcher Griffin Mazur also notched two hits and a walk. Zimmerman pinch-hit for sophomore infielder Ted Burton in the fifth inning and lifted the team with a walk and two hits, including his three-run shot in the eighth inning.
“We’ve had a lot of big innings throughout the year and that was our biggest one so far,” Bakich said. “The guys were just finding ways to get on base. Not trying to do too much, just guys getting on and running the bases, one quality at-bat after the next.”
The Wolverines also got significant production from the bottom of the order, with sophomore outfielder Clark Elliott picking up two hits and a walk and sophomore outfielder Tito Flores getting a hit and a walk. Junior infielder Riley Bertram also recorded a hit and a walk and Flores recorded a sacrifice fly while Bertram laid down a sacrifice bunt.
“We’re trying to just pass the baton, string quality at-bats together and good things will happen,” Zimmerman said. “Just trying to hit the ball hard, get on base, stuff like that. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Jordon Rogers also got in on the action, notching two hits and a walk. Graduate transfer Benjamin Sems, who later left the game with an injury, came up with a timely bases-loaded single to give Michigan a 2-1 lead in the third, a lead which Michigan would never relinquish.
“The guys just go up there trying to have hard contact,” Bakich said. “In the last couple of days, there’s been such a high priority on competing pitch to pitch, I just felt like the guys were really locked in, giving their best effort, their best focus.”