TOLEDO, Ohio — Pitching has been a consistent struggle for the Michigan baseball team, particularly in midweek games. This has caused the Wolverines to struggle through bullpen games throughout the course of the season. But against Toledo, that was not the case.
Giving fifth-year right-handed Chase Allen the nod on the bump to start, Michigan took a risk. Despite Allen holding an 8.39 ERA entering play Tuesday, the coaching staff had full faith in his talents as a former weekend starter. And those talents were apparent early on.
“Chase Allen (had) a better quality start midweek, which is a huge role,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said.
In his five innings of work, Allen gave the Wolverines a chance to win. Even though Michigan’s batters missed out on opportunities to blow the game wide open, Allen’s consistency made sure it didn’t matter. He kept the Wolverines grounded, and kept a chippy game from blowing up in their face. Where inexperienced arms may have struggled or crumbled under pressure in a close game, Allen didn’t.
“He’s competing in the zone,” Smith said. “… But it’s like you give yourself a chance to win and that’s what I liked. He was just pounding the zone.”
Allowing just two walks while striking out four, Allen kept the Rockets’ hitters on their heels, commanding the zone well. By throwing strikes, he made Toledo’s hitters go above and beyond to produce quality at-bats, which they weren’t able to do during the first half of the game. Allen gave Michigan a chance to win — and it capitalized on that chance, taking down Toledo despite a run-of-the-mill offensive performance.
“The strikes did a fantastic job of making them beat us,” Smith said “But we have two walks on the day. So that’s the job of the starter.”
With the consistent strikes thrown, going forward, Allen’s flash of consistency could lead to an increased role on the bump.
“(We were) looking for a quality start out of Chase because we’re going to increase his role on the weekend,” Smith said. “And we want to hold that and carry that momentum in.”
For the Wolverines, this could be a sign of better things to come. Unable to find consistent performances on the mound in midweek games, having another arm that Michigan can count on could save others from extensive innings or injury.
With the season moving into its final handful of series’, it is crunch time for the Wolverines on the mound. And for the team as a whole, Allen is another name that could provide Michigan exactly what it’s been struggling to find all season — consistency.
Overall, Allen’s start gave the Wolverines a chance to win, displaying strong zone control. Throwing strikes all over the zone throughout his appearance on the mound, Allen didn’t give the Rockets an opportunity to break the game open early, holding the game steady until the Wolverines finally took advantage late.