After a player hits a home run, the Michigan baseball team puts a football helmet on his head. And against Minnesota, that helmet made an appearance over and over as the Wolverines’ bats paraded all over the diamond throughout the day.
In dominant fashion, Michigan (16-19 overall, 7-3 Big Ten) clobbered the Golden Gophers (13-15, 2-5) behind its batting bash. Once the field day began, the Wolverines never looked back, dispatching Minnesota 8-1.
The party started early in the first inning. After freshman center fielder AJ Garcia was hit by a pitch, sophomore right fielder Mitch Voit crushed a home run to left field, taking a 2-0 lead. While that was the only scoring Michigan did in the first inning, the festivities were well underway.
After two walks to open the second inning, graduate second baseman Mack Timbrook hit a bunt single to load the bases. This set up graduate shortstop Kyle Dernedde, who hit a sacrifice fly to score junior third baseman Cole Caruso. The Wolverines registered another run on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, off the bat of senior first baseman Dylan Stanton.
Heading into the fourth inning with a 4-0 lead, Michigan had complete control. As sophomore right-hander Kurt Barr was dealing on the mound, the Wolverines’ batters had the pressure off their shoulders. Once they reached the plate, the mauling continued. Timbrook registered his second infield single of the afternoon and Garcia hit his first collegiate home run, stretching the lead to six. The next inning, Stanton hit his first home run of the season, extending the lead to seven.
“He was really throwing me mostly outside fastballs that were sinking,” Garcia said. “My approach was just to be short to the ball and trying to get the runner in from second with two outs. In a way it’s a backbreaker because a two out RBI is very very important especially early in the game. My expectation was not to hit a home run obviously. I thought it was a fly out but with the wind today that definitely helped a lot. … It was a surreal moment.”
Despite the comfortable cushion, Michigan wasn’t done celebrating. Taking a break from the power they displayed in the first half of the game, the Wolverines went back to the approach that’s won them games in the past — small ball. In the sixth inning, with Timbrook on third base, Garcia laid down a bunt down the third base line. Perfectly placed, the bunt scored Timbrook on the successful safety squeeze.
With an 8-1 lead, the Wolverines’ party was over, and they didn’t score in the final frames. But each starter had already had their fun, with all reaching base at least once. After scoring in each of the first six innings, Michigan’s lead was insurmountable.
“We want to be able to be a threat all the way (from) top to bottom,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said. “ … During the first game we just kept chipping away. But you pile on a run here and a run there, you keep ticking them on. It’s a little demoralizing. I’ve been on the other side of that too. You know, it’s a little demoralizing. And I thought our offense did a fantastic job (in) game one just extending that.”
Against Minnesota, the Wolverines did just that, giving themselves ample opportunity to wear the football helmet they celebrate with. And they strutted the helmet in dominant fashion.