The Michigan baseball team crowded home plate waiting for graduate outfielder Stephen Hrustich to join the party. After demolishing a ball over the left field wall in the 11th inning, he earned the win and his welcome party home.
After their pitchers held the game within reach, the Wolverines (24-21 overall) offense joined the dance in the late innings to tie the game and finished the job with a walk-off win over Kent State (22-21), 6-4.
In the early innings of the game, Michigan’s offense lacked cohesion at the plate. As the Golden Flashes capitalized off a variety of Wolverine arms with two early runs in the third inning, Michigan looked to make up ground.
The Wolverinesresponded in the fourth inning when graduate second baseman Mack Timbrook utilized a sacrifice fly to send a runner home. Graduate shortstop Kyle Dernedde followed suit, laying down a bunt to give plenty of time for a second Michigan runner to cross home plate, tying the game at 2-2.
“We don’t do much all day,” Wolverines coach Tracy Smith said. “We’re being out hit, pitched, whatever, but we just find a way to make a play or make a pitch or get a hit when we need to.”
While Michigan made early noise to tie the game, the bats went silent for the following four innings. The Flashes rallied their bats in the eighth and ninth inning to push the lead to 4-2. Without the Wolverines conjuring their previous momentum, pressure continued to build going into the final stretch of the game.
But Michigan’s trajectory changed when sophomore pinch hitter Mitch Voit strutted to the plate with a runner on. In a similar situation against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Voit knew this spot all too well and didn’t hesitate to get his chance in the game.
“The bottom line is you win,” Smith said. “So I will take the win any day of the week over playing pretty and losing.”
And when Voit sent a ball flying over left-center field, it was a pretty sight to see for the Wolverines.
Tying the game once more at four sent the game into extra innings. A hitting drought struck both Kent State and the Wolverines alongside pitching changes that kept the game going. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Michigan tried to find one more opportunity to walk away with the win.
A two-out single from senior right-fielder Trevor Killinski laid a foundation for the Wolverines to work with. And Hrustich took his position at the plate to start building a comeback. But with one swing, the job was finished.
With the Wolverines struggling to find their offensive presence in the beginning, at the end of the day they scraped by with a late win.
“That’s about as ‘Michigan win’ as a ‘Michigan win’ could be this year,” Smith said.
Two power hits were the combination Michigan was looking for to continue on their five game winning streak. As the season dwindles and playoffs approach, the Wolverines continue to rely on their winning mentality.
As Hrustich took his praise from the team, he was showered with a Gatorade bucket in a winning celebration. Because even if it was stalled to the end of the game, Michigan still got the job done.