For the second of five games in a seven-day span, freshman right-hander Sachem Ramos — who had only pitched 6.1 innings coming into the game — took the mound for the Michigan baseball team. The abnormal starter choice made one thing clear from the moment the lineup card was released: It was a bullpen day for the Wolverines.
On the backs of its seldom-used arms, Michigan (15-19 overall) defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee (5-24), 3-1, in an ugly offensive performance from both teams.
The Wolverines’ bullpen arms performed early, holding the — albeit non-imposing — Panthers offense scoreless through the first three innings. Although Ramos allowed just two hits through those opening frames, Milwaukee broke through in the fourth. On two singles, a double and a walk, the Panthers scratched one run across, giving them a 1-0 lead.
After a season-high 3.2 innings, Ramos was pulled in favor of fellow freshman right-hander Zach Slayden. While not particularly long, Ramos’ first start of his collegiate career was effective — he did what he was asked to do.
“I thought Sachem (Ramos) threw the ball well, today,” Wolverines coach Tracy Smith said. “Going three plus innings was certainly a big plus, his longest, and just competing in the zone.”
Following Ramos, Slayden collected the final out of the inning and turned over the game once more to Michigan’s struggling offense.
Through the first four innings, the Wolverines’ bats garnered just one hit in each inning, failing to produce any semblance of offensive momentum. Weak contact and struggles with runners on base left Michigan with donuts on the scoreboard.
And those offensive struggles only snowballed — for both teams. They combined for just two hits from the fifth inning until the bottom of the eighth. The Wolverines continued to cycle through their rarely-used bullpen arms, but they continued to deal.
From freshman left-hander Wyatt Novara to graduate right-hander Alexander Ogg to freshman right-hander Connor Judge, pitchers that have seen the mound sparingly and only in low-leverage situations kept Michigan in a one-run game as it waited for the offense to wake up. They simply threw strikes, exactly what was needed against a lower-level opponent like they faced today
“If they throw strikes, (the pitchers are) gonna give us a chance to win,” Smith said. “But I was actually really proud of all the guys pretty much coming in there and competing and doing their job today.”
On the second day of back-to-back midweek contests and with a Big Ten weekend series coming up against Minnesota, it makes sense that Smith ran a bullpen day against a 5-23 Horizon League opponent. And it worked out from the pitching perspective. Allowing just one run on six hits is a stellar performance — one that the offense should take advantage of.
For much of the game, that didn’t happen, though. The Panthers’ subpar pitching staff looked like a rotation of All-Americans, constantly inducing weak contact. But in the bottom of the eighth, the Wolverines pulled their rabbit out of the hat: sophomore designated hitter Mitch Voit.
Despite granting Voit a rest day, Smith decided that he couldn’t simply let his star player sit on his hands in the dugout in a tight game, so he called Voit’s number to pinch hit. On the second pitch that he saw, Voit launched a home run to left-center field, putting the Wolverines ahead, 2-1. They scored once more to push the lead to 3-1 before turning to fifth-year left-hander Jacob Denner to close the game out.
Although Voit hit the go-ahead home run, it was the back-end bullpen arms that kept Michigan within distance for Voit to strike.
“I think it’s incredible and it’s a testament to them in the way that they locked in and stayed ready for their opportunity, and they all took advantage of it today,” Voit said of the bullpen. “And I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
While it was Denner — one of the Wolverines’ strongest pitchers — on the mound for the final out, it was the inexperienced bullpen that kept them in the game, especially when their often-powerful offense was dormant. So when Smith reached into his grab-bag of bullpen arms trying to rest his typical corps, he ended up pulling out a close victory.