The Michigan baseball team has stumbled out of the gates in the 2023 season.
On the mound, junior left-hander Connor O’Halloran has been a stalwart of a starter — but an absence of depth has mired the Wolverines, resulting in a cumulative ERA over 6.00. At the plate, Michigan’s team batting average, doubles, on-base and slugging percentage ranks lowest in the Big Ten — while their strikeouts are the highest. Combining the two is hardly a recipe for success, and the Wolverines are left questioning who can provide both offensive and defensive reliability.
Two-way freshman phenom Mitch Voit might be the answer to both.
“(Voit) has been an integral part of our successes and wins up to this point,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said March 11. “He is such a big part of (our team) on the offensive side … hitting in the middle of the order, but then also getting high leverage innings when the games mean something.”
Voit has been consistent in relief pitching appearances all season — securing a six-out save that preserved an upset win over Grand Canyon on opening weekend. He was even sharper in last week’s loss to Oakland, retiring all eleven batters he faced.
“We’ve got to find more innings for him,” Smith said after that March 8 performance. “ … He’s been pretty good every single time he touches the mound.”
But this past weekend, Voit’s reliable pitching presence was finally complemented by his hitting production.
Collecting base knocks in all three contests — two versus UAB and one against Kennesaw State — Voit saw his batting average rise more than 50 points, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his efforts.
In Saturday afternoon’s second contest with the Blazers, Voit’s impact on the game’s outcome was undeniable. Voit entered in relief of senior left-hander Jacob Denner in the top of the sixth, then helped his own cause by singling home senior second baseman Ted Burton for the Wolverines’ inaugural run in the bottom half of the inning. In the eighth, with the score knotted at 2-2, Voit launched a sacrifice fly, scoring Burton again — this time to put Michigan permanently ahead.
And in the top of the ninth inning, Voit set the UAB batters down in order to cap off 3.2 innings with zero runs, one hit and one walk to earn his first collegiate win.
“Today is just a glimpse of what’s going to be his entire career at the University of Michigan, being a part of big wins both offensively and defensively,” Smith said.
Voit’s double-faceted success has forced the coaching staff to ponder a bigger role for the dual-threat freshman, as Smith has flirted with the idea of starting him on the mound at some point this season.
But for now, Voit is thriving in his unique niche — and Smith is left to imagine what a valuable weapon he can be in the future:
“He’s just scratching the surface.”