OMAHA, Neb. — The pressure of all 58 matchups that the Michigan baseball team has played in 2024 culminated into one: the dreaded elimination game.

With both the Wolverines (32-27 overall, 14-10 Big Ten) and Illinois (34-19, 16-8) facing exile from the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan rode junior right-hander Will Rogers’ three-hit, 26-out performance to a 4-2 victory.

The Fighting Illini would find themselves in a good position to make an NCAA Tournament regional regardless of the outcome of its bout against the Wolverines. Michigan, however, won’t have that same luxury, requiring the automatic bid that comes alongside a conference-tournament championship. Illinois was playing for pride, the Wolverines were playing for their season.

After his best hitting performance of his season just 24 hours prior, Rogers got the start on the mound. Despite serving as a catcher in the previous two games of the tournament, Michigan coach Tracy Smith decided Rogers’ services were better utilized on the mound than behind the dish Friday night.

“You have a guy that goes out there and he catches the first two games in the tournament, and then goes out and throws a gem,” Smith said. “I think that’s pretty remarkable.”

Rogers set the tone early against the best offense in the Big Ten, striking out four of the first six batters he faced. The power-hitting Illini took their normal massive hacks but flailed, missing the ball and looking out toward the mound in confusion. Rogers’ devastating curveball mixed with his low-nineties fastball had the Illinois hitters fooled, sending them back to the dugout shaking their heads. From the onset, it was clear that Rogers’ stuff was working.

In the top of the third inning, the Wolverines gifted Rogers his first semblance of run support as two walks and a single by graduate right fielder Stephen Hrustich brought in the initial run of the game, putting Michigan on top early, 1-0.

Through three innings, Rogers still hadn’t allowed a hit. But he wasn’t content with just three innings of dominance. In the fourth inning, he both tied and broke his career-high in strikeouts with his sixth and seventh, respectively, easily navigating the heart of the explosive Illini offense. The fans in attendance began sitting up in their seats, quietly noting the donut in Illinois’ hit column.

The Wolverines’ offense gave Rogers a slightly larger cushion in the fifth inning. Sophomore left fielder Mitch Voit rocketed a triple off of the center-field wall, and Hrustich promptly brought him home with a lazy bloop double that dropped right between the second baseman and right fielder to push the lead to 2-0.

As Rogers continued painting the corners with his fastball and pulling the chair out from under the batters with his off-speed stuff, the Illinois offense continued to sulk back to the third-base dugout. Inning after inning, Rogers decimated the top seed in the conference tournament.

With seven innings completed, the outcome that everyone in Charles Schwab Field thought was a pipe-dream was slowly creeping toward reality: Rogers had a no-hitter through seven.

He wasn’t just a pitcher in the game, though. Rogers also slotted into the six-hole as the designated hitter. He’d already singled in the sixth inning, but up to bat once again in the eighth, Rogers helped himself out. Launching a ball just below the yellow line on the left-center field wall, Rogers missed a home run by inches, but settled for an RBI double to give himself one more run to work with on the mound.

The stadium held its collective breath as Rogers stepped onto the mound to start the eighth inning. The fans could taste history — it was just six outs away. 

Rogers knew it too. He could feel the quietness of the stadium as he walked out to the mound each inning — a silence only broken by a fan’s not-so-friendly attempt to jinx Rogers by reminding him that he had a no-hitter.

“I think every pitcher knows when it’s going on,” Rogers said. “It’s just a matter of trying not to say it to yourself.”

But on the first pitch, Illinois right fielder Ryan Moerman punched the first hit of his team’s night through the hole on the left side of the infield. 

Rogers’ no-hit bid was over, but no damage came from the single as Michigan’s middle-infield turned their nation-leading 62nd double play. Nonetheless, Rogers finished the eighth inning and turned the ball back over to his offense.

To add to the Wolverines’ domination, Voit launched a laser over the left-center field wall to extend Michigan’s lead to 4-0. Voit’s bomb sent the dugout into a frenzy, and while Rogers remained focused, he still celebrated with his teammates.

“(Smith) told me before the game, ‘Go and have fun today,’ ” Rogers said. “ …  So not thinking about the eighth to the ninth, trying to get there, just getting through this pitch right now.”

Smith sent Rogers back onto the mound in the ninth inning to finish what he had started. But after allowing a walk, an RBI triple and an RBI single, Rogers just couldn’t collect his 27th out of the night. But freshman right-hander Dylan Vigue finished the job, inducing a sharp ground groundout and punching the Wolverines’ ticket to Saturday’s semifinals. 

Every game that Michigan played in 2024 came down to one night. With all of the pressure on his shoulders, Rogers willed his squad to a victory in an unexpectedly dominant fashion and secured at least one more day in Omaha.