OMAHA, Neb. — Top of the fifth inning, no outs, man on second base, down a run. Will Rogers stepped up to the plate for his second at-bat. Earlier in the game, the junior catcher had gotten the best of Penn State right-hander Jaden Henline. Singling through the left side in the third inning, Rogers had already seen Henline deal. So this time through, Rogers knew what pitches he was looking for.
With a 1-0 count, he got it. Henline hung a breaking ball over the heart of the plate, and Rogers took it for a ride over the left-field wall. Crowned with the Michigan baseball team’s celebratory football helmet, Rogers rejoiced with his teammates in the dugout. Just like that, the Wolverines led, 2-1.
“That was good to see him swinging, particularly at the bottom of the order, like that,” Michigan coach Tracy Smith said. “He’s a guy that’s got tremendous power. He kept us in there, got us in there with a two-run shot.”
Coming through when it mattered, Rogers put the Wolverines in front when nobody else could. To that point, Henline had allowed just two hits, injecting Michigan with a burst of energy. In Henline’s remaining 2.2 innings of work, he allowed another five hits, a sharp change from his lockdown beginning of his start. While Henline didn’t allow any more runs, the Wolverines’ hitting prowess forced him out of the game, allowing Michigan to capitalize soon after with a three-run inning.
“The biggest thing is sticking to your approach for what’s worked for you,” Rogers said. “I think just going out with the same mindset, getting the pitch that you can drive.”
Even when Rogers couldn’t find a pitch to drive, his impact didn’t dissipate. In the eighth inning with two outs, Rogers was deadlocked with Nittany Lions’ left-hander Anthony Steele in a back-and forth battle. Determined to come out victorious, Rogers fought through, working a full-count walk to keep the inning alive. While he didn’t come home to score, he kept the pressure on Steele. Just one at-bat later, Steele was forced out of the game after walking another batter.
The Wolverines’ most keen hitter Thursday, Rogers made himself a threat every time he stepped into the batter’s box. Taking advantage of pitches in his wheelhouse, Rogers took Penn State’s pitchers for a ride all game, swinging at pitches early in the count yet still displaying the patience to work long plate appearances. All together, Rogers’ efforts amounted to his first three-hit game of the season.
“You just got to tip your hat sometimes (when) they put a good swing on the ball,” Henline said about Rogers’ home run.
Throughout the evening, pitchers tipped their caps, powerless as Rogers ran down the first-base line all game long. A three-hit game is hard enough as it is. Tack on a walk, a two-run blast, and Rogers had the recipe for a show-stealing performance. And while Michigan didn’t do enough to walk away with a win, Rogers’ impact kept the Wolverines competitive when they wouldn’t have been otherwise.
All game long, Rogers knew what he was looking for, and he made the Nittany Lions’ pitchers pay.