A look at the 11-1 score for the Michigan baseball team”s win in yesterday”s home opener would suggest the Wolverines looked like they were taking batting practice against St. Joseph”s. While they were at it, Michigan had a little pitching practice as well.
Michigan used seven different pitchers, six of whom pitched just an inning each. Vince Pistilli threw for the win in three innings in relief of starter Bryce Ralston who was making his first appearance, since coming back from Tommy John surgery. Ralston allowed one unearned run, in part due to back-to-back walks which loaded the bases and brought in the run.
“My arm was fine, just a little rust,” Ralston said of his early departure. “My arm felt great, that”s the main thing. I threw a lot more balls than I normally would, but that”s expected coming off surgery for the first time.”
Other than Pistilli and Bobby Garza, those who pitched yesterday have seen limited action. None of them had pitched more than 2.1 innings for the year.
“We”re trying to get guys work,” said Michigan assistant coach Chris Harrison, who was filling in for coach Geoff Zahn who chose this game to serve an NCAA suspension from last season. “This is basically like a bullpen for them, except they get to get out and throw in competition.”
The offense also saw a lot of different hitters by the day”s end, but the production was not so evenly divided. The hit parade was led by left fielder Jordan Cantalemessa who went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and was a triple shy of the cycle. Gino Lollio and Nate Wright added three RBIs and a homerun each.