Michigan
Rutgers
Michigan Drops Series Finale to Rutgers to End Regular-Season Slate
5/21/2022 6:18:00 PM | Baseball
» Clark Elliott paced the Wolverines with four rund batted in, three coming on a home run in the ninth inning.
» Joe Stweart added three RBI courtesy of a two-run single and a sacrifice fly. » Rutgers scored 10 runs between the seventh and ninth innings to open a close game.
» The teams combined to use 16 pitchers
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team dropped its series finale against Rutgers on Saturday (May 21), falling 18-12 at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium, in a game that saw the teams combine to use 16 pitchers.
Both teams look forward to the Big Ten Tournament, which will be played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. Tournament seedings, matchups and times will be announced following the completion of this weekend's games.
Rutgers (41-14, 17-7 Big Ten) grabbed a 2-0 lead after two innings of play on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and a run-scoring double to the gap in the second.
In the third inning, Joe Stewart sent a bases-loaded single up the middle to bring home two runs and tie the game at 2. After another run scored on an errant throw, Jimmy Obertop made it a 4-2 game with a line drive single of his own to center field.
Rutgers sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring five times, highlighted by a two-run homer run that was ruled to have curled inside the left-field foul pole.
Michigan (28-25, 12-12 Big Ten) answered in the bottom of the frame, tying the game at 7 on RBI singles from Jake Marti and Clark Elliott and a sacrifice fly from Stewart, but Rutgers regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning as the Knights scored on a wild pitch.
Rutgers right fielder Richie Schiekofer then connected for a two-run home run to right field in the seventh inning to make it a 10-7 score before the Scarlet Knights pulled away with four runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings.
Riley Bertram, Joey Velazquez, Tito Flores and Elliott all had two hits to lead the U-M offense. Elliott drove home four runs on the strength of his 12th home run of the season, a three-run shot in the ninth inning. Stewart added three RBI from the second spot in the batting order.
