Michigan baseball roundup: Recapping home series against Iowa, analyzing what's next

Michigan Wolverines baseball saw its Friday night game against Iowa postponed to Saturday, when they split the doubleheader. The two teams met for a Sunday grudge match, but the Hawkeyes came out of Ann Arbor with the series win.

Here’s a recap of how the weekend unfolded for Michigan, with highlights and commentary.

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Game 1: Iowa 8, Michigan 2 (Saturday)

Iowa controlled this one from the first inning on. Michigan mustered just five hits and two runs, and made four errors in the field in what was a disappointing start to the weekend. Right-handed junior Cameron Weston started and lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing nine hits and six earned runs. The Michigan offense didn’t have enough firepower to dig out of the hole.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, then extended the advantage with four runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. One insurance run came in the seventh frame, before Michigan answered with a 2RBI single by sixth-year senior third baseman Matt Frey in the bottom of the eighth. It was too little, too late, though, and Michigan fell in the series-opener.

Game 2: Michigan 2, Iowa 0 (Saturday)

Michigan was much cleaner in the second game, with no errors in the field, a team shutout and opportune hitting.

Sophomore left-hander Connor O’Hallahorn pitched a gem, striking out eight Hawkeyes, allowing just four hits and walking two of the 25 batters he faced in his third win of the campaign. He went seven innings, before junior righty Noah Rennard and righty Chase Allen (third save of the season) closed things out in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

Michigan notched just three hits — one of which being a solo home run by sophomore second baseman Brandon Lawrence in the eighth inning, marking his first home run of the season. The Wolverines scored their first run of the game on an RBI groundout by senior shortstop Riley Bertram that scored junior catcher Jimmy Obertop in the second frame.

Full highlights from Saturday’s 2-0 win over Iowa#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/tvRmNicGVY

— Michigan Baseball (@umichbaseball) April 3, 2022

Game 3: Iowa 10, Michigan 3 (Sunday)

This game followed the same script as the first one of the series. Iowa started off red hot, scoring in the top of the first inning and building an 8-0 run after the top of the eighth. Michigan lefty Jacob Denner was coming off two-straight wins in his previous two starts, but he struggled mightily in his 3.1 innings of work. He allowed four earned runs on six hits, including three doubles, a triple and a home run.

Rennard was solid in relief, not allowing any runs in 1.2, but Allen yielded four earned in two innings of work after that, allowing the Hawkeyes’ lead to grow.

The Michigan bats got off to a slow start, but they didn’t go quietly at the end of the game, particularly in the bottom of the eighth inning. Junior left fielder Tito Flores started off a mini-rally with a double down the left field line that scored Burton. Bertram lined out on the next at-bat, but that scored Frey. Flores wound up scoring on a balk to cap off a three-run inning. Again, similar to Saturday’s series-opener, Michigan just didn’t have enough to mount a major comeback win.

What It Means, And What’s Next

Michigan’s week didn’t exactly go as planned. Instead of building off the momentum of winning two out of three at Nebraska, the preseason Big Ten favorite, the Wolverines lost to Oakland at home Wednesday and dropped two of three to Iowa.

The pitching continues to be an issue, and it’s either all or nothing in that regard. Michigan beat Nebraska last Sunday by allowing just one run, then yielded 14 scores to Oakland. Iowa put eight runs on the board in the opener, before being shut out just hours later. Then the Hawkeyes notched 10 runs in a dominant Sunday win. Michigan’s pitching staff has been hot and cold for some time now.

The Wolverines have another mid-week game against an inferior opponent in Purdue Fort Wayne. The two teams will square off Wednesday in Ann Arbor. Fort Wayne holds a 4-22 record and recently lost two of three games to Oakland.

The next week is a good opportunity to regain momentum and figure some things out, considering Michigan will host Cal State Fullerton next weekend. The Titans are 9-16 overall (as of Sunday at 4:30 p.m. — they are playing this afternoon).

Michigan was slotted a No. 2 seed in Baseball America’s NCAA Tournament projection March 30. That was obviously before the Oakland and Iowa games, but it shows that Michigan’s record at 14-13 isn’t scaring away analysts from believing they can be a postseason squad. The schedule early in the season was tough, and Michigan has the horses to make a nice run in the Big Ten.