{"id":36581,"date":"2022-06-04T16:43:24","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T16:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/michigan-baseball-answers-late-oregon-rally-to-win-ncaa-regional-opener\/"},"modified":"2022-06-04T16:43:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T16:43:24","slug":"michigan-baseball-answers-late-oregon-rally-to-win-ncaa-regional-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/michigan-baseball-answers-late-oregon-rally-to-win-ncaa-regional-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan baseball answers late Oregon rally to win NCAA regional opener"},"content":{"rendered":"
Here we go again.<\/p>\n
After the Michigan baseball team took the Big Ten tournament by storm last weekend, knocking off seeds 1 through 4 to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney, the Wolverines took their party to the national stage.<\/p>\n
Boosted by a supercharged bat from Jimmy Obertop and game-winning home run by Matt Frey, Michigan beat Oregon, 8-6, on Friday night at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.<\/p>\n
It was the first game of the Louisville regional, where Michigan (33-26) now advances to play the host Cardinals at 4 pm ET on Saturday. The winner advances to the final round of the double-elimination tournament; Louisville beat the fourth regional team, Southeast Missouri State, 7-2, earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
Frey’s two-run homer over the fence in centerfield proved to be the difference, after Oregon mounted an impressive comeback that Michigan on its heels. The Wolverines took a 6-2 lead after 4 1\/2 innings before the Ducks added one run in the fifth, another in the sixth and tied the game in the seventh, 6-6.<\/p>\n
Blackberries:<\/b> Jim Harbaugh, son big fans of Michigan LB on diamond<\/p>\n
While Frey could take credit for the game-winner, Obertop, the junior center, was the undisputed star of the game. Obertop (2-for-5) homered twice and had four RBIs in the victory, stretching his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games.<\/p>\n
His first home run came in the third inning, on a 2-1 pitch he blasted over the wall in right field. It gave Michigan a 3-0 lead and early command of the game. But an RBI double and wild pitch in the fourth allowed Oregon to get two runs back, both unearned.<\/p>\n
Michigan starter Connor O’Halloran was strong most of the night, surrendering just two earned runs on six hits in 5 2\/3 innings. He struck out six, walked two and came in clutch when Oregon had runners on base.<\/p>\n
O’Halloran also got some help from the Michigan defense, including shortstop Riley Bertram (3-for-4, run, BB), who made a nice diving play in the sixth to end the inning after the Ducks had two runners in scoring position .<\/p>\n
Obertop’s second homer came in the fifth inning off Oregon reliever RJ Gordon, taking him deep in left-center to tack on two more. While Michigan was unable to hold the lead (at least temporarily), the impressive feat marked Obertop’s second multi-homer game of the season. He now has 14 home runs and 50 RBIs on the season.<\/p>\n
Joey Velazquez, a linebacker on the Michigan football team, went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.<\/p>\n
Oregon (35-23), who earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament despite going two-and-out in the PAC-12 tournament last weekend, finished just 1-of-8 with runners in scoring position. The Ducks featured five different pitchers, none of them throwing for more than three innings.<\/p>\n
The victory marks the first time Michigan has won its first NCAA tournament game since 2019, when the Wolverines reached the College World Series final. They went two-and-out last year and had their season canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here we go again. After the Michigan baseball team took the Big Ten tournament by storm last weekend, knocking off seeds 1 through 4 to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney, the Wolverines took their party to the national stage. Boosted by a supercharged bat from Jimmy Obertop and game-winning home run by …<\/p>\n