Michigan’s baseball team entered the final weekend of the regular season out of the Big Ten title race, but it still had plenty to play for.
The Wolverines appeared to be firmly in the NCAA Tournament picture, but a win over first-place Nebraska would all but seal a tournament berth.
Michigan (27-17) won one of three against the Cornhuskers and now awaits to hear its tournament fate at noon Monday during the NCAA selection show.
After losing Friday’s opener 1-0, the Wolverines bounced back to win game one of Saturday’s doubleheader 2-0. The series was scheduled to conclude Sunday, but the finale was moved up to Saturday night as part of a doubleheader because of inclement weather in the forecast.
No. 20 Nebraska (31-12), which clinched the conference title last weekend, won game two 5-3.
Although Michigan, which finished third in the Big Ten, ranks No. 100 in RPI, it still is projected to make the 64-team tournament field. In D1Baseball’s latest projection, the Wolverines are a No. 2 seed, while Baseball America has them pegged as a No. 3 seed.
They are looking for their second straight tournament berth after reaching the College World Series final in 2019. There was no tournament last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Big Ten was one of the few conferences to play a league-only schedule in 2021, which hurt its teams’ RPI. The softball selection committee appeared to penalize Big Ten teams earlier this month when only three teams earned a tournament bid. None, including Big Ten champion Michigan, earned a top-16 seed to host a regional.
Nevertheless, Michigan’s baseball team put up impressive numbers during the regular season that should warrant an at-large bid. Despite scoring just five runs in the series against Nebraska, it finished No. 1 in the Big Ten in scoring. It also was third with a 3.93 ERA.
Sophomore Cameron Weston lowered the team’s ERA with a strong start in Saturday’s opener, allowing four hits and striking out four in seven innings. Junior Willie Weiss earned the save after tossing two scoreless innings, yielding one hit and striking out two.
Michigan scored its first run in the fourth as Tito Flores crossed home plate on a fielder’s choice. Flores then singled in the fifth – one of the team’s five hits.
Nebraska kept the Wolverines’ bats at bay in the nightcap until the ninth inning, when Michigan broke out for three runs, including a two-run home run from Jimmy Obertop.
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May 30, 2021 at 08:52AM
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Michigan baseball drops regular-season finale vs. Nebraska, awaits NCAA Tournament fate - MLive.com
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