Michigan baseball team overcomes 14-run deficit against Northwestern, remains in hunt for Big Ten title
Even when his Michigan baseball team trailed by 14 runs early on Sunday, Rich Maloney had a hunch.
Maloney knew Northwestern's pitching corps was thin and he knows the Wolverines can hit. He never could have guessed how dramatic things would get.
Chris Berset
Mike Dufek
The win keeps Michigan (31-19, 12-9 Big Ten) in the Big Ten title hunt, one game behind first-place Minnesota heading into next weekend's conference finale series at Penn State.
"Right now, being in the hunt for the title, today was win or go home," said Dufek, who crushed the second pitch he saw in the 10th over the center-field wall. "We would have been two down with three to play, which is basically death if you're going to try and win it all.
"So we have to go out to Penn State and try and get a sweep."
Next weekend's series didn't carry any meaning until the bottom half of the ninth when the Wolverines were down to their final strike. Trailing 14-12, Berset - playing his final regular-season Big Ten home game- fell behind Northwestern reliever Zach Morton 0-2. Down the third-base line, Maloney said a quick prayer.
"Lord," Maloney said to himself. "Let him hang something."
Morton's next offering crossed the plate and exploded off Berset's bat, knotting the game at 14 two innings after Berset delivered a two-out, two-run home run to cut the deficit to 14-12.
But as big as Berset's first homer was, it couldn't compare to the results the game-tying shot delivered.
"We never thought we were out of it even though we were down 14," Berset said. "Every team just thinks you're down at that point, but we just stayed the course."
Michigan trailed 14-0 after three innings. Northwestern (22-29, 11-10 Big Ten) scored three times on bases-loaded walks in the second, chasing starter Brandon Sinnery, who failed to retire any of the six hitters he faced in the inning.
That's when Eric Katzman entered and promptly walked in a run before surrendering what appeared to be a back-breaking grand slam to Northwestern's Chris Lashmet.
After the Wildcats' six-run inning, Maloney gathered his players and asked them to believe.
"We could have died, but we didn't," Maloney said. "But I knew we had a chance - if we could just hold them, we still had a chance."
By the time Michigan's offense came to life in the third, the Wolverines faced a double-digit deficit even after Ryan LaMarre's three-run home run.
The Wolverines adding three more runs in the inning before scoring three more times in the fifth. John Lorenz, Derek Dennis and Patrick Biondi delivered run-scoring singles, getting Michigan to within 14-9.
"You just have to trust your teammates," Berset said. "You just have to keep trying to hit singles, doubles - whatever you can and hand it off to the next guy. That's where our trust comes in."
For Maloney, that meant putting his faith in junior reliever Matt Miller, who had been up and down all season, showing signs of brilliance at times, but struggling mightily at others.
Miller, Michigan's fourth pitcher of the day, did what none of his teammates could do before him. He shut down Northwestern from the fifth inning on, working 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits.
The longer he pitched, the better he got, giving Michigan's offense a chance.
The Wolverines took advantage, registering what Maloney called the biggest comeback win of his 15-year coaching career and keeping Michigan in the chase for a title.
"You have to have wins like this in order to win championships," Maloney said. "We certainly haven't won anything, but we're in the hunt and we've got a chance."
Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by e-mail at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.