The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/111015
T By Geoff Chiles he youngest baseball coach at a BCS conference school will now be leading one of the youngest teams in the country; former Maryland coach Erik Bakich, who is just 35 years old, is tasked with rebuilding a Wolverine contingent with 22 freshmen and sophomores. baseball ��� preview For a sharp-witted coach whose hallmarks are recruiting, development, pitching and defense, that sits just fine. However, he���s made it clear to his team the 2013 season will not be a lost year on the way to something better. ���I don���t have patience. It���s not a virtue I have,��� Bakich said. ���We don���t really talk about wins and losses. We talk about process ��� what the expectations are on a daily basis, knowing that in preparing, the end results will happen. ���There is no patience when it comes to not upholding the standard of excellence that Michigan represents. We want to create an identity of what Michigan baseball is all about. Winning a championship is the goal of every team at Michigan. Being a champion every single day is about getting better.��� The Wolverines hope to contend in a tough Big Ten this season. Indiana, Nebraska and Michigan State are the frontrunners. Those three were at ��� or near ��� the top in batting average, slugging percentage and total number of hits recorded last season. Picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten by various media outlets, Michigan must help its freshmen adjust to a deep and talented conference. Along with depth, the league features increasing parity ��� not in five seasons has the conference crown been won by more than one game. Amazingly, last season was the first time since 2008 that the top four were separated by more than two games. And considering the effect this pressure can have on a young team, junior right fielder Michael O���Neill knows that focus and leadership falls to him. It will be the variety of his production, not the volume, that may determine the Wolverines��� fate in a competitive, but potentially wide-open, Big Ten. ���I think we have to take it one day at a time,��� O���Neill said. ���We can���t look ahead to a mid-week series when we���re playing on the weekend. Whether it���s getting a big hit, throwing a runner out, stealing a base, making a big catch ��� you can contribute to the team in many ways. If I���m not hitting well, I have to find other ways to contribute.��� Four key players have graduated from last season, including power hitters Coley Crank and John Lorenz, who combined to pound out 97 hits, knock in 68 RBI and slug 14 home runs. Striking out a league-worst 422 times last season, the offense must focus on consistent contact and running the bases well. Named the Preseason Player of the Year in the Big Ten by Baseball America,