The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 batters. Clark had a 3.44 ERA in 181⁄3 innings, with 12 hits allowed and 14 strikeouts. "We feel like Kyle Clark and Jacob Cronenworth give us a good duo at the end of the game as seventh- and ninth-inning guys," Bakich said. "I think the biggest thing has definitely been pitching," Cronenworth added. "It's gotten a lot more consistent in the last few weeks. We have had a few shutouts, and in the Minnesota series, we couldn't get our offense going, but the pitching was there. That is really huge." Offense Looks To Get Back On Track With Biondi out of the lineup, the Wolverines suffered a bit of an offensive decline — but he has returned. And, in his absence, Michigan saw some freshmen step up to put up some pretty big numbers. Cronenworth and freshman shortstop Travis Maezes have proven themselves to be two of the most reliable offensive weapons on the team. In 124 at-bats, Cronenworth was hitting .339 with 42 hits, 26 RBI and 21 runs scored. Maezes has added 41 hits, 22 RBI and 22 runs scored in 133 at-bats (.308). "They're really good players," Biondi said of the freshmen. "We knew coming into the year that they were really good players. We saw it all fall. It's good to see them get out there and produce. "Some people might be surprised because they are freshmen, but we know what they can do out there. We don't expect them to hit .350, but we know they're going to compete every day and do good things for us." Freshman infielder Jack Sexton has come off the bench to bat .237 in 97 plate appearances, with 23 hits, eight RBI and nine runs scored. "I think we have surprised a lot of people," Cronenworth said. "But we're in the cage every day, before and after practice getting more work in. We've worked our butts off trying to get where we are now, and it's starting to pay off. We have to keep doing what we're doing." The Wolverines scored at least five runs in each of the five of their six wins over Michigan State and Penn State, which was an encouraging sign. "I think in baseball, there are going to be times where you're not swinging well," Biondi said. "But if we get a lot of lead-off runners on, like we have been doing, and grind out at-bats, we will be more consistent. We have a process every time we come out on the field, and that doesn't change a whole lot, game to game. We're always focused on getting lead-off guys on and working ahead in counts." Through their first three series against Big Ten foes, the Wolverines stood 20-14 overall and 7-2 in the conference. They are currently tied for first place in the Big Ten with Minnesota, who stole two of three games from Michigan during the first weekend of conference play. "We haven't completely clicked, and we haven't played our best baseball yet," Bakich said. "I am fired up about certain spots. There are some bright spots. But our best baseball is coming." ❑