The Wolverine

March 2021

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340560

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 14 of 91

MARCH 2021 THE WOLVERINE 15   INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan redshirt junior pitcher Isa- iah Paige chose to come to Michigan all the way from Diamond Bar, Calif. — which is just outside of Los Ange- les —because of the opportunity to play baseball at a high level and get an outstanding degree from one of the nation's top public schools. On the baseball side of things, it was a bit more of a leap of faith, consider- ing the Wolverines hadn't made a Col- lege World Series since 1984. But Paige believed in head coach Erik Bakich and the vision he had for the program. "You could feel the passion oozing out of him, and as more and more guys started to commit, I definitely saw a fu- ture for myself here," Paige said. "The academics are second to none. It was just a university that I wanted to be a part of, and I knew deep down inside that the baseball team had something special stored up." In 2019, his second year with the pro- gram, U-M made its first College World Series in 35 years and advanced all the way to the finals against Vanderbilt, tak- ing the Commodores to three games (in a best-of-three series) before falling. Paige started game two, allowing just one run on three hits in four innings of work in what ended up a 4-1 setback. Paige admitted he never knew for sure if he and the team would end up in big moments like that, but he knew there was always that chance because of his belief in Bakich and the program, and it came together almost perfectly that season. The sense of community and collec- tive pride surrounding the baseball program and the university is some- thing Paige took with him from the 2019 run and throughout his time in Ann Arbor so far. "To break through in that 2019 season was fun, because all these alumni came to the game and were thanking us be- cause they hadn't seen each other in however many years, and they all prom- ised each other that if we ever went to Omaha again, they would go," Paige re- membered. "It was definitely a fun ride and something I look back on and I just smile because of all the good memories." A high-achiever in the classroom, Paige prides himself on having a strong balance between all aspects of his life, including baseball and classwork. "One thing that Coach Bakich always says is, 'How you do anything is how you do everything,'" Paige explained. "And that definitely applies to the classroom as well. So whether it be a simple project or homework assign- ment, it's just doing it because I know if I'm able to knock that stuff out and have a high energy and work ethic, that's going to translate to different areas of my life. "Nobody likes doing homework, but I think that it's a good translator of who you are as a person by how you perform in the classroom." A sport management major still un- decided on which specific career path he wants to take after baseball, Paige knows U-M is setting him up nicely for the chapters ahead in his life. He is taking the lessons he's learning in Ann Arbor and planning on applying them going forward in his life after college. "One thing I'll always take with me is the chip on your shoulder you get with a Michigan degree and Michigan athletic career," he said. "Oftentimes people don't like you. "It's kind of envious more than any- thing else, because we're such a pres- tigious institution academically and athletically. "With a chip on your shoulder comes a lot of work, so I'm just trying to make everybody who's been at the univer- sity or who is out there proud. Coach Bakich says, 'Leave the jersey in a bet- ter place and add as much value as you can as fast as you can.' "Wherever I go in the rest of my life, I'm going to try to do the same in ev- ery organization, in whatever field I work in after this. I just want to do as much as I can and help out as much as I can … and represent Michigan well." — Clayton Sayfie Paige posted a 4-1 record with one save and a 2.75 earned run average in 26 appearances (five starts) in 2019, while helping U-M advance to the College World Series finals. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Student-Athlete Of The Month Baseball Redshirt Junior Pitcher Isaiah Paige

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Wolverine - March 2021