The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OLYMPIC SPORTS Downing said. "When we go back home, we're making some minor adjustments, nothing too big. We're going to make sure we feel great about our game heading into the Big Ten Championships, and another great thing is that we're going to be outside and practice and play outside. "I know we're going to be well rested and well prepared going into the Big Ten Championships." BASEBALL HITTING ITS STRIDE The Michigan baseball team did not make the field for the Big Ten Tournament the past three seasons, posting a combined 29-36 conference record in those three campaigns. This year, the field for the Big Ten Tournament is expanding from six to eight teams. Either way, though, the Wolverines are firmly in position to make the cut. As of April 21, Michigan had compiled an 18-21-1 overall record and an 8-7 mark in Big Ten play. That was good for fourth place in the league, behind Indiana (25-11, 11-1), Illinois (21-14, 9-3) and Nebraska (26-16, 8-4). No one else in the conference stood above .500 in conference play. The Wolverines were the lone Big Ten team to have beaten the Hoosiers, who are looking to defend their 2013 Big Ten Tournament title. Michigan opened Big Ten play with a three-game series March 21-23 in Bloomington, Ind. After dropping the first two games, 5-3 and 5-1, the Wolverines bounced back with a 4-3 upset win, boosted by sophomore Travis Maezes' three-run double in the fourth inning. The Wolverines had not swept a series against a conference opponent yet, but they had done their fair share of damage. They won series versus Iowa March 28-30, Illinois April 11-13 and Purdue April 18-20. The Wolverines ranked fourth in the conference in team pitching, with a 3.48 ERA. The team's hitting was starting to come around — with a 17-9 win over Illinois and a 13-3 win over Purdue in the last two conference series — but Michigan still ranked ninth in the league with a team batting average of .252. Baseball coach Erik Bakich's Wolverines began Big Ten play 8-7, which was good for fourth place and had them on track to earn a spot in the conference tournament. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP