OMAHA, Neb. – Sophomore first baseman Mitch Voit packed his bat as he shifted three spots lower in the lineup. Michigan coach Tracy Smith modified the order to fill the batter’s box with left-handers, searching for an answer to combat Iowa’s ace right-hander Brody Brecht.
But from the first hit of the day to the game-winning RBI, the Wolverines have the righty Voit to thank.
Even before a pitch was thrown, Brecht left his imprint on Michigan. Brecht’s resume spoke for itself: 118 strikeouts in 71 innings this season earned him the starting job for the first game of the Big Ten Tournament. Brecht has no issue controlling the zone to send the opponent walking back to the dugout, but more importantly, it came with ease against right-handed batters.
Since April 14, every right-handed batter that faced Brecht walked away hitless. And while Smith set up his system of lefties to crack the code, Voit had different plans in mind.
Supporting the later slot, Voit didn’t see his first at-bat until the second inning. A trio of lefties made up of freshman left-fielder AJ Garcia, sophomore center-fielder Jonathan Kim and freshman designated hitter Collin Priest were stranded in disarray as Brecht fortified the mound.
Strutting to the plate in his usual fashion, Voit delivered the Wolverines their first hit of the day to right field — and broke the right-handed curse Brecht had inflicted upon the Big Ten.
“I think as much as you can take yourself out of that equation as a manager, let your kids go play is what you wanna do,” Smith said.
And Smith didn’t have to strategize to stump the Hawkeye pitcher, because Voit simply showed up to play.
Voit’s initial success soon became a treasured moment as Michigan trekked through three more scoreless innings while Brecht dialed in. The Wolverines joined the game in the sixth inning when they scored two runs from a wild pitch. But by the eighth inning, Michigan and Iowa were in a standoff as Brecht’s pitch count rose.
Brecht was one mistake away from leaving the mound and Voit was the thorn in his side.
Voit slapped the ball toward the Hawkeye shortstop, but he beat out the throw at first base. And once Voit was safe, the Iowa coach reluctantly made the call to the bullpen ending Brecht’s performance. Brecht pitched a clean outing with zero earned runs and 10 strikeouts, but Brecht couldn’t fend off Voit’s presence.
Iowa sought relief in right-hander Gavin Young who muddled through his tenure on the mound. The stalemate game continued into the tenth inning before the Wolverines found the late-game momentum they had become accustomed to. After Kim singled to left-field, Young aided in Michigan’s offensive campaign with back-to-back walks. With zero outs, Voit confidently approached the plate and despite a pitching change, he had one goal in mind.
“Hit the ball somewhere far and get the guy on third in,” Voit told Big Ten Network.
Voit has produced his fair share of late–game heroics, and a home run wasn’t far out of reach. However, Voit didn’t have to launch a ball or power hit his way out of this. All he had to do was wait.
He waited for those four balls and jogged to first base as he earned the walk-off walk. While he walked, his teammates ran to join him in celebration with a Gatorade shower.
The Wolverines benefited from his first single and his keen eye that drew the final walk. Voit proved once more that when Michigan needs a single to start or a walk to finish, its fate is in the right hands.
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