By the end of two innings, junior right-hander David Lally’s pitch count was over 30. Each Penn State batter Lally faced was a battle, with each one stealing an average of four pitches from Lally. While Lally fought valiantly, at the end of the battle it was ultimately the Nittany Lions’ offense that came out on top.
Penn State is a team known for its aggressive offense. Usually this occurs on the base path, with the Nittany Lions having stolen 65 bases thus far this season. But this wasn’t the main issue for the Michigan baseball team Friday, who didn’t allow a single stolen base. Instead, it was a combination of keen plate vision and well-timed at-bats that ultimately secured Penn State’s victory.
“They showed the power today,” Wolverines coach Tracy Smith said. “Today, they cut the balls up and we didn’t put them away. They didn’t necessarily have to steal to put pressure on us.”
Lally’s work on the mound was limited to five innings, due to his fast-rising pitch count. By the end of his outing, Lally’s fatigue was showing as the Nittany Lions’s lengthy at-bats continued to wear on. Lally’s exhaustion was illustrated immediately at the top of the fifth when, after seeing four pitches, shortstop Ryan Weingartner homered over the left-field wall. The second of three home runs that Penn State secured Friday, Weingartner’s blast pushed the Nittany Lions ahead 5-2.
To end Lally’s outing, it wasn’t strikes that got him out of the inning. Instead, it was tactical infield defense that allowed Michigan to escape the inning. A deft grab from Lally and quality extension from graduate first baseman Jeter Ybarra allowed the fifth inning damage to remain just Weingartner’s solo homer.
“David’s been doing a good job for us, getting us into sixth and seventh, and today didn’t because they fouled all pitches,” Smith said. “And it drove his pitch count up early in the game. That’s part of that problem in the sixth inning, because we’re turning it over to somebody and we’re chasing runs.”
However, Penn State’s aggressive offense didn’t let up once Lally left the mound. In fact, in the following inning, the Nittany Lions mounted a six-run offensive frenzy that saw three different Wolverines arms enter and exit the mound.
Meanwhile offensively, Michigan was unable to mirror Penn State’s powerful nature. Through the first five innings, the Wolverines’ scoring was restricted to just a two-run first inning. Despite putting six runners in scoring position during this time, Michigan was unable to turn those hits into runs. Further, through the entire competition the Wolverines were only struck out three times. Instead, it was a multitude of groundouts that retired Michigan’s offense.
The Wolverines were only able to respond when they started swinging aggressively in the sixth inning. Looking to ignite a spark in his offense, Smith pinch hit senior Joe Longo for graduate catcher Matt Spear. Longo’s impact was felt immediately, when after swinging at the first pitch he saw, Longo drove three runs home in a stand-up double. Longo’s at-bat showed a hint of the power that was present at the Nittany Lion’s plate throughout the competition. Instead of battling with the mound, and hitting frustrated ground balls, Longo showed a forcefulness that was otherwise absent from Michigan’s offense.
“We just left balls up,” Smith said. “They hammered our mistakes. We hit balls hard and we got the loss. … But the goal is to win weekends. If we come out and do our job Saturday, then we still control our destiny on that.”
While the Wolverines didn’t necessarily play poorly Friday, they certainly didn’t play to the level of their competition. While Penn State battled and played aggressive offense, Michigan remained frustrated and stifled. And at the end of the day, the powerful at-bats won out.
The post Penn State’s forceful at-bats shut down Michigan appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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