KALAMAZOO - When a baseball player is experiencing a slump, he often tries to overcompensate.
All of a sudden, he's tense at the plate.
He might take a pitch that he would normally hit, because he's nervous, or he might swing at a terrible pitch, because he's desperate.
Instead of working his way out of the slump by doing what comes naturally, he tries to force his way out.
The aforementioned scenario seems to be the current problem with the Michigan baseball team. Until recently, hitting has not been the Wolverines' main area of weakness this season.
"We're frustrated, because we know that the score should be the other way," Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said.
"We should be hitting the ball, and we should be pitching better and doing things right. We didn't do them the last two days, and that's frustrating."
In the past two games, Michigan has manufactured four runs on eight hits, shaking the confidence of the Wolverines' lineup.
That lineup will travel to Bloomington this weekend to face the Hoosiers and to try to maintain a first-place ranking in the Big Ten.
After Tuesday's loss, Zahn talked to the team about the importance of keeping focused, a theme which needed to be reiterated after yesterday's game in Kalamazoo.
"Coach Zahn touched on it today," third baseman Mike Cervenak said. "He thinks we're trying too hard. We're getting up there; we're tight; we're tense.
"We're just not being confident in our abilities and just letting everything flow. I think that's the biggest problem right now."
Adding to Michigan's worries is its record in mid-week, non-conference games.
The Wolverines are 2-5, after losses this week to Bowling Green, 16-3, and Western Michigan, 7-1, respectively.
Although the Wolverines are sitting atop the Big Ten with an 11-3 conference record, their performance during the week is a cause for concern.
"They are frustrated about their mid-week record," Zahn said. "We just talked about the difference between trying too hard and playing hard. Trying hard is someone who tries to do something they can't do, they lose their focus, and they get frustrated. Guys who play hard knows how they did the things right, and they concentrate, they stay relaxed and they go ahead and do them.
"We just have to regroup, stay together and remember that we're 11-3 in the Big Ten. Things could be a whole lot worse. We're going through a tough time right now, and we'll see how we battle out of it."
Double-trouble: First baseman Bryan Besco is one double away from tying the Michigan record. He has 18.
Besco produced the Wolverines' only run yesterday, hitting a seventh-inning homer.
Short stop at first: Western Michigan designated hitter Bill Chepulis grounded out six-three in three of his four at bats. He did have an RBI, but he struck out in his last time at the plate.
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
The Wolverines weren't celebrating yesterday, after falling to Western Michigan, 7-1.