Eight years is a long time. Two presidential terms. Two Olympiads. Four years of undergraduate and four years of medical school combined - for most people.
One Michigan Big Ten baseball championship.
The Wolverines are the conference champs after disposing of No. 22 Ohio State this weekend by taking two of four games.
"We're not done yet," Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said. "This is just one step along the way. We've got the Big Ten playoffs and see if we can can qualify for regionals."
Nearly half of the boisterous Fisher Stadium crowd - clearly the largest of the season - had made the trip from Columbus to see their Buckeyes take another league title.
But not this weekend.
"Quite a few of us had to watch as they celebrated on their field three years ago," Michigan captain and second baseman Kirk Beermann said. "There isn't a better team to clinch the Big Ten on than Ohio State."
This year, the Wolverines grabbed hold of the conference title after winning the second game of the doubleheader, 4-3, on Saturday. The victory not only gave the Wolverines their first conference title in the 1990s, it also gave Michigan home-field advantage throughout the Big Ten playoffs, which start tomorrow.
The biggest play of the series - and consequently, the season - was as improbable as the hero of the day. In the sixth inning, with Michigan trailing, 3-2, and Bryan Besco on first, catcher Mick Kalahar stepped up to the plate.
Kalahar drove a sinking liner to the left-centerfield gap. Ohio State centerfielder Mike Lockwood got a quick jump on the shot, made a diving lunge at the ball, but came up short. Leftfielder Jason Trott fumbled the ball while backing up the play.
Besco wheeled around second and was sent home by Michigan third base coach Chris Harrison, while Trott was busy trying to find the handle on the ball in the outfield.
"Once they kicked the ball a little bit in the outfield, he was going to go," Harrison said.
Trott's relay sailed over the head of the cutoff man and the third baseman, then trickled into the Ohio State dugout, allowing Besco to score without a play.
"Besco made the play by hustling," Harrison said. "If he doesn't hustle all the way, we don't score."
As a bonus, Kalahar, who was approaching third base, was awarded home plate on the errant throw.
"It was a cheap hit, off the end of the bat, but I'll take it," Kalahar said.
Following Kalahar's double and the two-base throwing error, the score became 4-3, which it remained. The unusual play proved to be the clincher.
"I knew it was going to be over once we got the lead again," Michigan starting pitcher and winner J.J. Putz said. "I wasn't going to let us lose this game."
The 6-foot-5 sophomore hurler - undefeated in conference play at 5-0 - settled down after a rocky first inning and pitched a complete game.
Leftfielder Jason Alcaraz secured the final out and the celebratory melee ensued in the outfield, as Michigan finally grabbed the elusive conference title.
However, the scene after Saturday's game wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for a Michigan victory on Friday. The Wolverines won, 6-2. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Michigan scored four runs against Ohio State's ace, Justin Fry (9-2).
The Buckeyes managed a of couple victories of their own this weekend. By winning the first game of the doubleheader Saturday, the Buckeyes clinched one of the four spots in the conference playoffs. Their second victory of the weekend - a 12-3 shellacking on Sunday - ensured a No. 2 seed in the conference playoffs, tomorrow.
Michigan hosts Illinois at 3:30 p.m. after Ohio State takes on Purdue at noon.
| The long and winding road ... |
|---|
| Big Ten baseball tournament |
| Thursday, May 15 |
| Game 1: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Purdue, 12 p.m. |
| Game 2: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Illinois, 3:30 p.m. |
| Friday, May 16 |
| Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 12 p.m. |
| Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, May 17 |
| Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 12 p.m. |
| Game 6: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3:30 p.m |
| Sunday, May 18 |
| Game 7 (if necessary): 1 p.m. |