During his three-season career in the mid-1970s, former Michigan pitcher Lary Sorensen was close to every college baseball player's dream - twice.
And the memory still stings him.
"The two Big Ten titles and then losing two years in a row to Eastern Michigan in the regionals over at Eastern," Sorensen said. "We took them to the final game both years and if we had beat them, we would have gone to Omaha. We just came up a little bit short."
While the 1975 and '76 versions of the Wolverines dominated the Big Ten, winning back-to-back championships, the elusive College World Series in Omaha, Neb., was twice spoiled.
The Michigan baseball program has undergone changes in the two decades since, but Sorensen's loyalty to baseball and his former school remains undying. And with the scrutiny Michigan sports have experienced this summer, Sorensen said he takes each attack on the school personally.
"I think that anybody that participated in sports at U of M feels a lot of pride being associated with the program," he said. "So every time dirt is thrown on the program, you feel bad about it."
The entire Michigan program has been under fire, but as a change from the early 1990s, the baseball program is not under attack.
"I think Bill (Freehan) really started the whole thing," he said. Freehan "brought respectability back to the program. (Current coach Geoff) Zahn's taken it up the next step. When they brought Freehan in, they thought this would give Michigan's baseball program some legitimacy - and I think it did."
The validation was hardly a concern when Sorensen played at Michigan for legendary coach Moby Benedict from 1974-76. When graduation came in the spring of '76, Sorensen moved on his other dream - big-league baseball.
After spending 11 years as a journeyman major league pitcher, Sorensen had years of professional experience but no longer possessed a big-league arm.
So he turned his attention to the action of those with remaining talent and joined former athletes whose careers were cut short by nature - television commentators.
"Baseball is a fantasy world and you want to spend as much time in it as possible," Sorensen said. "Being a broadcaster is the next best thing to being on the field - you're there everyday, and you're participating. By talking to the guys you're an outsider to a degree, but you still feel a big part of it."
Because he began at the bottom of the profession, Sorensen was forced to return to his collegiate roots in the very venue that eluded him as a player - the College World Series in Omaha.
Now five years later, Sorensen is the analyst for another team in the state of Michigan, the Detroit Tigers.
Long days and multiple road trips continue to be Sorensen's life, but even the Tigers' travails can't erase the past.
When thoughts of Justin Thompson and Tony Clark fade from his consciousness after a day at the office, Sorensen allows himself to think back to college baseball and its importance to the sport's success. And he said his Michigan career was a positive example.
"It was an all-around great experience," he said. "I think it's the way kids should go if they have the opportunity - especially at a school like Michigan. It's a real developmental time for kids. A semi-controlled environment - like college is - is a good way to develop even further.
"I think about some of the kids I saw in the minor leagues at rookie ball and they were pretty good players, but at 18 years old, they couldn't handle being on their own."
After 11 years in the professional ranks, three as a college pitcher and another seven as a member of the media, Sorensen knows the game inside and out and treats the increasing collegiate presence in the majors as nothing but positive for the game.
"Kids are getting good coaching in college and so they're further developed when they start playing professional baseball," he said. "I think the trend has been swinging that way for a long time and will continue to do so."