Michigan Falls to Illinois in Home Opener

Friday, March 19

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:00 PM

Michigan

7-2, 7-2

Illinois

5-4, 5-4

Illinois

Michigan

Jimmy Obertop (Michigan Photography)

3/19/2021 8:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Kurt Svoboda

» Illinois scored four times in the eighth inning to break up a tie game.
» Jimmy Obertop homered in the second and fourth innings and doubled in the seventh.
» Obertop's second homer traveled more than 439 feet over the batter's eye in center field.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wilpon Complex)
Score: Illinois 7, #22 Michigan 4
Records: U-M (7-2), Illinois (5-4)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 20 -- vs. Illinois (Wilpon Complex), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jimmy Obertop hit a pair of home runs, but Illinois scored four times in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 deadlock to defeat the University of Michigan baseball team, 7-4, on Friday (March 19) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium, in the Wolverines' home opener.

Michigan jumped on top with an unearned run in the first inning. Jake Marti singled to shortstop, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error before Tito Flores drove him home with a sacrifice fly to right.

Obertop made it 2-0 in the second inning when he sent a long home run down the right-field line, but Illinois put together a collection of quality at-bats in the third inning to get a run back on a one-out double to right field by Taylor Jackson to cut the U-M lead to 2-1.

Illinois benefitted from some wildness and good fortune to take the lead in the top of the fourth. A leadoff walk and an infield single were followed by a two-out walk and a two-run bloop single to right-center from Jackson. Michigan avoided further trouble in the inning as second baseman Riley Bertram scooped up the ball in the outfield and made a precise throw home to cut down a runner at the plate.

Obertop struck again in the bottom of the fourth, connecting with a 1-0 fastball and droving the ball 439 feet over the top of the batter's eye in center field to tie the game at 3.

Obertop continued to assert himself, lacing a line-drive double high off the wall in left field to start the seventh inning with and forcing a pitching change. Benjamin Sems was hit by a pitch and both he and Obertop moved up a base on a perfect sacrifice bunt from Bertram. Illinois lefty reliever Nathan Lavender came up huge, getting a pair of strikeouts to keep the game tied.

Illinois took the lead in the eighth as the Illini capitalized on a leadoff double. The visitors put runners at the corners with a mishandled sacrifice bunt and Justin Janas gave them the lead with a sacrifice fly to center. Branden Comia then delivered the fifth run with a ground-rule double to left-center. Cal Hejza made it a 6-3 game when he legged out a bounding ball to third base with two outs. Jackson then delivered his fourth hit of the game through the right side to make it 7-3. Three of the four Illini runs were unearned.

Flores sent a line-drive single to right in the eighth and that was followed by a ringing double inside the third-base bag by Griffin Mazur with one out. Logan Pollack pinch-hit and delivered a sacrifice fly to center. Obertop walked, but Lavender again used a strikeout to avoid further trouble.

Lavender (2-0) earned the win in relief with six strikeouts in three innings of work, while Dragani (2-1) suffered his first defeat following two impressive outings to start the campaign.

The Wolverines and Illini will play again Saturday (March 20) at noon in the final game of their weekend series before U-M starts a two-game home set against Michigan State on Sunday (March 21) at 4 p.m. at the Wilpon Complex.