Conqu'ring Heroes: Bakich on 'Sweating Out' NCAA Selection, Tourney Mindset
6/1/2021 9:32:00 AM | Baseball, Features
On this week's episode of the "Conqu'ring Heroes" podcast, Jon Jansen welcomes Michigan baseball head coach Erik Bakich to discuss the emotions before and after Monday's selection show, the status of the Big Ten entering this year's NCAA Tournament, some of the Wolverines' key contributors this season, and a few other thoughts on this weekend's South Bend Regional.
By Brian Boesch
Michigan baseball head coach Erik Bakich admitted that the last few days, and nights, have been long. The Wolverines completed the last six games of the regular season at 2-4, suffering only their second and third series losses of the season. Thanks to a scheduling change this weekend at Nebraska, Michigan had two nights to ponder whether its 27-17 record, all against Big Ten competition, would be enough to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
Deep into the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, the Wolverines were still waiting. Sure enough, at 12:30 p.m. on Memorial Day, those eight beautiful letters -- Michigan -- appeared on the screen, a moment Bakich compared to a different holiday.
"It's Christmas morning," Bakich said on this week's edition of the "Conqu'ring Heroes" podcast. "[It's] no different than watching the kids tear open their presents under the tree. It's kind of that same jubilation. Those are the celebratory moments we're chasing, and I'm really excited that our players got to experience that."
Two years ago, the Wolverines had a similar experience. Michigan anxiously watched the selection show, ultimately earning the committee's second-to-last at-large bid. This season, the committee deemed that Michigan was the third-to-last team into the field of 64.
Michigan took advantage of the opportunity back in 2019, storming through the Corvallis Regional and stunning top-seeded UCLA in the Super Regional before going 3-0 on its side of the College World Series bracket. The Wolverines went from, in essence, the 63rd team invited to the 63rd and final team eliminated, as Vanderbilt edged Michigan two games to one in the National Championship Series.
Bakich and his staff has had plenty of experience in this event, and the approach from 2019 will remain the same in 2021, as the Maize and Blue strives for a similar run.
"I think the best way to approach this is treat every game like there's no tomorrow," Bakich said. "It's so important to get in the winner's bracket and stay in the winner's bracket, so you do whatever you have to do to come out on top in every single game that you play."
The Wolverines will square off with second-seeded UConn on Friday (June 4), with either host Notre Dame or Central Michigan awaiting on Saturday (June 7). Michigan will be the only team in the South Bend Regional that did not win its league's regular-season title. The regional top-seed Fighting Irish ran away with the ACC's best record. The Huskies edged Creighton for the Big East title, and the Chippewas held off Ball State for the Mid-American Conference crown.
However, Michigan will be the only team that was truly nervous on Monday morning. By early afternoon, the weight was lifted, and the records reset to 0-0. Bakich believes that will help his team this weekend and, hopefully, beyond.
"I feel like we are in a really good spot, because we didn't know if we were getting in. We were legitimately sweating it out.
"We got house money now. We got nothing to lose."
