Michigan Notches First Home Win of Season with Victory over Oakland

Wednesday, March 6

Ann Arbor, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

5-8

Oakland

3-8

Oakland

Michigan

Cole Caruso (Michigan Photography)

Michigan Notches First Home Win of Season with Victory over Oakland

3/6/2024 6:18:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score PDF Boxscore Photo Gallery

By: Conor Stemme

» The Wolverines opened their 2024 home slate with an 8-5 victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
» Bradley Navarro and Cole Caruso recorded the first home runs of their Michigan careers, with Caruso hitting a grand slam for a team-leading four RBIs.
» Kyle Dernedde went three-for-four on the day, notching a triple and two runs scored.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team started the 2024 home slate off with an emphatic 13-5 victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Wednesday (Mar. 6) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium.

Four Wolverines batted in multiple RBIs in the contest, with Cole Caruso hitting a grand slam for the first home run of his Michigan career. Ricky Kidd recorded the first win of his Michigan career with two innings of scoreless relief, with Kurt Barr earning the start and Jacob Denner and Will Rogers rounding out the pitching staff.

Though the Golden Grizzlies struck first in the top of the third inning, the Maize and Blue wasted no time in responding, when Kyle Dernedde led the bottom of the frame off with a triple and Rogers found the gap for an RBI single. With two base runners in scoring position, Mitch Voit found empty grass deep in left field for a base-clearing double, and was brought in himself by Jonathan Kim. Bradley Navarro capped a six-run half of the inning off with a two-run home run, putting Michigan up 6-1 after three frames.

Back-to-back homers from Oakland brought the score back to a two-run margin in the top of the fourth, however a hit by pitch and wild pitch from the Golden Grizzlies' pitcher set Dylan Stanton up for a two-RBI single, putting the Wolverines back up by four with an 8-4 score line.

Oakland could only recover a single run off Denner in three innings of work, and the Maize and Blue put the dagger in the game with a five-run bottom of the eighth, headlined by Caruso's grand slam. Rogers shifted from catching to pitching to close things out for Michigan, recording two strikeouts to seal the win for the Wolverines.

The Wolverines next travel to Myrtle Beach, where they'll take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in a three-game series starting on Friday (Mar. 8). First pitch for game one is scheduled for 4:00 pm eastern time.