Barr, Denner Shut Out Buckeyes in Series Opener

Friday, April 19

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:00 PM

Michigan

19-20, 9-4

Ohio State

18-16, 5-5

Ohio State

Michigan

Kurt Barr (Michigan Photography)

4/19/2024 9:59:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Conor Stemme

» Michigan defeated Ohio State 4-0 in its first shutout win since 2022.
» Kurt Barr earned his fifth win of the season with 6.1 scoreless innings and five strikeouts.
» Kyle Dernedde led the Wolverines with three RBI on the day and had two hits along with Will Rogers.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind a combined shutout pitching performance from Kurt Barr and Jacob Denner, the University of Michigan baseball team took down Ohio State on Friday night (April 19th) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium, winning 4-0 for the Wolverines' first shutout win since 2022.

Michigan (19-20, 9-4 Big Ten) was led on the mound by Barr and Denner who combined for a shutout. Barr (5-2) earned the win after 6.1 innings of work with five strikeouts. Denner tallied his second save of the year with 2.2 scoreless innings and stuck out three. Offensively, U-M was led by Will Rogers who scored twice on two hits and Kyle Dernedde who brought home three runners. Rogers and Dernedde also caught three runners stealing on the day.

Ohio State (18-16, 5-5 Big Ten) threatened early with two runners on in the first and the bases loaded in the second, both with just one out. Barr worked out of both jams and kept the Buckeyes scoreless with two flyouts, a strikeout and a groundout.

Dylan Stanton opened the scoring for Michigan after reaching on a single to lead off the second. After a single and an error loaded the bases, Dernedde brought home Stanton from third with a sacrifice fly. U-M reloaded the bases but a flyout ended the inning.

Barr settled into the game and faced the minimum three batters in the third, fourth and fifth before leaving just one runner on base in the sixth. Two caught stealings and a double play helped Barr escape the innings unscathed. After an opening single in the sixth, Barr retired the next three batters in a row.

The Wolverine offense then went quiet, tallying just one base runner in each inning until four in the sixth to extend the U-M lead. Rogers reached on a fielder's choice and stole second base which allowed him to score on a Mack Timbrook double. With two outs, Dernedde singled up the middle and Timbrook scored to increase Michigan's lead to 3-0 through six innings.

OSU got the leadoff man on with a double in the seventh but Barr and Denner combined for another scoreless inning with Denner striking out the first batter he faced. After a scoreless bottom of the seventh and a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, U-M added one more run to its tally.

Rogers singled up the middle with one out and moved to second on a fielder's choice. Dernedde came up with another two-out hit and Rogers scored from second. A fielding error loaded the bases again, but a strikeout ended the inning. Denner pitched a three-up, three-down ninth inning to close out the game with two strikeouts.

The Wolverines will continue the series against Ohio State on Saturday (April 20)at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. and the game streaming live on B1G+.