NCAA Runner-up Wolverines Reflect on Putting Program Back on National Map
6/27/2019 10:46:00 AM | Baseball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Wolverines were hugging one another and crying together on the grass in front of their dugout at TD Ameritrade Park. Then something pretty stirring happened. The thousands of University of Michigan fans who had come to back their team at the NCAA College World Series packed into a few sections behind the dugout and began to chant:
"It's GREAT to be a MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!"
Their heroes in cleats, with dirt-stained white pants and sweat-soaked blue jerseys and caps, stopped in their tracks. The players turned to wave and acknowledge that touching gesture, and it became a love fest for a team that was so easy to love.
Michigan won't be putting the gold NCAA championship trophy in the case back home at Ray Fisher Stadium, but it did put the program back on the national map while stirring the imaginations of its fans and many in the Midwest who came to follow the first Big Ten Conference team to reach the title game since 1966.
The Michigan baseball team hadn't gotten this far since 1962, when it took a 15-inning thriller from Santa Clara to win the national championship back at old Rosenblatt Stadium.
It had not been a relevant national title contender since Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo covered the left side of the infield in the 1980s. But guess what? They'll be getting talked about in that conversation next spring.
Wolverine baseball is back, thanks to these 35 guys who captured our hearts with their ability to survive the Big Ten Tournament and get three wins there to make the NCAA field, where they knocked out No. 1 seed UCLA in a Super Regional, No. 8 seed Texas Tech in the CWS and beat a darned good Florida State team in going 4-2 in the World Series.
Tommy Henry tied a program record with his 12th win of the season, throwing 8.1 innings in his final career start on Monday.
These Michigan Boys of Summer (the first from the school to play past June 21) came so close to winning it all.
They won the opener of the CWS championship series against No. 2 seed Vanderbilt behind the brilliant pitching of Tommy Henry and a clutch, two-run homer by Jimmy Kerr. Then they lost the second game but felt confident for game three with Karl Kauffmann starting and strikeout sensation Jeff Criswell coming in behind him.
But the Commodores (59-12) proved to be too much for the Wolverines (50-22) in the deciding game, taking it by an 8-2 score Wednesday night (June 26).
Henry and Kerr made the CWS all-tournament team along with Wolverine second baseman Ako Thomas, shortstop Jack Blomgren and center fielder Jesse Franklin. They had the best infield here with third baseman Blake Nelson batting .280 and leading the CWS with three stolen bases while playing some very slick defense.
Kerr led the World Series with three homers and eight runs batted in, and he shared the lead for most runs scored at six with Franklin. Henry's 18 strikeouts were the most in the event, and Blomgren's nine hits were, too.
This is a team that could take bows even in defeat, and captains Kerr, Henry and reliever Benjamin Keizer went up on a stage constructed on the infield to accept the silver NCAA runner-up trophy.
They set a new standard for the program, and that is to get to the championship series in Omaha.
Bakich was named the 2019 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Coach of the Year.
"Omaha isn't a city," said Bakich. "Omaha is a state of mind. You can say, 'You've got to give Omaha effort.' Now, everyone in our program will know what that means. I learned that from my coach, Keith LeClair (at East Carolina), a long time ago. Now, when we have an 'Omaha challenge,' it'll have a different meaning this time. They'll know what we're talking about.
"I'm just so proud of our guys. Nobody feels good right now, but these guys are going to be celebrated every chance there is to celebrate a Michigan baseball team in the future. They're going to talk about Team 153 as the best team in the modern era and the third-best team in 153 years (behind the 1953 and 1962 national champs). That's pretty special. I don't think our players seven years ago (when Bakich arrived) firmly believed that doing this was something that could be in store for them. It was something more that you watched on TV and fantasized about how cool it would be.
"Now, it's a reality for our program. Now that you taste this, you want to be back every year, and you find ways to get better and grow the program to find your way back here."
Team 153 set a new standard for what's considered realistic in Ann Arbor.
I worked my way around the clubhouse afterward to put one question to each of the 10 regular starters from the postseason run and the three pitchers who carried the load:
What does it mean to you to have put Wolverine baseball back on the map as a serious national championship contender?
Catcher Joe Donovan said: "I just think of myself as a young kid and the places I would've wanted to go, the teams that I saw on TV in this. Hopefully, some young kids watched us and now figure Michigan is that kind of place. That would be the biggest victory of all for this team. We showed that what you aspire to be, you can be. We're putting future trophies in the case, too."
Criswell said: "Of course, today's tough. But we're happy we got Michigan baseball back on the map and on the national stage. We had a lot of fun this season and are going to get right back at it with Team 154. Getting this far and not getting on top for the season will be on our mind, but it's only going to make Michigan baseball work harder."
Blomgren said: "We gained respect from the nation. We competed with the top two teams in the nation and played them pretty well (going 2-1 against UCLA and 1-2 against Vanderbilt). We represented something bigger than ourselves and that's northern schools, too."
Designated hitter and outfielder Jordan Nwogu said: "We're not satisfied, but we're definitely happy. It was a heck of a run. We came up short, but we had a great team that worked hard to get to this point. For Michigan, it's now the standard to get here. It's attainable. Next year, expect us back here."
Kerr said: "We built relationships with these guys that will last the rest of our lives, and right now losing sucks. But in months and years down the road, this was a special group. We'll come back and celebrate this special season. But that's hard to see right now."
Henry said: "Nobody in this locker room believed in the whole Cinderella story thing. We believe we belong here, and we knew we belonged here. That gives confidence to the guys coming back. This wasn't just a Cinderella thing. Michigan baseball will be back here very soon."
Thomas said: "We've accomplished so much this year. We definitely let people know that you don't have to go to the SEC or ACC to make it to the College World Series. We have ultimately left the jersey in a better place for our program and future players, letting them know that anything is possible. No one expected us to be here, and it probably even surprised us a little bit that we're actually here. But we left it all on the field."
Nelson said: "It solidified what the coaches have told us in the two years I've been here. Omaha's the goal and it should be the goal every year. It's attainable, and this cemented what they've told us and coached us to do -- to become a team that expects to go to Omaha every single year. It takes the first time to do that to make it a standard, and as a senior I hope the guys who come in and Team 154 will live up to that standard."
Franklin said: "We're not (a school) from California, Florida or Texas. But we were able to come together as a team and represent an overlooked group and not only compete with real good teams but beat them soundly. We showed people that we belong here and showed people Michigan baseball is not your regular northern school team. It'll be fun next year to show that this wasn't a fluke and that we'll be even better. I don't want to play summer ball. I don't even want to play in the fall. I just want to start the season over again right now."
Right fielder Jordan Brewer said: "This was huge. Like E.B. (Bakich) said earlier, it gave a spark to the Midwest, and it's just going to explode now. We can play with the big dogs. With Bakich coming back, they're going to light it up. I can't wait to see what he does next year with them. And now the young guys have the bitter taste in their mouth of losing this series, and being here, they're not going to let that happen in years to come."
The Wolverines finished the season with a 50-22 record, the program's most wins since 1987.
Left fielder Christan Bullock said: "Hopefully, we made a mark and people will remember for years to come. It builds a big fire for next year. From day one next year, E.B. is going to have a set plan, and we're going to follow it. I can't wait to start it. We don't like the taste of losing, and we're going to remember this feeling every day."
Kauffmann said: "I think it's important that we showed that just because we're from the North, we can still do this. Big picture, it's a bright future. The future's bright as long as Coach Bakich is at the helm. When I was getting recruited at 15 or 16, he made a list of 10 things he promised me, and every one of them came true.
"Once we see the impact that this has on future generations and future Michigan baseball teams, that'll be the coolest part for us."
Kauffmann gave it all he had against Vanderbilt. He was pitching on short rest and had taken measures to maximize being at his physical best for this game, but he just wasn't his normal commanding self.
"I felt good, but I missed on a few pitches and they made me pay for it," said Kauffmann. "I wish I could've done a better job. But this isn't just the story of one game. It's been quite a run and it's been a lot of fun."
Kauffmann (12-7) allowed five runs on three hits and five walks while striking out five. Bakich came out to get him after he walked Ty Duvall leading off the fourth, and his infielders approached him on the mound in a show of support. Blomgren pounded him in the chest, and Bakich put his right arm around Kauffmann's shoulder while comforting him.
Then Criswell arrived from the bullpen, and it was time to walk to the dugout, where a double row of teammates greeted Kauffmann. They never would've reached Omaha without him setting the tone, going 4-0 in the NCAA Tournament before this one, and deep down he knew that.
Kauffmann came here as a blue-chip recruit from Bloomfield Hills (Michigan) Brother Rice. He picked the Wolverines over a number of schools, including Vanderbilt, because he wanted to take the school he loved some place special. And he did that.
You might have noticed that he always wore the same sweat-stained blue cap. He told me it was issued to him as a freshman and he never wore another cap with the block M on it. The new caps never felt quite right and so he stayed with what was comfortable.
Did it ever get washed?
"Only if you count a hard rain," Kauffmann said with a wry smile.
And so he leaves for the Colorado Rockies, who drafted him in the second round, and will he ever be missed.
So will Henry, who went 2-0 with a 1.56 earned run average in the CWS.
Henry was a second-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he could've just nestled into a corner of the dugout and daydreamed about his signing-bonus money. But he was on the top step of the dugout, right behind the on-deck circle, shouting encouragement and advice all night long, as he always does.
And when it was time for the bullpen pitchers in the dugout to take their middle-inning sprint to touch the bullpen wall, Henry sprinted out in front of them and tagged the wall first. Then he sprinted back to the dugout, getting there first.
When asked how hard it would be to take the No. 47 jersey off for the last time, Henry, eyes red, said, "Tough. I might sleep in it tonight and wear it until they force me to turn in laundry. It was a dream of mine since I was three years old, but what I could've never dreamed was being surrounded by such a great group of guys. That's what makes it special. Those are the things I'll never forget."
Henry (12-5) and Kauffmann matched the school single-season victory total Rich Stoll set in 1982 and repeated in 1983, and they will go down as two of the very best to ever hurl for the Maize and Blue.
Kerr also made a name for himself and finished the season by topping the team with 15 homers and the Big Ten with 64 RBI. His next swings will come in the minors for the Detroit Tigers, who took him in the 33rd round one year after he hit only one homer with four RBI.
He'll have to be replaced along with Thomas (.316 in the CWS) and Nelson. Big Ten Player of the Year Brewer, drafted in the third round by the Houston Astros, also is almost surely gone to the pros.
However, Blomgren is back along with Franklin and Donovan to keep the team strong up the middle, and the speedy Bullock developed into quite a player.
Nwogu, who missed the title game after straining a quad muscle Tuesday, also returns as a force. He batted .321 with 12 homers and 46 RBI and expects to be back in the outfield next season.
Criswell (17 strikeouts in 10.2 CWS innings) will either anchor the starting rotation or be an outstanding closer, and injured starter Ben Dragani will be back as a strong weekend rotation member. Isaiah Paige, who threw four strong innings against Vanderbilt in the second game, may have staked a claim to another one of those rotation spots.
There are plenty of young, up-and-coming players and recruits, too.
Michigan baseball is ready to reload and, most importantly, back on the map.
