Donovan's Homer Early, Near Walk-Off Late all Part of Drama in Tough Loss

By Steve Kornacki

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Joe Donovan was the hero early and the University of Michigan catcher came a few feet away from becoming the walk-off hero late.

Donovan launched a two-run homer against UCLA starter Jack Ralston in the second inning that came about five feet from clearing the towering structure of netting behind the left field wall at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

It was a moon shot that gave the Wolverines a 3-1 lead in a Saturday night (June 8) game that became a classic where nail-biting and nervous pacing were concerned.

"I was just looking for a fastball," said Donovan, "and he threw me a first-pitch splitter that was pretty good. So, I was looking fastball away and he threw a splitter that kind of just hung into the zone just enough, and I tried to react to it and put good wood on it and was lucky to catch it right, and it went out."

He provided a lead Michigan held until the top of the eighth inning in a crazy, seesaw game that had more plot twists than seemed imaginable. The Bruins tied it that inning with a Michael Toglia solo homer and took the lead on an unearned run in the top of the ninth.

However, the Wolverines refused to toss in the towel. Jimmy Kerr led off the bottom of the ninth with a double hit deep into the gap in left-center, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Blake Nelson and tied the game at 4-4 by scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jack Blomgren.

Christan Bullock, who reached first when hit by a pitch prior to Blomgren's at-bat, is the speediest player on the team and was arriving at third base while Donovan's second deep shot of the game was descending with left fielder Jack Stronach's back literally to the wall.

Wolverine Dugout

Did it have enough?

Would it be the shot to send Michigan to the College World Series for the first time in 35 years?

A hush fell over the sell-out crowd as the outcome hung in the balance as surely as the ball hung up in the still air.

Stronach raised his glove and caught it a few feet from the top of the wall. Donovan put his hands to the earflaps of his batting helmet from his view near second base, and the game went to extra innings.

"It was a fraction of an inch off the sweet spot (of the bat)," said Donovan, "and so I was rounding first base hoping there was enough dryness left in the air from earlier that could carry it out."

Michigan coach Erik Bakich said of his sophomore catcher, who wears the bandana with 153 on it in memory of his brother and best friend, Charlie, who would've been a senior this season had he not passed away in 2015:

"Well, you know Joe's a warrior. He's overcome so much in his life, and a little adversity in a baseball game is nothing. But he gave us a huge hit with the two-run blast in the second. Then the same ball he hit in the ninth inning -- if he'd hit that earlier in the day (when conditions were more conducive) -- that's a walk-off home run.

"But he drilled it and the guy caught it right at the fence ... I thought it was gone in the ninth. That would've been storybook."

Donovan later dropped a sacrifice bunt in the 12th inning to move Jack Blomgren, who led off with a walk, to second base. But Ako Thomas struck out and Jordan Nwogu grounded out to short to end the game.

UCLA (51-10) rode five innings of one-run relief by closer and winner Holden Powell to even the NCAA Super Regional with a 5-4 win that forced Sunday night's deciding game in a best-of-three series that began Friday night with the Wolverines (45-19) holding onto a thrilling, 3-2, win.

"If I'd have told you we're going to walk 10 and make five errors in a 12-inning game with the No. 1 team in the country," said Bakich, "I don't think anyone would believe me. We had sloppy plays that cost us and both teams had opportunities. It was a frustrating game in many ways, but I'm also very proud of the way our guys battled back there in the ninth inning.

"Then we got out of a bases-load, no-out jam (in the 11th when Nelson turned a truly unusual unassisted double play) and I thought we were going to end it in the bottom of that frame. It was just one of those games that just never quite materialized. This one's over and it doesn't matter. We get an opportunity to come out tomorrow, and I know our team will be champing at the bit and ready to go."

The Wolverines had an unbelievable 10 walks and five errors to the Bruins' incredible one walk and zero errors. Those numbers alone would signal a blowout in nearly every case, but not in this case.

Michigan would've won, 4-2, if only earned runs counted. But the scoreboard doesn't discriminate in that way.

Jeff Criswell, who got the save Friday night by getting the final two outs with two runners on base, escaped potential disaster in the first inning to settle down and allow only two runs (one earned) over 5.1 innings.

Then the bullpen, which had struggled of late, took over and allowed just one earned run over 6.2 innings against one of the nation's most feared offenses. Isaiah Paige, from nearby Diamond Bar, gave up the homer to Toglia but also came on with two on and one out in the sixth to slam the door on UCLA.

Benjamin Keizer and Walker Cleveland also provided a lift in relief.

Keizer was brilliant, coming on with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth to strikeout Noah Cardenas. Then he had a one-two-three 10th inning with two more strikeouts.

Cleveland (4-3) took the loss, but also pitched out of some tight spots.

"The guys in the bullpen, at times we got ourselves into a jam," said Bakich. "But we also got out of a lot of jams as well. All those guys that came in impacted the game in some way or another, and it ended up being a big double (in the 12th) for the go-ahead run. But we did a good job again of holding down a very good offense."

Bakich said junior left-hander Tommy Henry (9-5, 3.61 ERA), who beat UCLA here on March 8, is expected to start even though he's been battling "a virus" this weekend and said everyone was ready to pitch.

UCLA coach John Savage said freshman Nick Nastrini (1-0, 0.57 ERA) would make his fourth appearance and third start of the season. He's struck out 24 with five walks in 15.2 innings. Savage joked about his closer, Powell, who threw 77 pitches and only nine fewer than starter Ralston: "Holden says he can go another five innings."

The first two games have been classics, both decided by one run and featuring seemingly never-ending pressure moments.

The third game promises to be more of the same, with the winner moving onto Omaha.