OMAHA, Neb. – In a pitcher’s duel befitting one of the biggest rivalries in college athletics, Ohio State righty Gavin Kuzniewski and Michigan lefty Shane Brinham took turns striking out the other’s teammates and hanging zeroes on the scoreboard at Charles Schwab Field.
Pitching for the Wolverines, the true freshman Brinham threw a five-hit complete game shutout to beat their archrival 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals at the Big Ten tournament, where they’ll face No. 2 seed Nebraska before a heavily partisan crowd on Friday night. The win came just a week after Ohio State swept the final Big Ten series of the year from the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, outscoring them 28-6.
“We always say toughness or whatever doesn’t have any age parameters. And the fact that he’s a freshman, he’s just a tough kid and a competitor,” said Michigan head coach Tracy Smith. “And I felt really confident with him on the mound. And you see the confidence that the guys love playing behind him. But for him to give that performance and give us a chance to extend our season is absolutely huge.”
Brinham allowed five hits and two walks, striking out 11 of the 35 batters he faced and throwing 124 pitches. He stifled the Buckeyes, for whom only Maddix Simpson had two hits. Ohio State got a single runner in scoring position, which happened in the second when Mason Eckelman hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a walk to Lee Ellis, but then Brinham struck out Grant Mangrum and Miles Vandenheuvel swinging to end the threat.
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Less than a week ago, Brinham wasn’t as successful against Ohio State, allowing four runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings on May 15 in a 7-3 loss, but he didn’t bring any baggage from the loss with him to Omaha.
“They’re still really fresh in my mind from last Friday,” Brinham said. “It was last Friday, so just being able to make small adjustments hitter to hitter was really helpful. And honestly, I think it was a good thing that we got to face them pretty fresh, and have a fresh mind[.]”
With one out in the third, Ohio State starter Gavin Kuzniewski lost his command, walking Michigan leadoff man Dane Morrow, then walked Colby Turner on four pitches and hit Brayden Jefferis with his first offering to load the bases. Noah Miller then hit a hot grounder at Buckeyes second baseman Lee Ellis, who couldn’t field the ball off a short hop and it went into right field, allowing Morrow and Turner to score for a 2-0 Michigan lead.
That momentary lapse in control cost Kuzniewski and the Buckeyes, because otherwise, he was stellar, going 7 2/3 innings, giving up a single hit, striking six, and allowing three runs, two of them earned, but it wasn’t enough.
Staked to a 2-0 lead, Brinham cruised the rest of the way, never allowing two batters to reach base in the same inning again.
Asked if when he knew his pitcher was hot, Miller, the Wolverine catcher, said, “I felt like in the bullpen, he was letting it eat a little bit, so I knew he was hyped up for it, as anybody would be. This is probably the biggest start of his life, and I just wanted to make sure he stayed in the zone, trusted his stuff.”