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Erik Bakich believes Michigan baseball can ‘compete for national championships’ consistently
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Michigan has enjoyed an unprecedented amount of success this postseason. It’s gone from being one of the last five teams to make the NCAA Tournament to becoming the first B1G baseball team to reach the College World Series championship in over 50 years.
It’s sparked a newfound passion for the sport in Ann Arbor, and head coach Erik Bakich has received a lot of credit for getting the Wolverines to this stage. And beginning Monday, UM will square off against Vanderbilt in a best-of-three series with a national title on the line.
Regardless of what happens in the next three days, though, Michigan has raised the standard for its baseball program moving forward. Bakich isn’t satisfied with just one strong postseason run. He wants the Wolverines to compete for national titles on a yearly basis.
“This doesn’t have to be a once every 35-year type of situation. We can build Michigan into a program that competes for national championships on a consistent basis,” Bakich told Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News. “Not that we’re going to win one every year, but at least we’re in the hunt. And this, being here in Omaha, can be something, an occurrence that happens consistently.”
Michigan hasn’t just skated by through the postseason, it was been as close to dominant as imaginable, particularly since arriving in Omaha. After winning the Corvallis Regional and defeating top-seeded UCLA 2-1 in a best-of-three Super Regional series, The Wolverines are 3-0 in the College World Series, defeating Texas Tech twice (5-3 in Game 1; 15-3 in Game 3) and Florida State (2-0 in Game 2).
That success has set a precedent for the future. And Bakich plans to be a part of it for quite some time.
“I love Michigan,” Bakich said when asked if he plans to stick around. “I love the Block M. Most importantly, I love the kids on that bus.
Michigan and Vanderbilt will begin the best-of-three series on Monday at 7 p.m. ET in Omaha. The game will be aired on ESPN.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB