Michigan opened the Big Ten Tournament with a 10-0 win over Rutgers in seven innings Tuesday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, getting a complete-game shutout from Cade Montgomery and enough power to end the game early.
Montgomery struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and two walks as Michigan improved to 33-22. Brayden Jefferis, Evan Haeger and Noah Miller each homered, and Colby Turner finished with a team-leading three hits and three RBI. Turner drove in Michigan’s final two runs as the Wolverines pulled away after leading 4-0 entering the seventh.
The win came in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and turned into a run-rule victory when Michigan scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh to finish it off. Haeger and Miller hit back-to-back home runs in that inning, with Miller’s blast traveling 402 feet, and the burst sent Rutgers to 26-29.
Michigan now moves on to the second round, where it will face the winner of Wednesday’s Washington-Ohio State game at 9 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. The result put Michigan in control early and left Rutgers with no answer once Montgomery settled in and the offense started stacking swings that kept the game from reaching the late innings.
