2025 B1G Baseball Tournament Day One Recap
Your daily recap of all of the latest from the B1G Baseball Tournament, with insights on the top prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft.
It was Upset Day to begin the B1G Baseball Tournament. It’s the inaugural season welcoming former Pac-12 schools to the B1G and the introduction to the Pool Play concept to the conference tournament. Teams that win in game 1 of the Pool Play put themselves in a strong position to with their respective pool and play again this weekend.
Game Of the Day: Illinois Barely Tops Michigan in Extra Innings
Illinois (11) v Michigan (7)
On a cold and rainy Omaha morning, Game 1 of the B1G Tournament appeared to be getting out of hand. Michigan starting pitcher, Kurt Barr, struggled immediately. Illinois hitters showed a patient approach and loaded the bases with no outs. Michigan head coach, Tracey Smith, wasted no time and brought in reliever Dylan Vigue. The right-hander walked the first batter he faced, induced a line out, and then after a two-run single to squeak out of the inning down 3-0.
Vigue settled down over the next four innings. He logged a much-needed five-inning, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, and 7 K outing across 95 pitches. Illinois’s starting pitcher, Tyler Schmidt, was excellent for the Fighting Illini. Featuring a three-quarters delivery, Schmidt sat 87-92 mph with the fastball also featuring an upper-70s breaking ball with depth and a changeup that elicited chase from the Michigan left-handed hitters.
Schmidt finished seven innings working around six hits and limiting the Wolverines to only two runs. He racked up nine strikeouts to just one walk. It was a masterful opening volley from the Fighting Illini.
Michigan’s second baseman, Mitch Voit, put a charge into multiple swings throughout the game. He smoked a triple early in the game and followed with an opposite field home run in the 8th inning to cut the deficit to 5-3. A few minutes later, a titanic home run by Noah Miller tied the game up at five apiece. Voit later worked a walk in the 9th inning to load the bases.
Moment that Mattered Most:
- It’s hard to have a bigger moment than Noah Miller’s home run. Charles Schwab Field is a difficult place to hit a home run and Miller’s 417 foot home run to tie up the game was a huge turning point. And yet the double play turned by the Illinois defense in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded proved to be the most impactful play of the game. It staved off an improbable Michigan comeback and leading to the go-ahead 10th inning by Jordan.
Next Games:
- Illinois (1-0) v. UCLA at 10 AM on Wednesday, May 21
- Michigan (0-1) v. UCLA at 10 AM on Thursday, May 22
Rutgers Pulls Off an Upset Over Indiana
Rutgers (10) v Indiana (6)
The Scarlet Knights continued the upset trend with a 5-2 win over Indiana. The scoring began improbably. Jack Sweeney came in as a defensive replacement for Peyton Bonds who was removed from the game after he hit the outfield wall hard, attempting to make a catch.
Sweeney entered the game with one home run on the season and immediately drove a Ryan Kraft offering over the fence for a 1-0 Rutgers lead. The Scarlet Knights would later hit two more home runs along with a run scoring single sandwiched in the middle for five runs on the evening.
True freshman Landon Mack was excellent holding a Hoosiers lineup with multiple potential first round selections in this July’s MLB Draft scoreless. Korbyn Dickerson and Devin Taylor were stymied by Mack, who primarily used a well-executed low 90s fastball mixed with breaking ball and a firm changeup (sat 84-86 mph).
Mack’s six shutout innings set the tone and the Scarlet Knights held the Hoosiers scoreless until the 9th inning when Taylor launched his 17th home run of the season. Indiana was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position on the day, a recipe for a challenging offensive day at the ballpark.
Next Games:
- Indiana (0-1) v. UCLA at 2 PM on Friday, May 23
- Rutgers (1-0) v. Iowa at 6 PM on Wednesday, May 21
Nebraska Topples Michigan State in Extra-Inning Fashion
Michigan State (12) v Nebraska (8)
The Michigan State Spartans had control of this game until the very end. A strong start by Joseph Dzierwa put Michigan State in the pole position late. The Spartans had a 4-1 lead before the Huskers began to fight their way back into the game.
But fought back the Huskers did… that capped off with some help from an unfortunate play by the Spartans Parker Picot in right field. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, chaos happened. It’s impossible to describe the significant difference in emotions all wrapped up in a single play.
The star of the show tonight though wasn’t the misplay. It was the Nebraska Huskers bullpen. Timmerman, Christo, and Broderick racked up 8 shutout innings in relief of Ty Horn. It would have been easy for the game to go off the rails, but the Huskers clawed back with a moment that had Omaha rocking.
Next Games:
- Nebraska (1-0) v. Oregon at 6 PM on Friday, May 23
- Michigan State (0-1) v. Oregon at 6 PM on Thursday, May 22
What to Expect From Day Two
- Illinois (0-1) v. UCLA (0-0) at 10 AM
- Penn State (0-1) v. Washington (0-0) at 2 PM
- Rutgers (1-0) v. Iowa (0-0) at 6 PM
Written by