UM, MSU face elimination in Big Ten baseball tourney after opening losses

The baseball teams at Michigan and Michigan State face elimination in the Big Ten Tournament after opening losses on Tuesday in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Wolverines dropped a 13-3 decision against Iowa with Michigan starter Connor O’Halloran (8-6) allowing seven earned runs in five innings. Michigan will play Illinois in the consolation bracket on Wednesday (8 p.m., BTN).

The Spartans suffered a 3-2 setback against Maryland with Michigan State’s Nick Powers striking out six in seven innings. Michigan State will play on Thursday against the loser of the Nebraska-Rutgers game (11 a.m., BTN).

In Michigan’s loss, O’Halloran fanned seven batters as part of a five-inning line that saw him charged with seven runs on seven hits and two walks. He now has 110 strikeouts on the season, good for a tie for sixth all-time in a single season.

Iowa’s Brayden Frazier hit his first grand slam in the fifth inning. Frazier’s third home run of the season was the ninth grand slam for the Hawkeyes, who hadn’t had a slam in the conference tournament since 2017.

In Michigan State’s loss, Brock Vradenburg and Greg Ziegler each had two hits for the Spartans, who hit into five double plays and left 10 runners on base.