Washington baseball tops Michigan 7-1 at Big Ten Tournament

The Washington Huskies are moving on in the Big Ten Tournament following a 7-1 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday night. Coach Eddie Smith's team was led by a dominant effort from starter Jackson Thomas, who allowed a run on 8 hits with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts over 6 innings of work to earn his third win of the season. "I feel like I definitely stayed out of the middle of the zone and hit the corners and my spots," Thomas told the Big Ten Network after the game.

"That definitely helps out when I've got a good defense and (Ethan) Swidler behind the plate. " After Jack Wade worked 2/3 of an inning in relief of Thomas and walked 2 batters, recording a strikeout along the way, he gave way to Bryce Johnson, who went the final 2 1/3 with a walk and 3 strikeouts to secure his second save of the year. At the plate, Washington was lifted by a few big swings.

Third baseman Blake Wilson gave the Huskies an early lead with a two-run home run in the second inning as part of a 2-for-5 day, while shortstop Sam DeCarlo added a run-scoring double in the third inning. Later on, the Huskies added some insurance courtesy of Tuesday's hero, center fielder Mic Paul, who roped a two-run single up the middle as part of a 1-for-2 day with 3 walks, before left fielder Jackson Hotchkiss continued to etch his name into the UW record books. The projected first-round pick in the 2027 MLB draft hit his 20th home run of the season in the eighth inning, a two-run blast, to give UW plenty of breathing room.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 25-31 on the year and made it out of bracket play in the tournament. Now, they'll get a day off before they move on to face their arch-rival, the Oregon Ducks , on Friday, May 22, at 7:00 p. m.