The Washington Huskies baseball team lost 8-7 to the Michigan Wolverines in the series opener on April 24. The game took place at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, with Washington moving to a record of 18-23 overall and 8-11 in Big Ten play.
This matchup was significant as both teams are competing for position within their conference. A win would have helped the Huskies improve their standing, but they were unable to hold off a late rally by Michigan.
Casen Taggart started the scoring for Washington with his third home run in four games during the second inning. Taggart has been performing well recently, batting .462 over his last four games and hitting three home runs with five runs batted in. Jackson Hotchkiss followed up with another home run in the third inning, bringing his season total to a team-leading fourteen homers—just two shy of eighth place on Washington’s single-season record list.
Noah Kenney pitched six innings for Washington, allowing only one run on five hits and striking out five batters. The Huskies led going into the seventh inning but surrendered three runs as Michigan took a one-run lead. In response, Washington scored four runs in the eighth frame through contributions from Mic Paul, Braeden Terry, and Hotchkiss again.
Despite holding a three-run lead heading into the ninth inning, Washington could not secure victory as Michigan scored four times—including a decisive three-RBI double—to end the game. Both Hotchkiss and Taggart recorded two hits each for Washington while Hotchkiss drove in four runs total.
The teams will meet again for game two of the series at Ray Fisher Stadium on Saturday morning.
