Michigan Wolverines baseball (25-13) protected home field this weekend, taking down No. 21-ranked Indiana (24-12) in two of three games in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines now sit in third place in the Big Ten standings, just behind the Hoosiers and one game back of Nebraska (24-11).

Here is a recap of how the weekend unfolded on the diamond.

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Michigan's lefty ace, redshirt sophomore Steven Hajjar, got himself into some early trouble in the first inning, allowing the Hoosiers to attain runners at the corners with just one out, but he battled his way out of the jam.

Hajjar improved to 4-0 on the season, as he allowed six hits and three runs in 6.1 innings, while striking out eight Hoosiers.

Michigan hit three home runs in game one, with sophomore first baseman Ted Burton getting the party started with a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the second to break the scoring seal and give the Maize and Blue a 1-0 lead.

Hajjar's toughest half-inning came in the third, when Indiana was able to capitalize off a misjudged fly ball that got lost in the sun — that two-run single with two outs gave Indiana a 2-1 edge.

But the Wolverines battled back with a five-run bottom half of that inning. With the bases juiced, fifth-year senior catcher Griffin Mazur, who leads the squad in runs batted in with 32 on the year, hit a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield to get the lead back, 3-2. At that point, the Hoosiers pulled starter Tommy Sommer. Reliever Braden Scott didn't calm the storm, though, with the Wolverines notching two-straight RBI singles from fifth-year senior shortstop Benjamin Sems and Burton, followed by a two-RBI single from sophomore left fielder Tito Flores, who led the squad with three hits on the day.

Michigan led 6-2 after the frame.

Mazur opened the floodgates with a three-run homer in the fourth inning, giving the Wolverines a 9-2 advantage and more than enough insurance, with the Hoosiers only scoring once more in the ball game.

That run came in the seventh, when Hajjar was pulled from the game with the bases loaded. Redshirt junior righty reliever Isaiah Paige picked him up, however, and forced Indiana to strand the bases loaded.

Sophomore right fielder Clark Elliott turned on a fastball in the eighth inning and blasted it over the right field wall to make it 10-3, which wound up being the final score.

Box Score

Scoring was the name of the game on Saturday, with the two clubs combining for 21 runs — much of the fireworks came later on in the contest — in a Hoosier victory.

Michigan trotted sophomore righty Cameron Weston out to start, coming off his complete game one-hitter against Michigan State last Saturday. He lasted five innings in this one, allowing four hits and one earned run (three unearned) while being credited with the loss (he is now 5-3 on the campaign).

The Hoosiers scored four in the fourth inning, with a throwing error prolonging the frame and thus the three unearned runs.

Indiana held a 4-0 lead until it scored another three runs in the top of the seventh. But Michigan answered with five runs of its own in the bottom of the frame, finally getting on the board after notching just one hit in the first six innings. An RBI double by Flores got the scoring going for the Maize and Blue, who then got three-straight RBI singles from fifth-year senior third baseman Christian Molfetta, sophomore right fielder Clark Elliott and sophomore designated hitter Jimmy Obertop to cut the deficit to two, 7-5.

Erratic pitching did Michigan in during a six-run eighth inning for Indiana which included four walks and a hit batter. The Wolverines responded with three runs in the bottom half of the eighth — thanks in part to an RBI double down the left field line by Molfetta that got the rally going — but it wasn't enough.

Indiana won 13-8, setting up Sunday's huge rubber match.

Box Score

Michigan lefty starter Jacob Denner was chased from last weekend's series finale against Michigan State after 2.1 innings, and was credited with the loss. But he responded nicely this week, rising to the challenge against tougher competition. He allowed four hits and one run in 6.1 innings of work, notching the victory to improve to 4-3 on the season.

Mazur flied out to right field in the bottom of the second, scoring Sems to give the Wolverines an early edge. In the next at-bat, Flores doubled to left field, scoring Burton — and Michigan had a 2-0 lead.

Burton, who was on third base after doubling to center field and advanced to third on a groundout, scored his second run of the game on a wild pitch to give the Maize and Blue a 3-0 lead in the fourth.

Indiana freshman right fielder Morgan Colopy homered to right field in the fifth inning, appearing to give the Hoosiers some life, but they were never able to get anything more out of the brief momentum.

Michigan's pitching held steady for the next couple innings, with right-handed senior reliever Blake Beers replacing Denner with one out in the seventh inning and getting out of the frame unscathed.

Head coach Erik Bakich went with junior righty Willie Weiss to begin the eighth inning, but he ran into trouble after striking out the first batter he saw. He walked the next two, then was pulled in favor of junior right-hander Will Proctor, who, with two runners on base, got the Wolverines out of the jam, forcing two ground-ball outs to retire the side.

The Wolverines added some insurance in the eighth, with Flores doubling to center field and scoring Sems for his second RBI of the afternoon. Two more runs scored on a throwing error to give Michigan a 6-1 lead, which ended up being the final score.

An error in the top of the ninth allowed Indiana to get a runner on, but Proctor finished things off with a fielder's choice and two strikeouts.

Michigan was able to celebrate the series victory on their home field.

Box Score

Michigan will host Maryland in a three-game set next weekend at Ray Fisher Stadium. Only two more weekend series remain. The Maize and Blue are scheduled to head to Lincoln for a matchup with Nebraska the following week.

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