OMAHA, Neb. — They shot out of the gate like a cannon — single, single, single — and they jumped around inside and out of the dugout as Ako Thomas crossed home plate.
Michigan baseball, back in the visitors dugout at TD Ameritrade Park, wearing their road navy uniforms, had scored first again.
They had scored first in all four of their previous College World Series wins, which put them one win away from leaving a monumental mark in the 153-year-old U-M history book with the school’s third national championship, but they needed more – one run was not going to be enough to beat Vanderbilt’s prolific offense.