All spring, the Michigan baseball team has managed to remain in the Big Ten championship hunt despite fighting inconsistency for much of the season.

At times, wobbly starting pitching has been rescued by an offense that has produced 43 runs in the past four games. On other occasions, the Wolverines offense haven't generated enough run support and wasted solid outings from the mound.

Through all of it, though, the Wolverines' grit and chemistry has proven invaluable to their title hopes with only this weekend's road series at Penn State remaining.

Michigan (32-19, 12-9 Big Ten) enters the three-game series tied for second place with Purdue and one game behind Minnesota. The top six teams qualify for next week's Big Ten Conference tournament at Ohio State.

Although the Wolverines have won three of their last four games, including Sunday's miraculous 15-14 comeback win over Northwestern, coach Rich Maloney isn't concerned that his team's focus has already shifted toward championship hopes.

Twice in the past two weekends, the Wolverines have been on the brink of elimination. But after beating Minnesota in the series finale May 9 and then winning two of three last weekend against Northwestern, Michigan's league title hopes remain alive.

"I think our guys are excited just to have the opportunity to compete for a championship," Maloney said Wednesday. "I don't think they're taking anything for granted and I would be really surprised if we didn't go out there and play well."

Michigan's offense has come alive of late, scoring 16 runs in a win over Ball State on Tuesday, two days after registering 15 against Northwestern. On Tuesday, Ryan LaMarre, Anthony Toth and Mike Kittle each had four hits while Coley Crank connected for a pair of three-run home runs in a 16-10 non-conference win.

While the defense has solidified over the past three weeks, Michigan's starting pitching has remained inconsistent. If the Wolverines are to have any chance to extend their season beyond the Big Ten tournament, Maloney said his team's recent offensive surge will need to continue.

Michigan's comeback victory against Northwestern couldn't have been better timed. The previous week had including two losses in a road series at Minnesota and a slugfest non-conference mid-week loss to Michigan State.

A loss Sunday would have left Michigan two games back in the standings with only three games remaining. But even after falling behind by 14 runs, the Wolverines' ability to stick with Maloney's game plan not only produced a victory meaningful in the Big Ten standings, but also in the long run.

"We came from behind from 14-0 and now we can always use this in our program that we're never done," Maloney said. "This is the kind of game our kids are never going to forget."

Although the Wolverines need some help from Ohio State, which hosts the league-leading Golden Gophers, Maloney's players are confident that last weekend's comeback can still pay dividends.

Given the way the NCAA at-large system works, Michigan would likely need a regular-season title and a top-two finish at the conference tournament just to earn consideration. In all likelihood, the Wolverines would need to win the tournament to see their season continue.

"If we can come back from (a 14-0 deficit), our confidence is sky-high," said senior catcher Chris Berset, whose ninth-inning 2-run home run forced extra innings. "Now, we just need to carry it over to Penn State. The Big Ten's not ours yet and so we have to go out there and take it.

"So we've got keep this confidence going, keep riding it high and play hard."

Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by e-mail at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.