Michigan
Oakland
Late Oakland Rally Sinks Wolverines, 12-4
4/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ray Fisher Stadium)
Score:Â Oakland University 12, Michigan 4
Records:Â U-M (19-17), Oakland (11-10)
Next U-M Game:Â Friday, April 16 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 3 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Oakland University used a seven-run ninth inning to blow open a 5-4 game and defeat the University of Michigan baseball team 12-4 Wednesday afternoon (April 14) at Ray Fisher Stadium.
Sophomore first baseman Eric Hardin paced the offense for the Golden Grizzlies with a five-hit performance. The top four batters in the OU lineup accounted for 11 of the 12 hits and nine of the 12 runs in the game.
Michigan freshman LHP Kirk Taylor (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) took the loss. He worked the first four innings and faced the first two batters in the fifth inning. Taylor left with the score tied 4-4 but was responsible for the winning run, which scored on a two-out error.
Juniors 3B Kevin Quinn (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) and SS Bill LaRosa (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) paced the limited Wolverine offense. Quinn, making his fourth start of the season, went 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks and he scored two of the four Wolverine runs. LaRosa, making his seventh start of the season, went 2-for-4 and had a two-run triple.
Oakland broke open the game in the ninth inning, scoring seven unearned runs and sending 12 batters to the plate. Hardin collected two of his five singles in that ninth-inning rally.
Michigan will face a first-place Big Ten Conference team for the third straight weekend when the Wolverines play four games at Minnesota (April 16-18).
NOTES
• Freshman RHP Phil Lobert (Spring Lake, Mich./Grand Haven HS) made his second appearance of the season and tossed four shutout innings to drop his ERA 18 points to 9.00.
• Co-captain Bobby Scales (Roswell, Ga./Milton HS) is the only Wolverine to start all 36 games as co-captain Mike Cervenak (New Boston, Mich./Dearborn Divine Child HS) did not start the Oakland game. The only three Wolverines to play in all 36 games are Scales, Cervenak (35 starts) and senior RF Jason Alcaraz (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado HS), who has made 34 starts.
