Michigan
Penn State
Wolverines Fall to Lions on Ninth-Inning Home Run
5/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site:Â State College, Pa. (Beaver Field)
Score:Â Penn State 5, Michigan 4
Records:Â U-M (28-25, 14-11 Big Ten), PSU (30-22, 10-14 Big Ten)
Next U-M Games:Â Saturday, May 15 -- DH at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 1 p.m.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State third baseman Shawn Fagan hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Nittany Lions to a 5-4 Big Ten Conference baseball victory over the University of Michigan Friday (May 14) at Beaver Field. Penn State (30-22, 10-14 Big Ten) kept alive its remote hopes of qualifying for the four-team Big Ten Tournament (May 20-23), while Michigan (28-25, 14-11) still clings to third place in the league standings.
Michigan scored in each of the first three innings to build a 4-1 lead, and senior righthander J.J. Putz (Trenton, Mich./Trenton HS) cruised through the middle innings after allowing a single run in the second. Penn State pulled within 4-2 on Chris Netwall's 11th homer of the season, a solo blast in the eighth.
In the ninth, Putz walked the leadoff batter and, after a flyout and single put runners at first and second with one out, Fagan took a 1-2 pitch over the rightfield wall for his 12th dinger of 1999 and a stunning come-from-behind victory. Fagan and Eric Spadt each collected two hits and Michael Campo went 3-for-5 to lead PSU's 10-hit attack.
Michigan got on the board in the first as Bobby Scales (Roswell, Ga./Milton HS) led off with a double and scored when Jason Alcaraz (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado HS) reached on a throwing error by the second baseman. The Wolverines added another run in the second as Scott Tousa's (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS) two-out single scored David Parrish (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS), who had doubled to lead off the inning.
After Penn State sliced the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the second, Michigan scored twice after two were out in the third. A Mike Cervenak (New Boston, Mich./Dearborn Divine Child HS) double and Bryan Besco (Westland, Mich./John Glenn HS) walk followed by Brian Bush's (Warren, Ohio/Howland HS) double to left-center produced the final Michigan tallies.
Putz (4-4) went the distance, allowing 10 hits and five earned runs in 8.1 innings. He fanned nine and walked five. Andy Wager (6-3) picked up the victory for Penn State, working a perfect 1.2 innings of relief.
Michigan's offense collected seven hits, six of them doubles. Besco was 2-for-3 with two two-baggers, giving him 49 doubles and a tie for third place on U-M's career doubles list with Casey Close (1983-86) and Ken Hayward (1982-85).
U-M head coach Geoff Zahn will send righties Bryce Ralston (Tacoma, Wash./Curtis HS) and Vince Pistilli (Highland, Ind./Highland HS) to the mound Saturday as the teams square off in a 1 p.m. doubleheader (two seven-inning games).
