Michigan
Indiana
Battery Sparks U-M Series-Opening Win vs. Indiana
5/8/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ray Fisher Stadium)
Score:Â Michigan 7, Indiana 1
Records:Â U-M (26-22, 13-8 Big Ten), Indiana (33-13, 11-10 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game:Â Sunday, May 9 -- DH vs. Indiana (Ray Fisher Stadium), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior RHP J.J. Putz (Trenton, Mich./Trenton HS) and sophomore catcher David Parrish (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) led the University of Michigan to a 7-1 series-opening win vs. Indiana Saturday (May 8) in a crucial Big Ten Conference baseball series in Ray Fisher Stadium. The Wolverines (26-22, 13-8 Big Ten) retained sole possession of third place with the win, moving another game ahead of fourth-place weekend guest Indiana (33-13, 11-10 Big Ten).
Putz allowed just four hits in eight innings as he moved his record to 4-3 while dropping his team-leading ERA to 3.33. Putz recorded his third straight Big Ten win while pitching in the number one slot in the weekend rotation.
Parrish snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Parrish was 2-for-4 with three RBIs in the game and in his last seven starts has been hitting at a .654 clip (17-for-26). He is batting .319 for the season with seven homers and 28 RBIs.
Putz started slowly, allowing a first-inning run despite the fact no ball was put in play by the Hoosiers. Putz walked the first three batters to load the bases and then struck out three of the next four batters. IU's Frank O'Connell drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in the lone IU run of the day.
Michigan bounced back quickly against Indiana RHP Jason Torres (4-2) as Bobby Scales (Roswell, Ga./Milton HS) led off the first with a double, moved to third on a fly to center by Bryan Besco (Westland, Mich./John Glenn HS) and scored the tying run on a passed ball. Scales moved his current hitting streak to 12 games with the double.
On Mother's Day weekend, it was fitting for Mother Nature to take the stage and she did with a two-hour, two-minute rain delay in the top of the second inning.
Indiana had a chance to take the lead in the top of the fourth as SS Ryan Schade led off with a double and moved to third on a groundout. Michigan sophomore SS Scott Tousa (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS) came up with the defensive gem of the game, making a great catch of a foul fly off the bat of IU's Blake St. Clair and then throwing a one-hop strike to catcher Mike Seestedt (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Sacred Heart HS), who tagged out a sliding Schade for a double play.
Parrish homered in the bottom of the fourth for the 3-1 lead, and the Wolverines added two runs in the sixth on a two-out, two-run double by Seestedt and two in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by co-captain Mike Cervenak (New Boston, Mich./Deraborn Divine Child HS) and a run-scoring single by Parrish.
Freshman RHP Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the win.
The series continues with a doubleheader Sunday (May 9, 1 p.m.) and concludes with a nine-inning single game Monday (May 10, 1 p.m.).
NOTES
• Career hit update: Senior co-captain Bobby Scales was the only one of the three active members in the U-M career top 10 to collect a hit vs. Indiana on Saturday (May 8). With his two hits, Scales snapped his tie with two-time All-America shortstop Barry Larkin (203 hits, 1993-85) and took over eighth place alone. Senior 3B Mike Cervenak (New Boston, Mich./Dearborn Divine Child HS) went 0-for-4 and needs one hit to take the all-time hit lead from Ken Hayward (267, 1982-85), while and senior RF Jason Alcaraz (0-for-4) is fourth on the all-time list with 249 hits, just five hits behind Jim Paciorek (254 hits, 1979-82).
• Senior 1B Bryan Besco went 2-for-4 in the Indiana opener. His leadoff double that started the two-run sixth inning was his team-leading 15th of the season and the 46th double of his career. He ranks seventh in career doubles and is one shy of fifth place, shared by teammate Jason Alcaraz (47 doubles, 1996-99) and Jim Paciorek (47 doubles, 1979-82). Besco remains 10th-ranked on the U-M career RBI list with 134, chasing Barry Larkin, who is ninth with 136, and Jeff Jacobson (1980-83), who ranked eighth with 137.
