Collins, Hatters Stifle Michigan; Tousa Keeps Streaking

Tuesday, February 27

Lakeland, Fla.

7:00 PM

Michigan

2-2

Stetson

10-1

Stetson

Michigan

Collins, Hatters Stifle Michigan; Tousa Keeps Streaking

2/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Stetson freshman RHP Jack Collins had the best outing of his brief career as he pitched a four-hitter to beat the University of Michigan baseball team 4-1 Tuesday night (Feb. 27) at Henley Field.

Collins, making his sixth appearance and second start of the season, gave up a first-inning run and then blanked the Wolverines (2-2) for the rest of the game. Collins had five 1-2-3 innings and allowed just two hits after the first inning as Stetson (10-1), ranked No. 23 in the nation in the ESPN/Baseball Weekly Poll and 16th by Collegiate Baseball, notched its 10th straight win of the season.

Michigan sophomore LHP Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) held Stetson hitless for three innings and Michigan grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first off Collins. Senior co-captain Scott Tousa (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS) led off the first with a bunt single to extend his hit streak to 21 games over the past two seasons. With two outs and Tousa breaking toward third base, sophomore 3B Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) singled to left to record his team-leading fifth RBI.

Stetson All-American Vinnie Rinaldi homered to open the fourth inning to tie the score at 1-1, and the Hatters added two more runs in the fifth inning off of Hill (0-1). Catcher Lee Bagley's RBI triple was the game-winning hit and Bagley scored on a wild pitch.

Junior RHP Bobby Wood (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) worked 3.1 innings, allowing an unearned run in the sixth, and junior LHP Kirk Taylor (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) worked the final 1.2 innings in his season debut.

Senior SS Bill LaRosa (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) extended his two-year hit streak to 13 games with a single in the sixth inning, and sophomore catcher Jason Wuerfel (Cedar, Mich./Glen Lake HS) singled in the eighth inning for his first career hit.

Michigan heads to Tampa for games Wednesday (Feb. 28, 7 p.m.) and Thursday (March 1, 7 p.m.) against South Florida at Red McEwen Field. The Bulls (4-5) dropped two of three games to Minnesota over the weekend.

Senior LHP Nick Alexander (Alpena, Mich./Alpena HS) is scheduled to start the first game at USF. Alexander (0-0, 1.29 ERA) worked seven innings in a no-decision in the season opener vs. Western Michigan.

N O T E S

Scott Tousa has at least one hit in 21 straight games and in 33 of his last 35 games, while Bill LaRosa, who sat out Sunday's Western Michigan contest, has a 13-game hitting streak.

Michigan's pitching staff has a 2.92 ERA after four games.

Michigan's hitting leaders after four games are: junior/sophomore DH Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) at .500 (2-for-4) followed by senior 2B Scott Tousa (.400, 6-for-15); junior 1B Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) at .385 (5-for-13); sophomore 3B Brock Koman (.353, 6-for-17) and senior SS Bill LaRosa (.333, 3-for-9).

Tousa and Koman are the only Wolverines with hits in each of the first four games.

Tousa has scored all three runs in the last two games, a 4-2 loss to Western Michigan (Feb. 25) and the 4-1 loss to Stetson.

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423