Michigan
11-6
IPFW
4-19
Six-Run Hitting Spree Sparks Wolverines Past IPFW
3/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team used a six-run third-inning rally and a 16-hit attack to beat first-time opponent Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne 10-2 at Ray Fisher Stadium Tuesday afternoon (March 27). The game ended in the seventh inning due to lightning and then heavy rains.
Freshman LHP Eric Katzman (Harrington Park, N.J./Northern Valley Old Tappan HS), the first of four Michigan pitchers to throw against IPFW, recorded the win for the Wolverines (11-6), while IPFW starter Stacy Herrold (1-4) took the loss for the visiting Mastodons (4-19).
Sophomore DH Zach Putnam (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) was in the right place at the right time as his first inning sac fly proved to be his third game-winning RBI during the current five-game U-M winning streak. Senior LF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School) singled with one out and moved to third on a pair of stolen bases before scoring on Putnam's sac fly.
With two stolen bases Tuesday, Roblin -- the team leader with nine for the season -- vaulted into Michigan's career top ten in steals with 40, moving ahead of Chris Sabo (39 steals, 1981-83) into a tie for ninth with Steve Buerkel (40, 1989-92). The second steal was strange as it came on ball four to junior 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) . Roblin walked to third as if a balk has been called. The umpires conferred and ruled it a walk to give Roblin the easiest steal of his career.
The Wolverines chased IPFW starting pitcher Herrold in the six-run third inning, which featured a two-run single by sophomore 3B Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) to make the score 3-0. Three doubles then knocked in runs, including back-to-back two-baggers by freshman catcher Chris Berset (Vienna, Va./The Heights School) and freshman RF Alan Oaks (White Lake, Mich./Divine Child) off Herrold, and one by sophomore shortstop Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) off LHP Jake Hollander to make the score 7-0.
The Wolverines added one run in the fourth as Recknagel doubled to left and moved to third on a Putnam single. Recknagel then scored on a double-play grounder. Michigan added the final two runs in the sixth on a two-run pinch-hit homer by junior 1B/OF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair).
Katzman worked a career-best four innings, allowing three hits with five strikeouts, while freshman RHP Mike Dufek (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS), senior/junior LHP Brad Seddon (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) and junior/sophomore RHP Michael Powers (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) each pitched an inning.
IPFW reached the scoreboard in the sixth inning off Seddon as 1B Nick Millspaugh doubled and LF Shaun VanDriessche launched his first homer of the season over the fence in left-center.
Senior co-captain CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) paced the 16-hit Michigan attack with three singles and added his sixth stolen base of the season -- the 62nd steal of his U-M career. Rose ranks third on U-M's all-time stolen base list, and is now just three behind Steve Finken (65 steals, 1986-88) for second place.
Four Wolverines chipped in with two hits on Tuesday: Roblin, Recknagel, Putnam and Abraham.
The Wolverines open Big Ten play this weekend at Northwestern (March 30-April 1) with Putnam (3-2, 2.17 ERA) slated to pitch the conference opener for the Wolverines on Friday (March 30, 3 p.m. CDT) at Rocky Miller Park at Wells Field in Evanston, Ill. Putnam was 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA in conference play a year ago and was a second team All-Big Ten starting pitcher.
N O T E S
Freshman RF Alan Oaks added another extra base hit to his hit total with his RBI-double in the six-run third inning. Oaks has six hits in the last five games, including four doubles and a triple. He has a .207 batting average with a .414 slugging percentage this season.
Three Wolverines have six-game hitting streaks following Tuesday's (May 27) win over IPFW: 1B Nate Recknagel, DH/P Zach Putnam and C/RF Doug Pickens. Freshman catcher Chris Berset extended his hitting streak to five games.
Junior OF/1B Derek VanBuskirk made his fourth straight pinch hitting appearance and hit a long home run -- his first of the season and fourth of his career. He is 2-for-4 for the season with three RBI. It was UM's first pinch hit homer since Nate Recknagel against Louisiana Tech last season at Baylor on March 10, 2006, and the first pinch homer for a Wolverine in Fisher Stadium since Matt Butler (2002-05) against Eastern Michigan on May 5, 2004.
Michigan's leading hitters after 17 games: SS Jason Christian (27-for-67, .403), P/OF Zach Putnam (25-for-66, .379), 3B/P Adam Abraham (22-for-65, .338), 1B Nate Recknagel (21-for-65, .323), C/2B/OF Doug Pickens (21-for-66, .318) and OF Brad Roblin (21-for-69, .304).
Contact: Jim Schneider (734-763-4423)
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Katzman, Eric (1-1)
L: Stacy Herrold (1-4)
Batting:
2B: Nick Millspaugh 1
HR: Shaun VanDriessche 1
RBI: Shaun VanDriessche 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Nick Millspaugh 1 ; Shaun VanDriessche 1
CS: Jared Davis 1
HBP: Jared Davis 1 ; Ryan Beer 1
Batting:
2B: Christian, Jason 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 1 ; Putnam, Zach 1 ; Abraham, Adam 1 ; Berset, Chris 1 ; Oaks, Alan 1
HR: VanBuskirk, Derek 1
RBI: Christian, Jason 1 ; Putnam, Zach 1 ; VanBuskirk, Derek 2 ; Abraham, Adam 2 ; Berset, Chris 1 ; Oaks, Alan 1
SF: Putnam, Zach 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Roblin, Brad 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 2 ; Kalczynski, Tim 1 ; Putnam, Zach 1 ; VanBuskirk, Derek 1 ; Abraham, Adam 1 ; Pickens, Doug 1 ; Berset, Chris 1 ; Oaks, Alan 1
SB: Roblin, Brad 2 ; Recknagel, Nate 1 ; Rose, Eric 1
