Michigan Takes Advantage of Error to Top Iowa in Extras

Friday, May 18

Iowa City, Iowa

6:00 PM CT

Michigan

37-13, 19-6

Iowa

30-19, 16-11

Michigan

University of Iowa

Michigan Takes Advantage of Error to Top Iowa in Extras

5/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Duane Banks Field)
Score: Michigan 4, Iowa 3
Records: U-M (37-13, 19-6 Big Ten), Iowa (30-19, 16-11 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 19 -- DH at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 2:00 p.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Sophomore RHP Zach Putnam(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and 3B/RHP Adam Abraham(Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South) combined to allow seven hits and strike out 12 batters as the University of Michigan defeated Iowa 4-3 in 11 innings in the Big Ten baseball series opener Friday night (May 18) at Duane Banks Field.

The Wolverines (37-13, 19-6 Big Ten) took advantage of a throwing error as junior 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) scored the winning run on an overthrow after freshman SS Anthony Toth(Lorain, Ohio/St. Ignatius) had used a two-out bunt single to start the winning play in motion.

Recknagel, who started the play at second base, moved to third on the bunt single and scored when Iowa pitcher Brock Alberts (2-1) was charged with a throwing error while trying to retire the speedy Toth.

Putnam worked the first seven innings, allowing five hits while striking out a career-best 10 batters. He allowed two runs on three hits in the first inning and then held the Hawkeyes (30-19, 16-11 Big Ten) scoreless on two hits for the next six innings.

Abraham (4-1) suffered a blown save in the ninth, allowing Iowa to tie the game at 3-3, but he worked four innings and allowed two hits with two strikeouts to record his ninth career win.

Michigan scored once in the seventh to tie the game at 2-2 and once in the eighth on junior SS Jason Christian's (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) run-scoring double that brought home sophomore 2B Kevin Cislo(Novi, Mich./Novi). The double was the team-leading 21st of the season for Christian.

Abraham replaced Putnam in the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 inning, but he hit Iowa 3B Kevin Hoef with a pitch with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Iowa 2B Justin Toole singled to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

The U-M defense came up with a strikeout double play with freshman catcher Chris Berset(Vienna, Va./The Heights School) throwing to Christian, who switched to 3B when Abraham took the mound, to get out of the ninth inning, and in the 10th Abraham started a 1-6-3 DP to Toth, who fired to Recknagel to end the inning.

Recknagel started the winning rally with two outs in the 11th inning when he singled to left. He was credited with a stolen base as he was running on the play and Alberts fired the ball to the backstop. With Recknagel on second, Toth put down the bunt, and when the dust settled the scored was 4-3.

Abraham pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 11th with freshman Alan Oaks(White Lake, Mich./Divine Child), who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the middle of the ninth inning, making two fine running catches.

Iowa scored a pair of first-inning runs against Putnam after two outs as 1B Dusty Napoleon walked and LF Caleb Curry doubled him to third. RF Matt Wooldrik hit a two-strike single for the two runs.

Abraham doubled with one out in the top of the second for the first U-M hit, and junior catcher Doug Pickens(West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) drew a walk and Cislo was hit by a pitch with two outs to load the bases, but senior RF Brad Roblin(Wayland, Mass./Rivers School) grounded out to end the inning.

The Wolverines reached the scoreboard in the third as Christian singled to right and took third base on a hit-and-run single by senior CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield). Recknagel drove in Christian with a sacrifice fly. Rose stole his team-leading 30th base of the season, but he was stranded at second base.

Pickens singled to left to open the fourth inning, extending his hitting streak to 17 games, and with one out Cislo singled to right, but Roblin grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The Wolverines loaded the bases after two outs in the fifth as junior LF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) doubled to extend his hitting streak to nine games, and he moved up to third on an infield single by Cislo. Pinch-hitter Berset drew a walk to load the bases, but Christian's bid for a double on the first pitch he saw was inches foul, and then on the next pitch he hit a fly to center to end the inning.

Rose walked to start the Michigan sixth, and that was it for Iowa starter Steve Turnbull as he was replaced by LHP Michael Jacobs with Recknagel coming to the plate. Recknagel doubled to right-center and Rose scored from first to tie the game at 2-2 as Recknagel recorded his 50th RBI of the season on his 50th career double.

The inning got stranger as Putnam was thrown out by the shortstop as Recknagel was unable to advance to third, but moments later Abraham drew a four-pitch walk with the fourth ball being a wild pitch that put Recknagel at third. Pickens blasted a shot off third baseman Kevin Hoef, but shortstop Jason White picked up the ball and fired to catcher Ben Geelan for your "basic" 5-6-2 play as Recknagel was thrown out at the plate to keep the game tied.

Cislo had three hits to pace the 12-hit Michigan attack in the opener at Iowa, while SS Christian and 1B Recknagel had two hits. It was Cislo's third three-hit game of the season. Michigan has had 10 hits or more in 35 of the 50 games played this season.

The Wolverines continue the weekend series at Iowa with a doubleheader on Saturday (May 19, 2 p.m. CDT) with sophomore LHP Mike Wilson (Pickering, Ontario/Pine Ridge Secondary), with his 7-0 mark and 2.33 ERA, throwing in the opener while junior/sophomore Chris Fetter (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), at 6-2, 4.66, is slated to start the second game.

N O T E S

Michigan's 4-3 win in 11 innings kept the Wolverines out front in the race for the Big Ten title. The top three teams collected Friday wins, including the Wolverines; Minnesota, 8-6 at Indiana; and Penn State at home over Ohio State, 3-2 in 10 innings. Illinois topped Michigan State 6-5 to move closer to the playoffs, and Northwestern topped Purdue 12-3 as the Wildcats attempt to vacate the basement in the last weekend of action.

Big Ten Standings (Through 5/18/07)

 1. MICHIGAN 19-6 .760 2. Minnesota 17-7 .708 3. Penn State 18-9 .667 4. Iowa 16-11 .593 5. Illinois 15-12 .556 6. Ohio State 14-13 .519 7. Michigan State 13-15 .464 8. Purdue 11-17 .393 9. Indiana 6-22 .214 10. Northwestern 6-23 .207

Junior RF Doug Pickens extended his current hitting streak to a personal season-best 17 games with a fourth-inning single.

Senior CF Eric Rose moved his team-leading season stolen base total to 31 and his Michigan career stolen base record to 87 with two steals in the series opener at Iowa. Rose owns two of U-M's top three single-season stolen base marks. The record is 38 by Jim Durham in 1987, while Rose is second with 32 in 2006 and third at 31 in 2007.

Michigan's leading hitters after 50 games are: LF Derek VanBuskirk (40-for-102, .392), 2B Kevin Cislo (47-for-123, .382), C/2B/OF Doug Pickens (68-for-188, .362), P/DH Zach Putnam (64-for-180, .356), 1B Nate Recknagel (63-for-182, .346), SS Jason Christian (69-for-202, .342), 3B/P Adam Abraham (64-for-191, .335), OF Brad Roblin (45-for-135, .333) and CF Eric Rose (55-for-168, .327).