Wolverines Win NCAA Regional Opener Over Memphis

Friday, June 1

Nashville, Tenn.

2:00 PM CT

Michigan

40-16

Memphis

36-26

Memphis

Michigan

6/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -C Sophomore RHP/DH Zach Putnam (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) pitched eight innings while juniors Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) and 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) each drove in three runs to lead the University of Michigan baseball team past Memphis, 10-7, in first round action of the NCAA Nashville Regional Friday afternoon (June 1) at Hawkins Field on the campus of Vanderbilt University.

The win for the Wolverines (40-16) was U-M's first NCAA first round victory since beating Pepperdine 4-3 in regional action at Fresno State in 1989. Friday's win advanced Michigan to the second round Saturday night (June 2, 7 p.m. CDT) to play Vanderbilt. The game will be carried on Comcast Local in Ann Arbor.

Memphis will play Austin Peay on Saturday (June 2, 2 p.m. CDT).

Putnam pitched the first eight innings against Memphis (36-26) and faced the first batter in the ninth inning. He allowed seven runs on nine hits and recorded seven strikeouts to notch his team-leading eighth win of the season.

Putnam, who ranks second in the Big Ten with his team-leading total of 79 strikeouts, was also 2-for-5 as the DH and knocked in his Michigan and Big Ten leading 59th run to tie the game at 2-2 in the third inning.

Junior/sophomore RHP Michael Powers (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake) replaced Putnam in the ninth inning and closed the win in a non-save situation. Powers allowed two hits and struck out two batters and got Memphis slugger Adam Amar on a line drive to CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) to end the game.

Adams, who was 2-for-3 with a pair of homers and three RBI, was the tying run at the plate for Memphis when he lined out to end the game.

Memphis RHP Scott McGregor (7-4), the first of three pitchers for the Tigers, allowed eight hits and five runs in his five innings of work.

Putnam, who had given up first inning runs to Iowa (no decision) and Ohio State (a loss) in his last two starts, retired the side in order in the top of the first inning with two strikeouts.

The Wolverines had a mini-threat in the bottom of the first as Rose singled with one out and collected his team-leading 34th stolen base of the season, but Memphis starter McGregor got out of the inning with a pair of ground outs.

Recknagel was 2-for-4 with a sac fly, a run-scoring triple and a solo homer to drive in his three runs. Pickens singled in a run in the fifth and doubled in two more runs in a four-run seventh-inning rally that put the game away.

Memphis grabbed the lead in the second as senior 1B Amar launched his first homer of the game -- his seventh homer of the year -- over the 35-foot high "Green Monster" in left. The Tigers added another run in the third inning when shortstop Michael Murray extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a run-scoring single.

The Wolverines scored three times in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good. Senior RF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School) singled to center and moved up a base as sophomore SS Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) drew a walk while he attempted to bunt. Roblin and Christian pulled off a double steal as Rose struck out on a 3-2 pitch, and Recknagel put the Wolverines on the scoreboard with a sac fly.

Christian moved to third after the catch, and Putnam tied the game at 2-2 with an infield single to deep short. Putnam took second base on a wild pitch and sophomore 3B Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South) snapped the tie with a chop single off the third baseman's glove. The run-scoring single was Abraham's fifth game-winning RBI of the season and the ninth of his career.

Michigan pushed the lead to 5-2 as Christian singled to start the fifth inning. He scored as Recknagel tripled off the fence in center. Recknagel scored the second run of the frame on a two-out single to right by Pickens.

Memphis used some instant offense after two outs in the sixth inning, as RF Josh Irvin collected an infield single up the middle and DH Joey Lieberman hit a homer -- his 14th of the year -- off the foul pole down the line in left to make the score 5-4.

Michigan scored four times in the seventh. Recknagel reached on an error to start the inning and -- after Abraham drew a one-out walk -- Pickens lofted a fly ball to left that hit the "Green Monster" for a two-run double.

Sophomore 2B Kevin Cislo (Novi, Mich./Novi) joined the hit parade with a run-scoring single to score Pickens and -- after stealing second base -- Cislo scored on a two-out single by Roblin.

Amar hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to make the score 9-6, but Recknagel answered in the bottom of the eight with a long solo homer to leftfield -- his team-leading 11th homer of the season.

Recknagel, Putnam, Pickens and Roblin each had two hits as Michigan scored 10 runs on 13 hits against the Tigers. Michigan has reached double digits in hits in 40 of its 56 games this season and has scored 10 runs or more 20 times.

The Wolverines continue NCAA Regional play Saturday evening against host Vanderbilt, with either sophomore first team All-Big Ten starting pitcher LHP Mike Wilson (Pickering, Ont./Pine Ridge Secondary) or third team All-Big Ten starting pitcher RHP Andrew Hess (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central) on the mound. Wilson has a 7-0 record with a 3.00 ERA, while Hess is 7-1 with a 3.76 ERA.

N O T E S

The win over Memphis in the NCAA Nashville Regional opener was the 40th victory of the season for the Wolverines. It marks the fifth 40-win season for head coach Rich Maloney. Maloney's Wolverines have won at least 40 games in three straight seasons with his career best of 43 set last season. He won 40 games twice in his seven years at Ball State (1996-2002).

Michigan, the team with the best road record in the nation at 19-5 heading into the NCAA tournament, collected its sixth neutral site win in eight games. Michigan has won 25 of its 40 wins away from Ray Fisher Stadium this season.

Senior co-captain Eric Rose collected his team-leading 34th stolen base of the season in the first inning against Memphis on Friday (June 1). It was his 90th career stolen base to add to his own U-M career record. With his 34 steals on the season, Rose is four steals shy of tying Jim Durham's single season Michigan stolen base record of 38 set in 1987.

Senior OF Brad Roblin added a pair of stolen bases in the Memphis game to move his season stolen base total to 22. Roblin moved into fourth place on U-M's career stolen base list at 53 to tie -- and then pass -- Rodney Goble (52 stolen bases, 1992-95) during the Memphis game. Roblin's season total of 22 stolen bases ranks eighth on Michigan's single season stolen base list.

Junior 1B Nate Recknagel collected the 71st multiple-hit game of his career in the game against Memphis on Friday (June 1). He has 215 career hits with 24 homers and 128 RBI in 166 games. Recknagel has hits in 96 of his 120 games as a Wolverine with 19 homers and 99 RBI.

Seven Wolverines were named to the Academic All-Big Ten team, including (alphabetically): Junior/sophomore OF Kenny Fellows (Holt, Mich./Holt), senior IF Matt Fisher (Westchester, N.Y./Westlake HS), junior/sophomore C/IF Tim Kalczynski (Farmington Hills, Mich./Brother Rice), junior 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion), senior OF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School), senior OF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) and LHP Sam Yashinsky (Farmington Hills, Mich./Frankel Jewish Academy of Metro Detroit).

LF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) used a second-inning double to extend his career-best hitting streak to 15 games.

In other Big Ten baseball action on Friday Ohio State dropped a 5-4 decision to Louisiana-Lafayette in the College Station Regional at Texas A&M and Minnesota lost a first round NCAA game to Cal State Fullerton 7-1 at the San Diego Regional.

Michigan's leading hitters after 56 games are: LF Derek VanBuskirk (50-for-127, .394), 2B Kevin Cislo (55-for-148, .372), 1B Nate Recknagel (75-for-207, .362), C/2B/OF Doug Pickens (76-for-213, .357), P/DH Zach Putnam (73-for-205, .356), OF Brad Roblin (52-for-155, .335), 3B/P Adam Abraham (70-for-211, .332), SS Jason Christian (74-for-225, .329), and CF Eric Rose (60-for-189, .317).