Michigan Sweeps Away Mastodons Behind 14-Hit Barrage

Sunday, March 22

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:05 PM

Michigan

14-5

IPFW

5-10

IPFW

Michigan

3/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wilpon Complex)
Result: Michigan 9, IPFW 2
Records: U-M (14-5), IPFW (5-10)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, March 25 -- vs. Eastern Michigan (Wilpon Complex), 3 p.m.

Boxscore | Postgame Notes | Photo Gallery | Video Report

ANN ARBOR, Mich. C The University of Michigan baseball team pounded out 14 hits and scored nine runs on its way to a 9-2 win over visiting IPFW, concluding a series-sweep of the Mastodons Sunday (March 22) at the Wilpon Baseball Complex, home of historic Ray Fisher Stadium. Senior leftfielder Kenny Fellows(Holt, Mich./Holt) posted a career-high four RBI in the win.

Junior rightfielder Alan Oaks(White Lake, Mich./Divine Child) led the hit parade with a 3-for-4 day and a RBI while junior first baseman Mike Dufek(Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) and Fellows each added a pair of hits.

Senior second baseman Kevin Cislo(Novi, Mich./Novi), Dufek and sophomore shortstop Anthony Toth(Lorain, Ohio/St. Ignatius) each extended their career-best hitting streaks to 15, 10 and five games, respectively.

IPFW struck first off U-M starting pitcher Mike Wilson(Pickering, Ontario/Pine Ridge), scoring a run in the third inning on a two-out RBI single, staking the Mastodons to a 1-0 lead. The Wolverines responded in their half of the inning, taking a 2-0 lead on Dufeks second home run in as many days, a two-run opposite field shot that gave U-M a 2-1 lead.

Wilson was solid, scattering six and striking out five through five innings of work before sophomore righty Travis Smith(Austin, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) came on to work the sixth. Smith ran into trouble immediately, allowing a walk and RBI single to tie the game at two apiece before wiggling out of trouble.

Just like the first inning, however, the Wolverines responded quickly as freshman third baseman John Lorenz(Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) launched a two-run homer over the left field wall C his second of the year C to put the Maize and Blue on top, 3-2. The Wolverines didnt stop there, adding two more on a double to the gap in right-center scoring Cislo and Toth before Fellows was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple, giving U-M a 5-2 lead.

The Wolverines added another run in the seventh on a two-out double by Dufek and RBI single through the left side by junior rightfielder Alan Oaks(White Lake, Mich./Divine Child) to push the lead to 6-2.

Michigan added three more insurance runs in the eighth, the big blow coming on a two-run single by Fellows that pushed the U-M advantage to 9-2.

Smith picked up the win in relief, moving to 3-2 on the season. Dufek came on to pitch the ninth, striking out one and allowing one hit.

The Wolverines are back in action Wednesday (March 25) when they host Eastern Michigan University at the Wilpon Baseball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

N O T E S

Michigan used a 14-hit attack to in the 9-2 win over IPFW on Sunday to complete the weekend sweep. The Wolverines (14-5) had a four-win week with a win over Eastern Michigan and three wins over IPFW.

Freshman 3B John Lorenz was 3-for-4 in Sunday's 9-2 win over IPFW and his solo homer in the sixth inning snapped a 2-2 tie and proved to be his first career game-winning RBI. Lorenz, who is hitting .310 (13-for-42), collected his first three-hit game as a Wolverine and was 4-for-8 (.500) in the weekend series vs. IPFW.

Junior 1B/RHP Mike Dufek extended his career-best hitting streak to 10 games with a two-run homer in the third inning of Sunday's win. Dufek's sixth homer of the year, which ties him for the team lead with sophomore CF Ryan LaMarre, gave U-M a 2-1 lead. Dufek was 2-for-4 with a double, the homer and two RBI Sunday for his eighth multi-hit game and his sixth multi-RBI game of the season.

Dufek was 5-for-10 (.500) with two doubles, two homers and six RBI in the series vs. IPFW, raising his overall average to .315 (23-for-63). Dufek also made two pitching appearances for the week with four strikeouts in two shutout innings, dropping his overall ERA to 3.38 with 10 strikeouts in eight innings in five appearances.

Senior LF Kenny Fellows was 2-for-5 with a double and a career-high four RBI Sunday. Fellows had a two-run double in the sixth inning to extend U-M's lead to 5-2 and added a two-run single in the eighth inning. Fellows matched his career-best hitting streak at five games and has hits in 10 of his last 11 games.

Senior co-captain 2B Kevin Cislo moved his career-best and team-leading hitting streak to 15 games with a sixth-inning single vs. IPFW on Sunday. Cislo was 1-for-3 with two walks and scored twice in the 9-2 win. Cislo led the Wolverines with a .500 (8-for-16) average in the week's four games, and he ranks second on the team with a .361 (26-for-72) batting average and leads the team with a .495 on-base percentage. He leads the team with 27 runs scored, eight doubles and 16 walks.

Junior OF/DH Alan Oaks was 3-for-4 Sunday with a double for his second straight multiple-hit game in the IPFW series. It was his first three-hit game of the season and the fourth for his career. Oaks led the Wolverines by hitting .545 (6-for-11) in the series vs. IPFW as he raised his overall average to .308 (8-for-26).

Junior/sophomore SS Anthony Toth was 1-for-4 with a sixth-inning single Sunday vs. IPFW as he extended his career-best hitting streak to five games. Toth has hits in nine of his last 10 games and has moved his batting average to .313 (20-64).

Senior LHP Mile Wilson worked five innings in a no-decision in his first start of the season on Sunday vs. IPFW. Wilson allowed six hits and one run and had five strikeouts before leaving the game with a 2-1 lead. Wilson is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 12.1 innings in four appearances and is 10-5 for his U-M career with 121 strikeouts in 125 innings.

Sophomore RHP Travis Smith pitched three innings out of the bullpen Sunday and collected the win over IPFW. Smith allowed four hits and one run with three strikeouts in his fifth appearance of the season. Smith, who notched his 50th career strikeout on Sunday, is 3-2 for the season with 23 K's in 19 innings.

Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423