Sinnery, Relief Trio Back Shutout of Western Michigan

Wednesday, May 6

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:35 PM

Michigan

26-21

Western Michigan

12-30

Western Michigan

Michigan

Sinnery, Relief Trio Back Shutout of Western Michigan

5/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wilpon Baseball Complex)
Score: Michigan 6, Western Michigan 0
Records: U-M (26-21), Western Michigan (12-30)
Next U-M Event: Friday, May 8 -- vs. Minnesota (Wilpon Baseball Complex), 6:35 p.m.

Boxscore | Postgame Notes | Photo Gallery

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Juniors Chris Berset(Vienna, Va./Heights School) and Alan Oaks(Whitelake, Mich./Divine Child) each posted a pair of RBI for freshman starting pitcher Brandon Sinnery(Franklin, Mass./Worcester Academy), who hurled six shutout innings as the University of Michigan baseball team scored five runs in the first inning en route to a 6-0 blanking of Western Michigan on Wednesday (May 6) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium. Berset's 2-for-2 effort led seven different Wolverines with hits in the win.

The Wolverine offense picked up right where it left off from its 20-run Tuesday, scoring five times on four hits in the opening frame as junior second baseman Nick Urban(Whitehall, Mich./Whitehall) registered an RBI single, with Berset and Oaks each adding two-run doubles to give Sinnery a 5-0 lead.

Michigan extended its lead in the sixth on an RBI single by junior second baseman Mike Kittle(Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) to make it 6-0. Meanwhile, Sinnery continued to shut down the Broncos through six innings, allowing just four hits and fanning two before turning things over to sophomore reliever Kolby Wood (Eau Claire, Mich./Berien Springs).

Wood allowed one hit and walked a batter in the seventh, working his way out of minor trouble with an inning-ending groundout to preserve Michigan's 6-0 lead through seven, before giving way to sophomores Matt Miller(Zionsville, Ind. Zionsville) and Tyler Burgoon(Defiance, Ohio/Defiance), who worked flawless eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as the Wolverines won their third straight game.

Sinnery evened his record at 2-2 with the victory, his first since March 17 as the four Wolverine pitchers combined for the first shutout for U-M in the 2009 campaign.

The Wolverines return to the diamond on Friday (May 8) when they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers in game one of a three-game series at the Wilpon Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm.

N O T E S

Michigan completed a mid-week sweep of Western Michigan with a five-hit, 6-0 win on Wednesday (May 6) at Ray Fisher Stadium in the Wilpon Baseball Complex. It is Michigan's first shutout of the season and the first since a 1-0 complete-game win by current senior RHP Chris Fetter at Penn State on April 5, 2008. It is the first shutout for the Wolverines at home since current senior LHP Mike Wilson pitched a seven-inning (8-0) complete game over Michigan State on April 28, 2007. The shutout over WMU is the first nine-inning shutout for the U-M at home since Wilson pitched the first seven innings and former Wolverines Clint Tobias (2007) and Sam Yashinsky (2007-08) closed out a 17-0 win over Oakland on March 25, 2007.

Freshman RHP Brandon Sinnery moved his record to 2-2 with a 5.45 ERA as he pitched the first six innings, allowing four hits. Sophomore RHPs Kolby Wood (seventh inning), Matt Miller (eighth) and Tyler Burgoon (ninth) worked the final three innings for the shared shutout.

Junior C Chris Berset was 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI. Berset was 5-for-6 (.833) in the two games vs. WMU with six RBI as he raised his batting average to .286 (20-for-70). Berset has five multi-hit games this season.

Junior OF/2B Nick Urban's first-inning RBI single that gave U-M a 1-0 lead proved to be his second game-winning RBI of the season and his career. Urban is hitting .295 (38-for-129) and added his ninth stolen base of the campaign in the win over WMU.

Sophomore OF Ryan LaMarre, who leads the team with a .342 (55-for-161) batting average, reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with a stand-up triple and was hit by a pitch twice. LaMarre scored six runs in the two games vs. WMU.

Junior 1B Mike Dufek, who was 6-for-6 at WMU on Tuesday (May 5), was 1-for-4 on Wednesday. Dufek entered Wednesday's game with eight consecutive hits (six singles and two homers), but he hit a fly ball to left in the first inning to snap the streak. The eight consecutive hits are the most for a Wolverine since catcher David Parrish (1998-2000) had nine consecutive hits vs. Notre Dame (April 20, 1999) and in a doubleheader vs. Michigan State (May 1, 1999). Dufek, who is hitting .332 (61-for-184), leads the team in hits (61), doubles (19), homers (14), RBI (53) and slugging (.663).

Junior OF Alan Oaks was 1-for-3 vs. WMU on Wednesday night with his two-run double in the first inning, closing out the five-run, first-frame rally. Oaks, who has 17 RBI on 23 hits, has 12 extra-base hits this season with six doubles and ranks third on the team with six homers.

Senior co-captain 3B/C Tim Kalczynski had his career-best, six-game hitting streak snapped as he was 0-for-2 as the starting third baseman.

Freshman C/DH Coley Crank did not see action vs. WMU on Wednesday, meaning his current team-leading, six-game hitting streak remains alive heading into the weekend series vs. Minnesota (Fri-Sun., May 8-10). Berset, Dufek and LaMarre each have four-game hitting streaks following Wednesday's game.

Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423