Michigan Drops Series Opener at Rutgers

Friday, April 28

Piscataway, N.J.

3:00 PM

Michigan

31-10, 7-6

Rutgers

16-23, 5-5

Michigan

Rutgers

4/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 28, 2017

» After a tie game through five-and-a-half innings, Rutgers took the defining lead in the bottom of the sixth.
» Miles Lewis and Harrison Wenson led Michigan with two hits apiece.
» U-M had not lost the first game of a weekend opener since a Friday loss to Maryland on March 24.

• Box Score

Site: Piscataway, N.J. (Bainton Field)
Score: Rutgers 12, #17 Michigan 5
Records: U-M (31-10, 7-6 B1G), RU (16-23, 5-5 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 29 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 1 p.m.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Five runs on eight hits was not enough on Friday (April 28) as the No. 17-ranked University of Michigan baseball team dropped the opening game of a three-game series with Rutgers, falling by a 12-5 decision at Bainton Field.

After a scoreless first inning, Michigan got on the board in the top of the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Miles Lewis led off the inning with a double down the right-field line and later took third on a passed ball. From there, sophomore Jimmy Kerr came up with the RBI single to left-center field, putting the Wolverines up by one.

The lead was cut short, however, as Rutgers responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs on just two hits for a 3-1 lead.

Following a scoreless third, Michigan tied the score in the top of the fourth with a two-out rally. Kerr got things going with a two-out walk, and senior Harrison Wenson took first on a hit-by-pitch to put two men on. It was junior Jake Bivens who followed with the clutch two-RBI triple to right-center field, tying the game at 3-3. The triple was his first of the season.

In the bottom of the inning, however, the Scarlet Knights regained the lead with one run on a leadoff double and a sacrifice fly.

Michigan answered with a run of its own in the top of the sixth when an RBI double from Wenson scored sophomore Jonathan Engelmann and tied the game at 4-4, but Rutgers returned in the bottom of the inning to rally for six runs and force a defining lead.

Wenson added a run for Michigan in the top of the eighth inning with a two-out solo homer, but runs in the bottom of the seventh and eighth propelled Rutgers to a 12-5 victory on the day.

Overall, Michigan tallied eight hits in the contest, with Lewis and Wenson both recording multiple hits in the outing.

The Wolverine pitching staff sent six pitchers to the mound in the effort and struck out a combined seven on the day.

No. 17-ranked Michigan will return to action on Saturday (April 29) for the second game of a three-game series at Rutgers. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

Communications Contact: Katie Gwinn Hewitt