Michigan
UCLA
Alcaraz Leads Michigan Past UCLA in Extra Innings
3/2/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site:Â Westwood, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium)
Score:Â Michigan 4, UCLA 3 (10 innings)
Records:Â U-M (3-1), UCLA (11-12)
Next U-M Game:Â Wednesday, March 3 -- at Southern Cal (Los Angeles, Calif.), 7 p.m. PST
WESTWOOD, Calif. -- Senior outfielder Jason Alcaraz (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado HS) collected his 200th career hit, a two-run homer, and drove in three runs to lead the University of Michigan baseball team to a 4-3, 10-inning victory over UCLA Tuesday (March 2) at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Wolverines improved to 3-1 on the season and stopped a three-game winning streak by the Bruins (11-12).
Alcaraz became the eighth Wolverine to reach 200 career hits with his two-run blast in the sixth inning, and he drove in the winning run in the 10th with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly, making a winner of Wolverine freshman Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS). Korecky (1-0) pitched two and a third innings of shutout ball to earn his first victory.
After UCLA's Bill Scott slammed a solo homer in the second inning, Michigan tied the game in the fifth as senior captain Bobby Scales (Roswell, Ga./Milton HS) led off with a walk and scored on Jay Dines' (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) one-out double down the left-field line.
The Wolverines took the lead in the sixth. Senior captain Mike Cervenak (New Boston, Mich./Divine Child HS) singled to right for his third hit of the game and came around to score on Alcaraz's first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field. Michigan's 3-1 lead held up until the bottom of the eighth, when UCLA, aided by two Michigan errors, scored twice with two outs to tie the score.
UCLA threatened to end the game in the ninth, putting runners on first and third with one out. Garrett Atkins, who had doubled to start the rally in the eighth, hit a grounder up the middle which deflected off Korecky to U-M shortstop Scott Tousa (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS), who stepped on second and threw to first to nip Atkins on a bang-bang play to end the threat.
Kevin Quinn (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) pinch hit for Tousa to lead off the 10th and was hit by a pitch. Brian Bush (Warren, Ohio/Howland HS) sacrificed Quinn to second and reached on a throwing error by the catcher, and Cervenak walked to load the bases. Alcaraz's flyout to left on an 0-2 pitch was deep enough to score Quinn with the game-winning run.
After a UCLA leadoff single in the bottom of the 10th, Korecky retired the next three Bruins to gain his first collegiate victory.
Michigan will face another Pacific-10 Conference school on Wednesday (March 3) with a 7 p.m. PST game at the University of Southern California.
