Michigan
Nevada-Las Vegas
Michigan Drops Pair at Texas A&M Tournament
3/20/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site:Â College Station, Texas (Olsen Field)
Scores:Â Nevada-Las Vegas 6, Michigan 2; #10 Texas A&M 6, Michigan 4 (11 innings)
Records:Â U-M (5-9), UNLV (13-16), A&M (18-6)
Next U-M Games:Â Sunday, March 21 -- vs. Cal State-Northridge (5 p.m. CST), at Texas A&M (8 p.m. CST) at Continental Classic (College Station, Texas)
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The University of Michigan baseball team suffered a pair of losses Saturday (March 20) in second-day action at the Texas A&M Aggie Continental Airlines Classic. The Wolverines lost 6-2 to Nevada-Las Vegas in Saturday's first game and fell 6-4 in 11 innings to the host Aggies, ranked 10th by Baseball Weekly/ESPN, in the nightcap for U-M's fourth straight defeat. Both games were scheduled for seven innings.
Against UNLV, Michigan took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Bobby Scales (Roswell, Ga./Milton HS) led off the inning with a walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a single by Mike Cervenak (New Boston, Mich./Divine Child HS). Cervenak reached record on a wild pitch and then scored on a two-out double by Brian Bush (Warren, Ohio/Howland HS).
Wolverine pitcher J.J. Putz (Trenton, Mich./Trenton HS), making his first start in four 1999 appearances, cruised through the first five innings, allowing just three hits while holding the Rebels scoreless. But Putz (0-1) ran into trouble in the sixth as the first three hitters singled, producing one run.
After Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) came on with runners on first and third, UNLV's Ryan Hamill doubled off the top of the wall to score the tying run. A popup and an intentional walk loaded the bases, but the Wolverines got a force-out at home on a grounder to third for the second out and were one out away from getting out of the jam. But Eliott Sarabia singled to drive in two runs and two more run-scoring singles followed to give the Rebels a 6-2 advantage.
In their last at-bat, in the top of the seventh, the Wolverines loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman with two outs, but Rebel reliever Jimmy Smith retired Cervenak on a flyout to right field to end the game.
In the second game, Texas A&M scored four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead, but Michigan rallied to tie the game in the sixth. After a leadoff walk to Scales, an error by the second baseman and a strikeout, Bryan Besco (Westland, Mich./John Glenn HS) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Bush followed with an RBI single, and freshman designated hitter Dan Dombos (Kalamazoo, Mich./Matawan HS), making his first trip, knocked in two runs with a single. U-M tied the score with two outs as Bush stole home on a double steal.
Solid relief pitching from Bryan Cranson (Bronson, Mich./Bronson HS) and Korecky (1-2) kept the Aggies at bay until the bottom of the 11th. After pinch hitter Erik Sobek reached on a one-out error and stole second, Steve Scarborough blasted a home run, his first of the year, into a stiff wind to end the contest.
Bush and Mike Seestedt (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Sacred Heart HS) both collected two hits as Michigan's offense produced nine hits -- all singles.
Michigan is slated to play twice on Sunday (March 21), with tournament rematches against Cal State-Northridge (5 p.m. CST) and Texas A&M (8 p.m. CST).
NOTES
• Bobby Scales' season-long hitting streak came to an end against UNLV as the senior co-captain went 0-for-2 with two walks. Scales hit safely in the first 12 games of 1999 and in 16 consecutive contests over two seasons.
• Brian Bush went 1-for-3 against the Rebels and 2-for-5 against the Aggies to extend his hitting streak to a career-best nine games.
