Solid Pitching, Late Rally Key Wolverine Win at Indiana

Friday, March 31

Bloomington, Ind.

3:00 PM

Michigan

8-13-1, 1-4

Indiana

18-11, 1-4

Michigan

Indiana

Solid Pitching, Late Rally Key Wolverine Win at Indiana

3/31/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The University of Michigan baseball team scored seven straight runs, including a four-run seventh inning, to beat Indiana 7-6 on Friday (March 31) in the Big Ten Conference home opener for the Hoosiers at Sembower Field. The Wolverines (8-13-1, 1-4 Big Ten) vaulted out of the Big Ten cellar with the win and snapped a four-game conference losing streak, while Indiana (18-11, 1-4 Big Ten) dropped its fourth consecutive conference game.

Junior LHP Nick Alexander (Alpena, Mich./Alpena HS), making his first start of the season, worked the first six innings and left with the bases loaded in the seventh with a 7-4 lead. Alexander (1-0) had started the season as Michigan's bullpen closer.

Sophomore LHP Jeff Trzos (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) worked out of the seventh-inning jam with a 7-6 lead, struck out the side in the eighth and faced three batters in the ninth, getting a 6-4-3 double play to end the game. Trzos, who is hitting .444 as a first baseman, notched his first career save.

Senior CF Rob Bobeda (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt HS) continued his leadership role as tri-captain, getting the Wolverines on the scoreboard. With U-M trailing 4-0 after four innings, Bobeda collected the first Michigan hit of the day off IU starter and loser Brad Edwards (4-2) as he launched an opposite-field homer to left. The homer was the team-leading sixth of the season for Bobeda.

Edwards walked Michigan's "Colorado Kids" 2B Jordan Cantalamessa (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and 1B Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) in the sixth inning and Bobeda struck again with a two-out, two-run single to cut the IU lead to 4-3.

Edwards faced the first four batters in the seventh and left after walking Cantalamessa with the bases loaded to force in tri-captain 3B Kevin Quinn (Midland, Mich./Midland HS) with the tying run. Quinn had led off the inning with his second single of the game.

Indiana RHP Tom Willerer recorded the first out on a force at the plate, but then Koman collected his second game-winning RBI as he snapped the 4-4 tie with a sacrifice fly to score classmate Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS).

With junior catcher David Parrish (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) at the plate, Willerer balked in the sixth run (Cantalamessa) and it pushed junior 2B Scott Tousa (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS), who had reached on the force play, to second base. Parrish plated Tousa with the fourth run of the inning on a single to right, the only hit allowed by Willerer, and Michigan led 7-4.

Indiana scored twice in the seventh, but Trzos closed the door for the Michigan win. Indiana LF Jason Williams was 3-for-3 in the game with a triple and a double and he walked in the eighth inning while Trzos was striking out the side.

Michigan faces Indiana in a Big Ten doubleheader Saturday (April 1, 1 p.m. EST) with freshman RHP Tim Leveque (Northridge, Calif./Crespi HS) and senior LHP Bryan Cranson (Bronson, Mich./Bronson HS) as the probable starters on the mound. Leveque is 1-2 with a 4.08 ERA, while Cranson is 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA.

N O T E S

Tri-captain Rob Bobeda's sixth homer of the season, in the fifth inning at IU, matches his career total in his first three seasons. His previous single-season best was five homers last year. With his two homers in the final four games of 1999 in the NCAA regional at Notre Dame, Bobeda has hit eight of his 12 career homers in the last 26 games. He hit his first four HRs in 96 games.

Tri-captains Rob Bobeda and Kevin Quinn each had two hits to account for four of the six Wolverine hits in the game. It was Bobeda's 29th career multiple-hit game and the 10th for Quinn.

David Parrish's single in the seventh knocked in Michigan's seventh and deciding run, and it extended his hit streak to six games.

Indiana scored two runs in the third inning on a two-run homer by DH Vasilli Spanos with two outs. It was a "good news, bad news" play for Michigan senior RF Jay Dines (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) as he made a great effort and got his glove on the ball, but the ball bounced off the top of the fence and over for the homer.

Michigan's leading hitters (minimum 30 at bats) after Friday include: freshman 3B Brock Koman (.341, 28-for-82), senior OF Rob Bobeda (.313, 25-for-80), junior C David Parrish (.290, 21-for-73), senior IF Kevin Quinn (.273 (12-for-44) and junior 2B/SS Scott Tousa (.247, 19-for-77).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423