LaRosa Delivers in 10th, Pushes Michigan Past Broncos

Saturday, February 24

Lakeland, Fla.

7:00 PM

Michigan

2-0

Western Michigan

0-2

Michigan

Western Michigan

LaRosa Delivers in 10th, Pushes Michigan Past Broncos

2/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Senior SS Bill LaRosa (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) collected his second game-winning RBI in two nights with his 10th-inning RBI single that snapped a 6-6 tie in the University of Michigan baseball team's 9-6 win over Western Michigan Saturday night (Feb. 24) in Joker Marchant Stadium.

Freshman RHP Bobby Garza (Southgate, Mich./Anderson HS) recorded his first win as a Wolverine the hard way as he surrendered a two-run homer to WMU senior SS Ryan Kochen with one out in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings. Garza fanned two to close out the win in the bottom of the 10th.

The hitting streaks continued as senior 2B Scott Tousa (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS), 3-for-5 in the win, moved his streak to 19 games over two seasons with a fourth-inning single, while LaRosa waited until the game-winning single in the 10th to move his streak to 12 games.

Michigan junior RHP Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) worked 6.2 innings and left the game with a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning. Korecky allowed 11 hits and four runs (three earned) in his first outing of the season. Freshman RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) worked 1.1 innings (one hit, one strikeout) before giving way to Garza in the ninth.

Michigan scored two runs in the second inning and added a pair in the third off starter Keith Perez, then chased him in the fourth on a run-scoring triple by sophomore 3B Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS), the first Michigan extra-base hit of the season.

Junior 2B Charlie Decker sparked WMU's comeback effort with a homer in the third and a triple in the seventh, and he led of the ninth with a walk and scored ahead of Kochen's game-tying homer.

The Wolverines (2-0) will meet Western Michigan (0-2) to close out the season-opening weekend series Sunday afternoon (3 p.m.) on a field in the Tigertown complex at the Detroit Tigers' spring training site. Senior RHP Vince Pistilli (Highland, Ind./Highland HS) is scheduled to make his first start of the season.

N O T E S

Freshman catcher Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS) knocked in a run with his first hit as a Wolverine, a flyball single in the fourth inning.

Scott Tousa has at least one hit in 19 straight games and in 31 of his last 33 games.

Former student manager Jeff Singer (1997-2000), now an administrative assistant for the Vero Beach Dodgers, was on hand at the Saturday game and helped out by working the Marchant Stadium scoreboard.

Former Wolverine OF Leon Roberts (1970-72) was on hand Saturday to see his son, freshman RF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS), play. Other former Wolverines at the game Saturday included LHP Ross Powell (1987-89), OF Brian Bush (1996-99) and RHP Ryan Kelley (1996-99). David Parrish, (1998-2000) and Mike Cervenak (1996-99), both in the New York Yankees organization, made the trip from Tampa to take in the first two games of the season. Bush is in the Philadelphia organization.

Michigan's hitting leaders after two games are: junior 1B Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) at .667 (4-for-6), senior 2B Scott Tousa (.500, 4-for-8); sophomore 3B Brock Koman (.400, 4-for-10); freshman RF Brandon Roberts (.333, 3-for-9) and senior SS Bill LaRosa (.333, 2-for-6).

Bill LaRosa has five walks, two game-winning RBI and a .636 on-base percentage, while Mike Sokol with four walks has an .800 on-base percentage.

All 10 Wolverines that have been to the plate this season have hits and nine have scored runs.

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423