Wolverines Walk Over Bulls, Earn Program's 2,300th Win

Wednesday, February 28

Tampa, Fla.

7:00 PM

Michigan

3-2

South Florida

4-6

Michigan

South Florida

Wolverines Walk Over Bulls, Earn Program's 2,300th Win

2/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. -- The University of Michigan baseball team took advantage of 12 hits and 13 bases on balls to walk away with a 10-4 win at South Florida Wednesday night (Feb. 28). The win, which snaps a two-game losing streak, is the 2,300th baseball win at Michigan. The Wolverines are 2,300-1,247-37 since the program started in 1866.

The Wolverines (3-2) scored in six of the nine innings vs. South Florida (4-6) as Michigan led 4-2 after three innings and 8-4 after six. U-M's offense was balanced as seven of the nine position players recorded hits, seven scored runs and all nine drew walks in the contest.

Senior SS Bill LaRosa's (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) bases-loaded walk in the third inning proved to be the game-winning RBI. LaRosa, who has collected all three of Michigan's "gamers" thus far this season, extended his two-season hit streak to 14 games with a seventh-inning single.

Senior 2B Scott Tousa (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS) grabbed the team batting lead (.450) with a 3-for-5 game, the 40th multiple-hit game of his career and his 11th career three-hit game. Tousa extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a second-inning single.

Freshman RF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS) collected the first extra-base hits of his Wolverine career with a pair of doubles, and sophomore 3B Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) had a run-scoring double in the fourth inning and tripled and scored in the seventh.

Junior 1B Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) had a pair of hits, including a double, and sophomore LF Jordan Cantalamessa (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) joined the hit parade with a run-scoring double, his first hit of the season.

Senior LHP Nick Alexander (Alpena, Mich./Alpena HS) pitched 5.1 innings and allowed 10 hits and four runs to collect his first win of the year and the seventh win of his career. Freshman RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) worked 3.2 scoreless innings and notched five strikeouts to record his first career save.

Brauer had an interesting entrance to the game as he took over from Alexander in the sixth inning with runners on first and third and one out with Michigan leading 8-4. Brauer did not retire a batter in the inning to get out of the situation. Battery mate Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS) gunned out the runner from first attempting to steal second and moments later the runner from third was called out at the plate, Fox to Brauer, after attempting to advance on a pitch that eluded the catcher.

Michigan returns to Tampa on Thursday (March 1, 7 p.m.) to face South Florida. Junior RHP Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) is scheduled to make the start. Korecky (0-0, 4.05 ERA) worked 6.2 innings for a no-decision in the 9-6, 10-inning win vs. Western Michigan on Feb. 24.

N O T E S

Scott Tousa has at least one hit in 22 straight games and in 34 of his last 36 games, while Bill LaRosa, who sat out Sunday's (Feb. 25) Western Michigan contest, has a 14-game hitting streak.

Tousa and Brock Koman are the only Wolverines with hits in each of the first five games, and LaRosa has hits in all four games he has played.

Michigan's pitching staff has a 3.13 ERA after five games and has recorded 34 strikeouts in 46 innings while walking just 17. Michigan's opponents have fanned 28 and walked 31 in 45 innings with a 5.20 ERA.

Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS), making his second start as DH, was hitless but drew three walks and owns a team-leading .556 on-base percentage.

All nine position players drew a walk in the win at South Florida and only the top two batters in the lineup -- Tousa and LaRosa -- did not score a run.

Michigan's hitting leaders (for players with more than one game played) after five games are: senior 2B Scott Tousa (.450, 9-for-20); junior 1B Mike Sokol (.389, 7-for-18); sophomore 3B Brock Koman (.364, 8-for-22); DH Nate Wright (.333, 2-for-6) and senior SS Bill LaRosa (.286, 4-for-14).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423