U-M Summer Baseball Action Includes Five All-Stars

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior-to-be third baseman Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS), one of five University of Michigan baseball players to earn summer all-star honors, homered as the second batter in the first inning to help lead the North squad to an 8-5 win in the New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star game Sunday (July 22) in Manchester, Conn. The homer was just the second all season hit out of spacious Northwest Field.

Koman rounds third after his NECBL All-Star game homer.

Koman, who was named winner of the Ray L. Fisher Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Player for 2001, was joined on the NECBL North all-star team by Wolverine and Concord (N.H.) Quarry Dogs teammate Jordan Cantalamessa (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS). Junior-to-be Cantalamessa saw action in the outfield and reached base on a fielder's choice in his only all-star at bat.

Junior-to-be outfielder Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS), playing for the Alexandria (Minn.) Beetles of the Northwoods League, had one of the six hits in a 1-0 all-star win over Team USA on July 10 in St. Cloud, Minn.

Sophomore-to-be catcher Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS), the all-star catcher in the Great Lakes League, played in a 3-0 loss to the same Team USA squad on July 14 in Athens, Ohio. Fox is playing for the Michigan Panthers based in nearby Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti.

Sophomore-to-be RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS), pitching for Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League, was named to the East squad in Saturday's (July 21) Cape Cod League all-star game. Brauer was a member of the winning East squad in the 10-1 win at Fuller Field in Falmouth, Mass.

SUMMER NOTES

All-star Brauer and senior-to-be RHP Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS), winner of the Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Pitcher for 2001, are teammates pitching for division-leading Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League. Each has six starts while Brauer, 2-2, was ranked fifth in the league with his 1.40 ERA. Korecky was 2-3 with a 2.97 ERA.

Junior-to-be LHP Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) is also pitching in Cape Cod for the Chatham Athletics. Hill is 0-1 with a 1.77 ERA and has 28 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. (Note: The Cape Cod League stats were as of July 22.)

Lollio is a summer teammate of Wolverine senior/junior-to-be 1B Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) on the Alexandria Beetles team in the Northwoods League. The league is based in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

There is a distinct Michigan flavor in the New England Collegiate Baseball League when the Concord Quarry Dogs with Koman and Cantalamessa face the Southern Division leading Torrington (Conn.) Twisters team that features three Wolverines, including senior-to-be LHP Jeff Trzos (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS), junior-to-be RHP Tim Leveque (Northridge, Calif./Crespi HS) and sophomore-to-be OF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS).

The Lima (Ohio) Locos of the Great Lakes League have a pair of Wolverines on the roster, including junior-to-be catcher Alex Coleman (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS) and sophomore-to-be SS Brandon Jominy (Coral Springs, Fla./Westminster Academy).

Two other Wolverines playing in the Great Lakes League include senior-to-be LHP Kirk Taylor (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) with the Motor City Marauders and sophomore-to-be RHP Bobby Garza (Southgate, Mich./Anderson HS) with the Lake Erie Monarchs.

Junior-to-be catcher Jason Wuerfel (Cedar, Mich./Glen Lake HS) is playing with Athletes In Action.

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423