Lollio Homer Tops Falcons in Michigan Home Opener

Tuesday, March 19

Ann Arbor, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

3-10

Bowling Green

6-10

Bowling Green

Michigan

3/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior RF Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) launched a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the University of Michigan baseball team a 4-3 win over Bowling Green (5-10) in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon (March 19) in the Wolverines' home opener at Ray Fisher Stadium.

The two-run homer, the first of the year for Lollio, bounced off the top of the fence and over for his sixth career round-tripper.

Senior co-captain Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) faced three batters in the ninth for his seventh career save as sophomore RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) collected his first win of the season.

Four Wolverine pitchers worked in the win. Junior RHP Tim Leveque (Northridge, Calif./Crespi HS) worked the first four innings and was followed to the mound by junior LHP Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) for two innings. Brauer worked the seventh and eighth and Korecky the ninth.

Bowling Green grabbed the lead three times in the game, but the Wolverines kept fighting back. Sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS) blasted a solo homer in the second inning for a 1-1 tie. Roberts leads the team with three homers and he grabbed the team RBI lead at 10.

Michigan (3-10) tied the game 2-2 in the fifth inning as junior catcher Alex Coleman (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS) walked, reached second on a wild pitch and scored on a screaming double down the first-base line by senior/junior 1B Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS). The RBI was the 10th of the season for Sokol to tie him with Roberts for the team lead.

The Falcons scored an unearned run off Brauer in the top of the eighth as SS Nick Elrod doubled to lead off the frame and scored on a two-out error. BG's offense was led by CF David Barkholz, who was 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of stolen bases. The Falcons, who led the nation in hitting in 2001, had four doubles in the game and put the leadoff runner on base five times in nine innings, three times with doubles.

Roberts and Lollio, who each collected two hits in the game, provided the winning rally as Roberts singled to right with one out and then rode home on Lollio's game-winner. Lollio reached base all four times, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.

The Wolverines will be in Lawrence, Kan., this weekend (March 22-24), facing host Kansas on Friday and Sunday (March 22 and 24) with a single game against Oral Roberts on Saturday (March 23). Korecky (1-1, 6.86 ERA) is expected to start the opener.

N O T E S

Junior 3B/SS Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) has reached base all 13 games this season and 21 in a row over the last two seasons.

The save for Bobby Korecky vs. BGSU is the seventh of his career and moves him into a tie for eighth on Michigan's all-time save list with Ken Hayward (1982-85).

Junior LHP Rich Hill reached a milestone with career strikeout 150 during his two-inning stint in the fifth and sixth innings vs. Bowling Green. Hill, the active career strikeout leader for the Wolverines, faced seven batters and fanned three, moving his team-leading total to 26 (16 innings) and his career total to 151 (117 innings).

Michigan's hitting leaders after 13 games (10 at-bat minimum) include: catcher Jason Wuerfel (Cedar, Mich./Glen Lake HS) at .385 (5-for-13); 3B/SS Brock Koman (.358, 19-for-53); sophomore LF/DH Brandon Roberts (.341, 14-for-41); junior OF Gino Lollio (.277, 13-for-47); and senior/junior Mike Sokol (.273, 15-for-55).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423