Michigan
4-12, 1-0
Iowa
6-9, 0-1
Korecky, Hill Hurl Wolverines to Shutout Sweep of Iowa
3/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Scores: Michigan 3, Iowa 0; Michigan 6, Iowa 0
Records: U-M (5-12, 2-0 Big Ten), Iowa (6-10, 0-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game: Sunday, March 31 -- DH vs. Iowa (Ray Fisher Stadium), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team used a pair of complete-game shutouts to sweep the Big Ten-opening doubleheader from Iowa, 3-0 and 6-0, Saturday afternoon (March 30) at Ray Fisher Stadium. Senior RHP Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) tossed a two-hitter in the opener and junior LHP Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) followed with a six-hitter in the nightcap.
| | Korecky |
The shutout was the second of the season for Korecky (2-2) and the fourth of his career. Korecky has completed three of his four starts this season and 16 of his 28 career starts. Korecky retired the first nine batters he faced before giving up a double to Iowa SS Jeff Gremley leading off the fourth inning. Korecky picked Gremley off second and later had another pickoff to save a run in the fifth inning. In the fifth Iowa CF Kyle Thousand reached on an error but was picked off first base for the second out of the inning, just before the second Iowa hit.
Iowa's second hit was a two-out double by 1B Brad Carlson in the fifth, but he was retired trying to stretch the hit to a triple on a relay from Lollio in right to 2B Jordan Cantalamessa (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) to 3B Brandon Jominy (Coral Springs, Fla./Westminster Academy). The play kept Michigan's 1-0 lead intact. Korecky faced the minimum 21 batters in the opener with three strikeouts and no walks.
The winning rally in the opener came early as sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS) started the second inning with a double and scored on the next pitch, a Lollio single inside the first-base bag. Roberts, who was 3-for-3 in the opener, tripled in the second run and scored the third run on another Lollio single.
Hill did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and survived a scare in the fifth inning when Iowa 2B Andy Cox hit a one-out triple off the wall in left. However, Hill got a strikeout and a grounder to end the best Hawkeye threat of the afternoon, but Michigan had a 5-0 lead by then.
The Michigan offense clicked in the fourth inning as Lollio, who had four hits in the twinbill, and senior/junior 1B Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) hit consecutive pitches for back-to-back homers. The Wolverines had seven hits in the five-run fourth inning and had four consecutive two out singles with Cantalamessa, senior/junior DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) and junior SS Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) driving in the runs.
The Wolverines (5-12, 2-0 Big Ten) will send sophomore RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) and senior LHP Jeff Trzos (Farmington, Mich./North Farmington HS) to the mound for Sunday's (March 31, 1 p.m.) twinbill. Brauer is 1-2 (6.43 ERA) and Trzos is 0-3 (8.71).
N O T E S
Michigan's last back-to-back Big Ten shutouts came at Penn State with a pair of 8-0 wins in 1993. RHP Ray Ricken tossed a three-hitter in the second game of the series (4/10/93) and RHP Eric Heintschel threw a five-hit shutout in the third game of the series (4/11/93).
The last time Michigan had complete-game shutouts on the same day in Big Ten play was at Purdue (4/17/88) with a pair of five-hitters thrown by RHP Chris Lutz in an 11-0 win in game three of the series and LHP Jim Abbott winning 8-0 in game four. SS Bill St. Peter had the game-winning RBI in the first inning of each game with a three-homer in the opener and a two-run double in the nightcap.
The shutouts were the first for the Wolverines since Korecky blanked Texas-San Antonio (7-0) in a nine-inning game earlier this season (3/8/02) and the first in Fisher Stadium since Hill one-hit Oakland (3-0) in a seven-inning game last season (3/28/01).
Senior RHP Bobby Korecky has a 3-0 mark with three complete games and two shutouts against Iowa in his career, including a one-hitter (2000) and a two-hitter (2002). Both shutouts vs. Iowa were 3-0 wins in Fisher Stadium. Iowa 1B Brad Carlson had two of the three hits in those games vs. Korecky, including a seventh-inning single in 2000 to break up the no-hitter and a double for the second hit in Saturday's (March 30) opener.
The back-to-back home runs by Gino Lollio and Nate Wright in the fourth inning of the second game were the first for the Wolverines since teammates Mike Sokol and Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo., South HS) last season (4/22/01) vs. Siena Heights.
Junior Brock Koman had his streak of reaching base snapped at 15 games in the Saturday opener. Koman has reached base in 16 of 17 games this season as he went 2-for-4 in the second game. He has reached in 24 of his last 25 games over the last two seasons. Heading into Sunday's Easter doubleheader Koman is nearing several career milestones as he has 149 hits, has scored 84 runs and knocked in 97 runs.
Michigan's hitting leaders after 17 games (17 at-bat minimum) include: sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas, Martin HS) at .382 (21-for-55); 3B/SS Brock Koman at .343, (23-for-67); junior catcher Jason Wuerfel (Cedar, Mich./Glen Lake HS) at .333 (6-for-18); junior OF Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) at .312 (20-for-64); and senior/junior 1B Nate Wright (.289. 11-for-38).
Big Ten Standings (after Saturday's Games)
1. MICHIGAN 2-0 1.000 2. Ohio State 2-1 .667 Michigan State 2-1 .667 Purdue 2-1 .667 5. Indiana 1-1 .500 Illinois 1-1 .500 7. Minnesota 1-2 .333 Northwestern 1-2 .333 Penn State 1-2 .333 10. Iowa 0-2 .000
Friday Scores
Penn State 1, Purdue 0
Iowa at Michigan (postponed)
Illinois at Indiana (postponed)
Minnesota 1, Michigan State 0 (suspended 3rd inning)
Northwestern 0, Ohio State 0 (suspended 2nd inning)
Saturday Scores
Michigan 3-6, Iowa 0-0
Illinois 6-2, Indiana 4-9
Purdue 10-6, Penn State 9-3
Minnesota 4, Michigan State 3 (completion of suspended game)
Michigan State 5-14, Minesota 3-4
Ohio State 8, Northwestern 5 (completion of suspended game)
Ohio State 6-8, Northwestern 5-11
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Korecky, Bobby (2-2)
L: Reed Pawelk (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Jeff Gremley 1 ; Brad Carlson 1
Base Running:
PO: Jeff Gremley 1 ; Kyle Thousand 1
Batting:
2B: Roberts, Brandon 1
3B: Roberts, Brandon 1
RBI: Roberts, Brandon 1 ; Lollio, Gino 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Fox, Jake 1 ; Roberts, Brandon 2
SB: Lollio, Gino 1
