Koman, Lollio Pace U-M Offense in Win Over Chippewas

Wednesday, April 10

Ann Arbor, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

9-16

Central Michigan

16-9

Central Michigan

Michigan

4/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ray Fisher Stadium)
Score: Michigan 9, Central Michigan 7
Records: U-M (9-16), CMU (16-9)
Next U-M Game: Friday, April 12 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill), 6:35 p.m. CDT

• Boxscore

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team's five-run fifth inning matched a season high and paved the way for a 9-7 comeback win over Central Michigan Wednesday afternoon (April 10) at Ray Fisher Stadium. The Wolverines (9-16) trailed CMU 5-0 before scoring five times on six hits in the third inning for a 5-5 tie. Michigan added two runs in the fourth and seventh to take a 9-5 lead.

Juniors Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) and Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) led the Wolverine offense and five Wolverine pitchers combined to limit CMU to six hits in the first eight innings. CMU (16-9) scored twice in the ninth inning and had the tying runs on base when Koman started a 6-4-3 double play to end the game. Koman was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI and Lollio was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, including his fourth "gamer" of the season.

Trailing 5-0 the Wolverines scored five times in the bottom of the third inning with consecutive singles by freshman 2B Nick Rudden (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS), freshman CF Matt Butler (Glendale Heights, Ill./Driscoll Catholic HS) and senior/junior DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) starting the rally. Sokol knocked in one run and Koman drove in another with his 40th career double.

Sokol scored on a wild pitch and Lollio's grounder to short for the second out plated Koman to clear the bases. Senior/junior 1B Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) kept the third-inning rally alive with a double to left-center and he scored the tying run on a single by junior catcher Alex Coleman (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands HS).

Michigan added two runs in the fourth as Lollio's infield single to third snapped the tie and Wright drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 7-5. The Wolverines added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning as Coleman and junior 2B Dan Augustine (Wausau, Wis./West HS) reached on singles and scored on Koman's two-out, bases-loaded single to center.

Sophomore LHP Chad Garson (Calabasas, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS), the third of five Wolverine pitchers, entered the game after the first five Chippewas had reached base in a four-run, third-inning rally that had given CMU the 5-0 lead. Garson pitched three scoreless and hitless innings to record his first career win as a Wolverine.

Freshman RHP Phil Tognetti (Newhall, Calif./Hart HS) worked the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, allowing two hits and recording two strikeouts, and freshman RHP Matt Collins (Bloomfield Village, Mich./Country Day) worked the ninth.

CF Ryan Krueger paced the CMU offense by going 2-for-2 with a triple and a sacrifice fly, and he was hit by a pitch.

Both teams batted around in the third inning with CMU scoring four runs on three hits in the top of the inning and the Wolverines scoring five times on six hits in the bottom of the frame.

The Wolverines (9-16, 4-4 Big Ten) head to Illinois for an early season Big Ten showdown. Michigan enters the weekend in the sixth and final playoff spot in the conference standings just ahead of Illinois (3-5 Big Ten). Senior RHP Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) will start the opener for the Wolverines. Korecky, who had a no-decision vs. Illinois last season, is 2-3 with a 4.95 ERA.

Notes

A third-inning single by freshman CF Matt Butler extended his hitting streak to four games. The single was his first "outdoor" hit as a Wolverine as his first six hits came last weekend at Minnesota inside the Metrodome.

Junior RF Gino Lollio's two-hit game vs. Central Michigan on Wednesday (April 10) was his third consecutive multiple-hit game, his 12th of the season and the 27th of his career.

Junor SS Brock Koman's third-inning double was the 40th of his career and puts him alone in 10th place on Michigan's career doubles list, snapping his tie with Rodney Goble (39, 1992-95).

Koman has hits in 21 of Michigan's 25 games this season and hits in 63 of the last 77 games the past two seasons.

Koman reached the century mark in career RBI during the win over CMU on Wednesday, collecting RBI 99 on the third-inning double and 100 and 101 on his seventh-inning single.

Michigan's hitting leaders after 25 games (21 at-bat minimum) include: 3B/SS Brock Koman (.366, 34-for-93), junior catcher Jason Wuerfel (.318, 7-for-22), junior RF Gino Lollio (.315, 28-for-89), senior/junior 1B/DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) at .300 (27-for-90) and senior/junior 1B Nate Wright (.292, 19-for-65).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423