Weekly Release No. 8

4/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, April 26 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 27 -- DH at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 28 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 1 p.m.
Tuesday, April 30 -- vs. Notre Dame (Grand Rapids, Mich.), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, May 1 -- vs. Eastern Michigan (Ray Fisher Stadium), 3 p.m.
Friday, May 3 -- vs. Ohio State (Ray Fisher Stadium), 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 -- DH vs. Ohio State (Ray Fisher Stadium), 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 5 -- vs. Ohio State (Ray Fisher Stadium), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, May 8 -- at Eastern Michigan (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 7 p.m.

Michigan Faces Exams, Penn State
The University of Michigan baseball team (12-22, 7-9 Big Ten) takes a mid-week break for final exams before facing another crucial April Big Ten series on the road with four games at Penn State (April 26-28). Penn State (14-20, 4-11 Big Ten) hosts Michigan in single nine-inning Big Ten games on Friday (April 26, 3 p.m.) and Sunday (April 28, 1 p.m.) with the doubleheader (two seven-inning games) slated for Saturday (April 27, 1 p.m.) at Beaver Field in State College, Pa.

The series at Penn State closes out the month of April which found the Wolverines playing 14 of 16 Big Ten games on the road, with the two home games coming last week against archrival Michigan State. The Wolverines dropped three of four games to the Spartans despite outscoring them 25-24. The Wolverines have been 4-6 on the road and 0-2 at home in the Big Ten thus far in April.

PSU is scheduled to host Delaware for a doubleheader on Wednesday (April 24) before the weekend series vs. Wolverines. The Nittany Lions enter the week after dropping three of four games at Northwestern (April 19-21).

Coaching Matchups
Michigan interim head coach Chris Harrison, who served as assistant coach the past six years, enters the week with an overall record of 12-2 (7-9 Big Ten) after dropping three of four games to Michigan State last weekend (April 12-14). A head coach in the NAIA ranks at The Master's College (San Clarita, Calif.) for four seasons, Harrison collected his first win as a Wolverine at UC-Irvine (2-26-02) and his first Big Ten win vs. Iowa (March 30). Michigan is 6-4 in Ray Fisher Stadium.

Joe Hindelang, in his 12th season as head coach at Penn State, enters the week with a coaching mark of 323-288-4 with the Nittany Lions. His overall record in 25 seasons as a head coach is 541-468-5. Hindelang was Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1996 when the Nittany Lions captured the conference championship. His 2000 team set a school record for wins (45) and advance to the NCAA Super Regionals.

Opponent Matchups
Penn State holds a 26-16 edge over the Wolverines in a series that started when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1992. Baseball is the oldest varsity sport at both of the traditional Big Ten schools as baseball started at Michigan in 1866 and at Penn State in 1875.

Penn State took all three regular-season games played against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor a year ago, winning 2-1 on Friday (March 30) and sweeping the Saturday (March 31) doubleheader 4-1 and 9-3 before the final game of the series was "weathered out." Michigan beat Penn State 10-2 in Big Ten Tournament action in Columbus, Ohio, with Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) throwing a three-hitter and Brock Koman's (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) three-run, first-inning homer standing up as the game-winning hit.

Big Ten Weekend Schedule
The Michigan series at Penn State is one of the five Big Ten series this weekend. In other conference action Indiana plays at Minnesota, Michigan State is at Iowa, Northwestern goes to Illinois and Purdue plays at Ohio State.

Big Ten Standings (through 4/21/02)

 1. Ohio State 11-4 .733 2. Indiana 9-6 .600 Michigan State 9-6 .600 4. Minnesota 8-6 .571 5. Purdue 9-7 .562 6. Illinois 7-8 .467 7. MICHIGAN 7-9 .438 8. Northwestern 6-9 .400 9. Iowa 6-10 .308 10. Penn State 4-11 .267

Koman Nears Tousa's "Plunk" Mark
Junior 3B/SS Brock Koman is nearing the dubious Michigan career hit by pitch record set by co-captain Scott Tousa in 2001. Tousa was hit a record 15 times in his senior season to give him 27 HBPs in his career. Koman enters the Penn State series with 26 "plunks," one shy of Tousa's total.

In 2001 Tousa was hit by pitches an "unofficial" team season-record 15 times to equal the team total for the entire Wolverine team in 1981 and 1983. The next best/worst single-season totals are 11 by Koman in 2001 and nine by Sean Coston (1993-95) in 1995. Koman and current teammate Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS), enter the Penn State series this weekend sharing the team lead with eight.

The team HBP total in the 1980s was 215 (21.5 times a year) and it jumped to 278 (27.8) in the 1990s with a team high of 55 in 1999. The Wolverines were hit a record 62 times in 2001, topping the previous record of 55 in 1999. U-M has been hit 141 times from 2000-current (143 games).

U-M Career Leaders in Times Hit By Pitch (Since 1980)

 Player, Pos. (Years) Games HBP 1. Scott Tousa, 2B/SS (1998-2001) 204 27 2. BROCK KOMAN, 3B/SS (2000-present) 138 26 3. Jason Alcaraz, OF (1996-99) 213 25 4. Phil Price, 1B (1987-90) 222 23 5. JAKE FOX, C (2001-present) 78 16 David Parrish, C (1998-2000) 138 16 7. Bryan Besco, 1B (1995-99) 207 15 8. Rodney Goble, OF (1992-95) 203 14

Hill Vaults Into U-M's Career Strikeout Top 10
Junior LHP Rich Hill enters the Penn State series ranked eighth on Michigan's all-time career strikeout list and needing just eight to become the seventh Wolverine hurler to collect 200 career K's. Hill fanned 11 Spartans while losing a four-hitter, his fourth straight Big Ten complete game. Two of the four runs were unearned and the two runs that were "earned" scored when an outfielder fell down and a routine fly out turned into a two-run double. Hill struck out three in the first and second innings, and the only inning without a strikeout (fourth) was his only 1-2-3 inning.

The veteran lefty Hill is 2-4 in overall action with a team-leading 3.19 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 48 innings. He is 2-2 in Big Ten play with a 1.38 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 26 innings and a .196 opponents batting average. He moved from 12th to eighth on Michigan's all-time strikeout list during Saturday's (April 20) game at MSU. He has 192 strikeouts in 149 innings at Michigan in three seasons and next on the list is Steve Howe (196 strikeouts, 1977-79). He started the MSU weekend with 181 K's and moved ahead of J.J. Putz (185, 1996-99), Jim Abbott (186, 1986-88), Russell Brock (186, 1989-91) and Mike Grimes (189, 1987-89) during the MSU game.

U-M Career Leaders in Strikeout (Pitching)

 Pitcher (Years) L/R Games Ks 1. Jim Burton (1969-71) L 45 288 2. Mike Ignasiak (1985-88) R 76 286 3. Fritz Fisher (1961-63) L 41 259 4. Pete Helt (1970-73) L 45 215 5. Gary Wayne (1982-84) L 56 205 6. Ross Powell (1987-89) L 57 201 7. Steve Howe (1977-79) L 41 196 8. RICH HILL (2000-present) L 38 192

Tentative Wolverine Pitching Rotation
The tentative starting pitchers for the Wolverines this weekend at Penn State include senior Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS), junior Rich Hill, sophomore Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) and senior Jeff Trzos (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS). Tentative Big Ten Rotation at Penn State (April 26-28):

Game #1 (Friday) -- Bobby Korecky (RHP, 2-5, 4.53 ERA, one save) is slated to make his eighth start of the season and the 32nd start of his U-M career. Last weekend he lost to Michigan State, the third consecutive time the Wolverines have been shut out in one of his starts. He ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 1.61 ERA, having allowed just five earned runs in four games (28 innings). He shares the Big Ten lead with four pickoffs (with teammate Rich Hill). He tossed a two-hit shutout in the Big Ten opener vs. Iowa, his third career complete-game win over the Hawkeyes. He has completed 17 of his 31 career starts after serving as closer as a freshman. He has completed four of his seven starts in 2002 and finished the game in six of his nine appearances including a save vs. Bowling Green (seventh career save). Both wins this season have been shutouts vs. Iowa and Texas-San Antonio. He earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors for the shutout win at UTSA in which he fanned a career-high 13. Korecky's losses have been at UC-Riverside, Kansas, Minnesota and Illinois and at home to MSU. Korecky is hitting .311 in eight starts (DH-6, LF-2, 2B-2), including 5-for-6 in the twinbill at MSU. He was 4-for-4 in the second game, the second time a Wolverine has had four hits in a game this season. A second team All-Big Ten performer, he earned the Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Pitcher in 2001. Korecky is second among Michigan's active pitchers with 152 career strikeouts.
Game #2 (Saturday) -- Rich Hill (LHP, 2-4, 3.19 ERA) is scheduled to make his 25th career start and 39th career pitching appearance in his start at PSU. He fanned 11 in his 4-2 loss at MSU after striking out eight and walking none in throwing five-hit shutout the week before at Illinois to earn Big Ten co-Pitcher of the Week honors. He has 34 Big Ten strikeouts in 26 innings with pair of shutouts. He is tied for third in Big Ten only stats with 1.38 ERA and he shares the Big Ten lead with four pickoffs (with teammate Bobby Korecky). He struck out eight in a 3-1 complete game loss at Minnesota (April 6) and fanned seven in tossing a four-hit shutout over Iowa (March 30). He leads the team in strikeouts (67) and is second in innings pitched (48). He fanned a career-high 15 batters in a nine-inning no-decision at Texas-San Antonio (March 9). Hill took the loss in the season opener vs. Oregon State and lost to Oral Roberts. Hill reached 100 strikeouts in just 22 career appearances and he is Michigan's active career strikeout leader with 192 K's in 149 innings after leading the team in 2000 (53 strikeouts) and in 2001 (72). Hill was drafted by Cincinnati out of high school (1999) and by Anaheim in 2001.
Game #3 (Saturday) -- Jim Brauer (RHP, 2-4, 6.08 ERA) would make his 15th career start in the Penn State series. He fanned career-high nine and allowed three earned runs on seven hits in six innings for his first win as a starter in the MSU series. He earned his first win of the season in relief against Bowling Green (March 19). His losses have been vs. Oakland, Iowa, Texas-San Antonio and San Diego. He pitched seven innings at Texas-San Antonio (March 10) after pitching six innings in each of his spring trip starts vs. San Francisco (no-decision) and at San Diego (loss). He enters the PSU week fourth on the team in innings pitched (37) and third in strikeouts (33). His three wins as a freshman came out of the bullpen vs. Bowling Green, Siena Heights and Illinois, and he had a save at South Florida. Brauer was drafted out of high school by Montreal.
Game #4 (Sunday) -- Jeff Trzos (LHP, 1-3, 4.99 ERA) will make his seventh career start in the Penn State series. Trzos worked his third consecutive no-decision, leaving with a 3-0 lead in the ninth vs. MSU in an eventual 5-3 loss. He worked seven innings in no-decisions at Minnesota and Illinois the previous two weeks. He pitched his first career complete game in beating Iowa 4-1 in the opening-series finale (March 31). He was 0-2 on the spring with losses to Oregon State and San Diego in the first starts of his career after 40 relief outings in first three seasons. He took the third loss in relief in extra innings at Texas-San Antonio (March 9). Trzos allowed earned runs in just one of 18 appearances as the closer in 2001 and did not allow an earned run in the last 16 appearances. Trzos has 81 strikeouts in 104.1 innings pitched in Wolverine career and he owns a .260 career batting average with three homers. He was drafted out of high school by Kansas City.

Korecky Improves Career Rankings
Senior RHP Bobby Korecky added another appearance and added six more innings to his lofty career totals. Korecky has made nine pitching appearances this season heading into the Penn State weekend, giving him 60 for his career and tying him with Mark Temple (60, 1993-96) on Michigan's career list, one shy of sharing sixth place with former teammate Nick Alexander (61, 1998-2001). Korecky's team-leading total of 51.2 innings pushes his Wolverine career total to 253.2 innings good for fifth place.

U-M Career Leaders in Innings Pitched

 Pitcher (Years) Games Innings Wins 1. Mike Ignasiak (1985-88) 76 328.2 33 2. Steve Howe (1977-79) 41 265.2 27 3. Fritz Fisher (1961-63) 41 263.2 21 4. Gary Wayne (1981-84) 56 261.0 24 5. BOBBY KORECKY (1999-present) 59 259.2 14

U-M Career Leaders in Pitching Appearances

 Pitcher (Years) L/R Games Wins Saves 1. Todd Marion (1990-93) R 106 9 32 2. John Arvai (1993-96) R 86 15 16 3. Mike Ignasiak (1985-88) R 76 33 10 4. Greg Everson (1985-87) R 73 12 15 5. Tyler Steketee (1995-98) R 66 6 15 6. Nick Alexander (1998-2001) L 61 9 3 7. BOBBY KORECKY (1999-present) R 60 14 7 Mark Temple (1993-96) R 60 12 1

Koman Climbs Doubles Chart; Scores 100th Run
Junior shortstop Brock Koman enters the Penn State weekend continuing his climb up Michigan's career doubles list. Koman scored four times in the doubleheader at Michigan State (April 20) to reach the 100 career runs scored plateau. Koman collected a double and two homers and drove in eight runs in five games last week. He moved his career doubles total to 45, leaving him two shy of Jim Paciorek (47 doubles, 1979-82) for seventh on the list. Koman leads the team in hitting (.369), has 48 career multiple-hit games and has hits in 29 of the 34 games this year. He has hits in 71 of the last 86 games in the last two seasons. He tops U-M in starts (34), hits (45), walks (18) and runs (30).

U-M Career Leaders in Doubles

 Player (Years) Games Doubles 1. Mike Cervenak (1996-99) 214 67 2. Bryan Besco (1995-99) 207 55 3. Jason Alcaraz (1996-99) 213 54 4. Phil Price (1987-90) 222 53 5. Casey Close (1983-86) 229 49 Ken Hayward (1982-85) 234 49 7. Jim Paciorek (1979-82) 197 47 8. BROCK KOMAN (2000-present) 138 45

Roberts Streaking in Conference Play
Sophomore outfielder Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS) enters the Penn State series with a seven-game Big Ten hitting streak that includes 11 hits in his last 25 at bats (.440). In his last seven Big Ten games Roberts has hit three doubles and three homers while scoring seven runs and driving in 10. In overall action Roberts is hitting .306 (34-for-111) and leads the Wolverines in homers (6) and RBI (26) while sharing the lead with 11 doubles.

Roberts was 3-for-4 with a double and a homer in the 19-4 win at Michigan State #2 (April 20), marking his fourth three-hit game of the season and his third game with more than one extra-base hit. He had two doubles and a homer at Texas-San Antonio (March 8) and a double and a triple vs. Iowa #1 (March 30). Roberts, who had 18 hits as a freshman, needs two hits to reach 36 for his sophomore season. Roberts has 19 extra-base hits (2B-11; 3B-2; HR-6) as a sophomore and he is second on the team with a .604 slugging percentage.

Lollio Leads "Gamers" List
Junior outfielder Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) enters the Penn State series leading the Wolverines in "game-winning" RBI with four, giving him eight for his career. Junior 3B Brock Koman collected his second "gamer" of the year in the 19-4 win at Michigan State last Saturday (April 20). It was Koman's second of the year and 13th of his career. He led the team with nine in 2001.

U-M 2002 Game-Winning RBI

 Player, Pos. Games GWRBI 1. Gino Lollio, OF 32 4 2. Brock Koman, 3B/SS 34 2 Nate Wright, 1B 29 2 4. Dan Augustine, IF/OF 13 1 Jake Fox, C/DH 29 1 Brandon Roberts, OF 33 1 Jason Wuerfel, C 19 1

Odds and Ends: Miscellaneous U-M Notes
Sophomore C/DH Jake Fox in 29 games has eight walks, eight strikeouts and has been hit by pitches eight times ... Michigan has lost three of four to MSU in each of the past two seasons but had more runs in each series -- 35-29 in 2001 and 25-24 in 2002 with a 21-2 win in 2001 and 19-4 win in 2002 ... Sophomore 3B/SS Brandon Jominy (Coral Springs, Fla./Westminster Academy) is 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts, and next on the team is RF Gino Lollio with three ... Starting pitchers Bobby Korecky and Rich Hill each have four complete games, two shutouts and six pickoffs ... Junior C Jason Wuerfel (Cedar, Mich./Glen Lake HS) is hitting .375 as a pinch hitter (3-for-8) ... Junior 3B/SS Brock Koman and Lollio lead the team in multiple-hit games (14) while Koman and OF Brandon Roberts share the team lead with seven multiple-RBI games ... current hit streak leaders are Koman (overall seven games) and Roberts (Big Ten seven games) ... Freshman CF Matt Butler (Glendale Heights, Ill./Driscoll Catholic) had a four-hit game at Minnesota and scored four times at MSU ... Senior/junior 1B/DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) was 2-for-3 with a double vs. MSU #4 (April 21) for his 25tth career multiple-hit game.

Korecky Makes Outfield Start
After 34 games in 2002 senior Bobby Korecky is the only Wolverine to make starts at four different positions as he started the last two games of the Michigan State series in leftfield to go along with his starts at 2B, pitcher and DH. The next most versatile Wolverines are sophomore Brandon Roberts (DH, LF and RF), sophomore Jake Fox (catcher, 3B and DH) and freshman OF Chris Burhans (LF, CF and RF) with starts at three different positions.

Junior OF Gino Lollio (first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth), junior IF/OF Jordan Cantalamessa (first, second, seventh, eighth and ninth) and junior catcher Alex Coleman (second, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth) have started in five different positions in the batting order.

Heading into the Penn State series junior Brock Koman (SS-23, 3B-11) is the only player to start and play in all 34 games. Roberts has played in 33 games and Lollio has played in 32. Koman has batted third in the lineup for all 34 games. The Wolverines have used seven starting pitchers and six different starters at DH and six in LF. Ten different players have started in the eighth batting slot.

Following the MSU series the players with the most starts at each position thus far include (2002 starts at position/total career starts at any position): 1B -- Nate Wright (23/66); 2B -- Jordan Cantalamessa (25/119); SS -- Brock Koman (23/139); 3B -- Brandon Jominy (18/40) and Brock Koman (11/139); LF -- Brandon Roberts (26/56); CF -- Matt Butler (20/20) and Blake Rutkowski (7/76); RF -- Gino Lollio (25/91); C -- Alex Coleman (19/44) and Jake Fox (10/65); and DH -- Mike Sokol (17/84) and Jake Fox (8/65).