Wolverines Suffer Doubleheader Sweep at Penn State

Saturday, April 27

State College, Pa.

1:00 PM

Michigan

13-23, 8-10

Penn State

16-22, 5-12

Michigan

Penn State

4/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Site: State College, Pa. (Beaver Field)
Scores: Penn State 4, Michigan 1; Penn State 5, Michigan 2
Records: U-M (13-24, 8-11 Big Ten), PSU (17-22, 6-12 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game: Sunday, April 28 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 1 p.m.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State used a pair of four-run innings that included three-run homers to gain a Big Ten Conference baseball doubleheader sweep over Michigan by scores of 4-1 and 5-2 Saturday afternoon (April 27) at Beaver Field. It was Penn State's first doubleheader sweep of the season.

The host Nittany Lions (17-22, 6-12 Big Ten) scored four runs in the third inning of the opener off junior LHP Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) with PSU CF Wes Reohr hitting a three-run homer to snap a 1-1 tie for the win. Reohr, who has eight hits in the series, was 4-for-4 against Hill (2-5), who pitched his fifth consecutive complete game in Big Ten play and struck out six in the loss.

The Wolverines (13-24, 8-11 Big Ten) grabbed their only lead of Saturday's doubleheader in the top of the third when freshman 2B Nick Rudden (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) reached second on a throwing error and scored on a single by freshman CF Matt Butler (Glendale Heights, Ill./Driscoll Catholic HS). PSU's rally in the first game included a run-scoring single by 2B Mike DeRenzo and Reohr's homer.

Penn State wasted no time in the second game as DeRenzo, who has seven hits in the series, and Reohr opened the second game against U-M sophomore RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) with singles. First baseman Clint Eury followed with a single for the first run and LF Chris Wright, who had one hit in the doubleheader, hit a flyball homer to make the score 4-0.

Brauer (2-5) settled down and worked through the fifth inning and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fifth inning. PSU added a run in the sixth off sophomore LHP Chad Garson (Calabasas, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) in the sixth with DeRenzo's fourth hit of the game knocking in the run.

Michigan's youngsters Rudden and Butler added some excitement in the second game as Rudden singled in the third inning and raced to third on a hit-and-run single by Butler. Rudden beat the throw from left with a head-first slide and Butler took second on the throw. Junior SS Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) followed with a two-out, two-run double to cut PSU's lead to 4-2. The double was Koman's 50th hit of the season, extended his hitting streak to 10 games and moved his team-leading RBI total to 31.

The Wolverines loaded the bases off PSU starter Josh Palm with two outs in the fourth inning when senior/junior 1B Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) singled to left and Palm hit sophomore 3B Brandon Jominy (Coral Springs, Fla./Westminster Academy) and Rudden with pitches. Butler's bid for a bases-clearing double fell just foul down the rightfield line and he then hit a fy to center to end the inning.

Palm retired nine straight after loading the bases in the fourth before Butler singled with two outs in the seventh inning, but senior LF Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) popped to short to end the game. Palm collected his first Big Ten win with his first career complete game.

Butler paced the Michigan attack with three hits in the doubleheader, and Wright and Koman each had hits in both games. Butler has six hits in the series at PSU. Sophomore RF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS), who was 2-for-3 in Saturday's opener, had his nine-game conference hitting streak snapped in the second game.

Michigan is scheduled to close out the weekend series at Penn State with a single game Sunday (April 28, 1 p.m.) with senior LHP Jeff Trzos (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) expected to start. Trzos is 1-3 with a 4.99 ERA.

N O T E S

Junior LHP Rich Hill fanned six in Saturday's opener at Penn State to move into seventh place on Michigan's all-time strikeout list with 198 strikeouts and within two more K's of the 200-career strikeout plateau. Hill moved ahead of Steve Howe (196 strikeouts, 1977-79) during the game and up next is Ross Powell (201, 1987-89) in sixth place.

Junior SS Brock Koman's third-inning double in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at Penn State was the 47th of his Wolverine career, tying him for seventh on U-M's all-time doubles list with Jim Paciorek (47, 1979-82). Next on the list tied for fifth with 49 doubles are Ken Hayward (1982-85) and Casey Close (1983-86).

Koman has hits in 32 of the 37 games played this season and in 74 of the 89 Wolverine games the last two seasons.

Michigan's hitting leaders after 37 games (30 at-bat minimum) include: junior 3B/SS Brock Koman (.376, 50-for-133), sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (.317, 38-for-120), freshman CF Matt Butler (.304, 17-for-56), senior/junior DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) at .296 (34-for-115), sophomore catcher Jake Fox (.289, 26-for-90) and junior OF Gino Lollio (.289, 35-for-121).

Michigan's hitting leaders after 19 Big Ten games are: junior 3B/SS Brock Koman (.387, 24-for-62), freshman CF Matt Butler (.381, 16-for-42), senior/junior DH/1B Mike Sokol (.326, 14-for-43), senior RHP/OF Bobby Korecky (.320, 8-for-25), sophomore catcher Jake Fox (.311, 14-for-45) and sophomore OF Brandon Roberts (.308, 20-for-65).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423