Wuerfel, Butler Spark Wolverines to Comeback Victory

Sunday, April 7

Minneapolis, Minn.

1:05 PM CT

Michigan

8-16, 4-4

Minnesota

13-15, 5-3

Michigan

Minnesota

4/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome)
Score: Michigan 4, Minnesota 3
Records: Michigan (8-16, 4-4 Big Ten); Minnesota (13-15, 5-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game: Tuesday, April 9 -- vs. Saint Joseph's (Ind.) (Ray Fisher Stadium), 3 p.m

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Junior Jason Wuerfel's (Cedar, Mich./Glen Lake HS) two-out, two-run pinch hit single in the top of the ninth was the game-winning hit in the University of Michigan baseball team's dramatic 4-3 comeback win over Minnesota Sunday afternoon (April 7) in the series finale in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Wuerfel's dramatic single gave Michigan its first and only lead of the weekend and allowed the Wolverines (8-16) to salvage the fourth game of the series and move back to .500 (4-4) in Big Ten play. It was Michigan's first win when trailing after the eighth inning in 13 opportunities this season.

Freshman CF Matt Butler (Glendale, Ill./Driscoll Catholic HS) was the offensive star of the game for the Wolverines, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and a triple and scoring the winning run in the ninth. It was Michigan's first four-hit game of the season. Butler, who started the weekend hitless for his career, had six hits in the series and is now batting .273.

Michigan's winning rally featured a double steal by sophomore 3B Brandon Jominy (Coral Springs, Fla./Westminster Academy), who had homered earlier in the game, and Butler to put runners on second and third with two outs. Wuerfel stroked a 3-1 pitch into left for the winning runs.

Freshman RHP Matt Collins (Bloomfield Village, Mich./Country Day) worked two hitless innings in relief to earn his second win of the season. He struck out the final two batters to close out the win. Senior LHP Jeff Trzos (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) matched his career-high seven innings in the no-decision. He left trailing 3-2 after allowing a leadoff double in the eighth inning to Gopher 2B Luke Appert.

Collins replaced Trzos and threw a wild pitch on his first pitch to RF Jason Kennedy. Kennedy, who leads the Gophers with 35 RBI, hit the next pitch to right and junior RF Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) turned the fly ball into a 9-2 double play by throwing a strike to catcher Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS) and keeping the Wolverines within a run.

Minnesota had taken the lead for the fourth time in the series, and for the second game in a row it was Luke Appert hitting a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the first inning. Appert entered the game hitting .402 and the homer was his sixth of the season The score moved to 2-0 as Kennedy walked, collected his 18th stolen base of the season and scored on LF Scott Howard's third double of the series.

The Wolverines answered in the top of the second inning with two outs as Jominy lined his first career homer into the seats in left. The Wolverines missed a golden opportunity to tie the game in the fourth when freshman 2B Nick Rudden (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) singled to lead off the inning and then stole second base. With one out and Butler at the plate, Rudden was thrown out attempting to steal by Beaulieu. Butler followed with his second double of the game but he later was thrown out at the plate after Lollio's single to right.

Minnesota pushed the lead to 3-1 in its half of the fourth as CF Chris Guetzlaff singled, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on a double by catcher Beaulieu.

Butler continued his breakout game with a triple down the line in left with one out in the seventh and he scored on an infield single by Lollio.

The Wolverines have two non-conference home game this week before heading to Illinois for Big Ten action next weekend (April 12-14). Michigan is on the road for 14 of 16 Big Ten games scheduled in the month of April. The Wolverines host Saint Joseph's (Ind.) Tuesday (April 9, 3 p.m.) and Central Michigan on Wednesday (April 10, 3 p.m.) at Ray Fisher Stadium. The game vs. Saint Joseph's was added to the schedule after "weather outs" vs. Kansas and Western Michigan. The Tuesday contest vs. the Pumas will be a "staff" day on the mound.

N O T E S

The second-inning single by freshman CF Matt Butler, who collected his first career hit in the doubleheader opener Saturday (April 6), extended his hitting streak to three games with his second-inning double for his first career extra-base hit on Sunday (April 7). He went 4-for-4 Sunday and all six of his hits have been "indoors."

Junior RF Gino Lollio's two-hit game Sunday was his 11th multiple-hit game of the season, second of the Minnesota series and 26th of his career.

Junior SS Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS), with his first-inning single, has hits in 20 of Michigan's 24 games this season and hits in 62 of the last 76 games the past two seasons.

Senior RHP/DH Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS), pitched the opener and had three pinch hit appearances, marking the first time in his career that he played in all four games of a Big Ten series. Korecky walked to start Michigan's game-wining ninth-inning rally vs. Minnesota in the finale.

Michigan's hitting leaders after 24 games (20 at-bat minimum) include: 3B/SS Brock Koman (.360, 32-for-89), junior catcher Jason Wuerfel (.318, 7-for-22), junior RF Gino Lollio (.310, 26-for-84), sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (.303, 23-for-76) and senior/junior 1B/DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) at .302 (26-for-86).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423