Fox, Jominy Provide U-M Runs in Doubleheader Split

Saturday, May 18

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

19-32, 12-17

Purdue

24-30, 13-17

Purdue

Michigan

5/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ray Fisher Stadium)
Scores: Purdue 3, Michigan 2; Michigan 8, Purdue 3
Records: U-M (20-32, 13-17 Big Ten); Purdue (24-31, 13-18 Big Ten)
Next U-M Games: Sunday, May 19 -- vs. Purdue (Ray Fisher Stadium), 1 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Catcher Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS) drove in two runs and 3B Brandon Jominy (Coral Springs, Fla./Westminster Academy) knocked in four with a grand slam as the Michigan baseball team scored six runs in the sixth inning to beat Purdue 8-3 to gain a split in Big Ten doubleheader action Saturday afternoon (May 18) at Ray Fisher Stadium.

Purdue (24-31, 13-18 Big Ten) took the opener of Saturday's twinbill by a 3-2 margin behind the complete-game pitching of Mitch Pruemer (7-2), the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.

Fox lined a two-run single to right with the bases loaded to give the Wolverines a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Friday's hero, senior/junior DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) reloaded the bases with a single to left and Jominy hit his line drive homer over the fence in left to double score for the final 8-3 margin.

Junior RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) took advantage of the late offensive surge in the second game to earn his fourth win (4-6) of the season while tossing his second straight complete game in Big Ten action. Brauer allowed nine hits but only two earned runs in the win.

Purdue scored a run off Brauer in the top of the sixth inning and the Boilermakers were in position to go for a sweep with a pair of 3-2 wins. However, the Wolverines (20-32, 13-17 Big Ten) fought back in the late innings for the second time in the three-game series vs. Purdue with junior CF Blake Rutkowski (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) starting the rally with a double. Purdue starter Scott Byrnes was removed from the game after hitting junior SS Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) with a pitch. It was the 12th time this season Koman has been hit by a pitch and the 30th HBP of his career.

Purdue 3B John Gusich came in to pitch and gave up a single to sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS) to load the bases before Fox and Jominy knocked in the runs. Jominy's slam came off Purdue lefty Brent Coudron, who also served up Sokol's grand slam on Friday (May 17).

Purdue took a 2-0 lead with runs in the first and second innings off of Brauer, but Fox answered with his team-leading 10th homer leading off the second inning, and Rutkowski singled in the tying run in the third inning.

Junior LHP Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) took the loss in the opener, allowing five hits and three runs. Hill struck out five and wasted little time getting two K's in the first inning to become just the third Wolverine to record 100 strikeouts in a season. Hill (3-7), who pitched his eighth straight Big Ten complete game, leads the Wolverines with 104 strikeouts in 76.1 innings. He pushed his career strikeout total to 228, good for fourth on Michigan's all-time list.

The Wolverines took a 2-0 lead in the opener. Consecutive singles by Roberts, Fox and Sokol provided the first run in the second inning, and after senior/junior 1B Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt, Jominy knocked in Fox with a sacrifice fly.

Purdue scored once on Hill in the third on a solo homer by CF Brad Kriner and scored twice for the winning runs in the fifth as Daniel Underwood singled to tie the score and 2B Nick McIntyre singled in the winning run.

Michigan put runners on base in each of the last three innings on singles by freshman 2B Nick Rudden (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) -- his first of three hits for the day -- in the fifth, Roberts in the sixth and Wright in the seventh, but Pruemer was up to the challenge to record the win for Purdue.

Michigan hosts Purdue in the regular-season finale Sunday (May 19, 1 p.m.) with senior LHP Jeff Trzos (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) on the mound. Trzos is 1-5 with a 4.47 ERA.

N O T E S

Former Wolverine player and coach Don Lund was on hand at Ray Fisher Stadium Saturday celebrating his 79th birthday. Lund, one of four Wolverines honored with 'etired baseball numbers (#33), earned nine letters as a Wolverine with three each in football, basketball and baseball. He was a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in football before playing Major League Baseball. Lund, who played for legendary Michigan baseball coach Ray Fisher, replaced Fisher as head coach of the Wolverines and led the 1962 U-M squad to the College World Series championship.

Four Wolverine seniors, all pitchers, are closing out their Ray Fisher Stadium careers in the Purdue series -- Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS), Kirk Taylor (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS), Jeff Trzos (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) and fifth-year senior Joe Young (Detroit, Mich./Bishop Gallagher HS).

Sophomore 3B Brandon Jominy's grand slam homer in the sixth inning of the second game Saturday is Michigan's second slam in two days and the fourth of the season. Senior/junior DH Mike Sokol hit a walk-off homer vs. Purdue on Friday (May 17) and sophomore LF Brandon Roberts has a pair of slams this season, at Texas-San Antonio (March 8) and at Illinois (April 13). Michigan has seven grand slam homers in the past two years and Roberts has three, Sokol has two, and Jominy and junior SS Brock Koman have one each.

Catcher Jake Fox was 2-for-3 in each game of the doubleheader vs. Purdue and is 6-for-10 (.600) with a pair of homers in the series. Fox leads the Wolverines with 10 homers and is second with 33 RBI.

Michigan's win vs. Purdue on Saturday was the 20th of the season, marking the 28th consecutive season that the Wolverine have won at least 20 games. The last season with fewer than 20 wins was 1974 when U-M won 18 games.

Michigan's Baseball Banquet hosted by the DugOut Club will be in the Schembechler Hall Commons on Monday, May 21.

Michigan's hitting leaders after 52 games (38 at-bat minimum) include: junior SS Brock Koman (.369, 69-for-187), sophomore C Jake Fox (.333, 45-for-135), senior/junior DH Mike Sokol (.327, 50-for-153), junior OF Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) at .297 (44-for-148), sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (.296, 50-for-169) and senior RHP/2B/DH/LF Bobby Korecky (.288, 15-for-52).

Michigan's Big Ten-only hitting leaders after 30 games include: SS Brock Koman at .380 (38-for-100), DH/1B Mike Sokol at .366 (26-for-71), C Jake Fox at .338 (27-for-80), OF Matt Butler at .366 (26-for-85) and OF Brandon Roberts at .286 (30-for-105).

Big Ten Standings (after Saturday's Games)

 1. Minnesota 17-9 .653 2. Ohio State 17-10 .630 3. Michigan State 15-12 .556 4. Indiana 15-13 .536 5. Illinois 14-14 .500 6. Iowa 14-16 .467 7. Northwestern 13-15 .464 8. MICHIGAN 13-17 .433 9. Purdue 13-18 .419 10. Penn State 11-18 .379

Saturday Scores
Michigan 2-8, Purdue 3-3
Indiana 3-1, Northwestern 0-4
Michigan State 16-14, Penn State 0-0
Ohio State 13-0, Minnesota 3-4
Iowa 6-8, Illinois 4-5

Sunday Games
Purdue at Michigan
Illinois at Iowa
Indiana at Northwestern
Michigan State at Penn State
Minnesota at Ohio State (DH)

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423