Ohio State Dents Board Early, Late to Defeat Wolverines

Friday, May 3

Ann Arbor, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

14-27, 8-13

Ohio State

27-13-1, 14-6

Ohio State

Michigan

Ohio State Dents Board Early, Late to Defeat Wolverines

5/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Ohio State scored four runs in the first inning and three in the ninth and beat Michigan 11-6 in the opener of the Big Ten Conference baseball series Friday (May 3) at Ray Fisher Stadium. The league-leading Buckeyes (27-13-1, 14-6) used their 2-3-4 hitters to make the difference as SS Brett Garrard (3-for-6, 2 RBI), RF Doug Deeds (4-for-5, 3 runs) and CF Nick Swisher (3-for-6, 4 RBI) collected 10 hits, scored eight runs and drove in six in the win. Swisher extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a first-inning double.

OSU RHP Nate Smith (5-0) pitched 7.1 innings to record his fifth win and RHP Brandon Steen retired five of the six batters he faced to earn his sixth save of the year. U-M senior RHP Bobby Korecky (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) struggled in the first inning, allowing four runs on seven hits, but battled back to keep the Wolverines in the game. Korecky (3-6) went 8.2 innings while taking the loss.

The big OSU hits in the first inning included a two-run homer by Garrad and a two-run single by 1B Doug Dendinger. Swisher, a switch-hitter, hit a three-run triple in the ninth off sophomore LHP Chad Garson (Calabasas, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) to ice the win for the Buckeyes.

The Wolverines battled back with five runs on five hits and three OSU errors in the second through the fifth innings with junior RF Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) and junior SS Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) collecting doubles. Senior/junior 1B Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) had a run-scoring single and the Wolverines knocked in three runs on groundball outs.

Ohio State added single runs in the second, third and sixth innings to stay on top as the Buckeyes never lost the lead in the contest. The Wolverines pulled to within one run in the seventh inning when sophomore catcher Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS) lined his team-leading seventh homer of the season over the fence in left with two outs. The Buckeyes pushed home an unearned run in the eighth on a two-out single by veteran catcher Joe Wilkins.

Michigan chased OSU starter Smith in the bottom of the eighth as Sokol and sophomore 3B Brandon Jominy (Coral Springs, Fla./Westminster Academy) started the inning with back-to-back singles, the second hit of the game for both players. However, Smith retired freshman 2B Nick Rudden (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS), who had collected his team-leading fifth sacrifice bunt earlier in the game, on a foul bunt popup to catcher Wilkins. Reliever Steen came in with a strikeout and a popup to get out of the inning.

Michigan (14-27, 8-13 Big Ten) hosts Ohio State in a Big Ten doubleheader on Saturday (May 4, 1 p.m.) with junior LHP Rich Hill (Milton, Mass./Milton HS) and sophomore RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) scheduled to pitch. Hill is 2-5 with a 3.38 ERA and Brauer is 2-5 (6.28).

N O T E S

Michigan has added a game with Hillsdale at Ray Fisher Stadium on Monday, May 13, at 3 p.m. The nine-inning single game makes up for an earlier rainout.

Junior SS Brock Koman's third-inning double was his 49th career two-bagger, tying him for fifth on Michigan's all-time doubles list with Ken Hayward (1982-85) and Casey Close (1983-86).

Koman's 2-for-5 game was the 51st multiple-hit game of his career. He has hits in 35 of the 41 games played this season and in 77 of the 93 Wolverine games the last two seasons.

Michigan's hitting leaders after 41 games (32 at-bat minimum) include: junior 3B/SS Brock Koman (.376, 56-for-149), senior/junior DH Mike Sokol (.320, 40-for-125), sophomore LF Brandon Roberts (.309, 42-for-136), sophomore C Jake Fox (.305, 32-for-105), senior RHP/OF Bobby Korecky (.288, 15-for-52) and junior OF Gino Lollio (.287, 39-for-136).

Big Ten Standings (after Friday's Games)

 1. Ohio State 14-6 .700 2. Minnesota 10-6 .625 3. Purdue 11-9 .550 4. Indiana 9-8 .529 5. Michigan State 10-9 .526 6. Illinois 9-10 .474 Northwestern 9-10 .474 8. Iowa 8-12 .400 9. MICHIGAN 8-13 .381 10. Penn State 7-12 .368

Friday Scores
Ohio State 11, Michigan 6
Illinois 3, Michigan State 2
Northwestern 7, Iowa 3

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423