Pirates' Late Rally Spoils Opener for Wolverines, Maloney

Friday, February 21

Savannah, Ga.

4:00 PM

Michigan

0-1

Armstrong Atlantic State

10-0

Michigan

Armstrong Atlantic

Pirates' Late Rally Spoils Opener for Wolverines, Maloney

2/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Jim Schneider

Site: Savannah, Ga. (Grayson Stadium)
Score: Armstrong Atlantic State 11, Michigan 4
Records: U-M (0-1), AASU (10-0)
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Feb. 22 -- vs. Georgia Tech (Savannah, Ga.), 11:30 a.m.

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The host Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates scored seven runs in the eighth inning to snap a 4-4 tie and beat the University of Michigan baseball team 11-4 Friday night (Feb. 21) in first-round action of the Health Memorial Diamond Classic in legendary Grayson Stadium. The loss to AASU spoiled the debut of Michigan head coach Rich Maloney.

AASU junior CF Brandon McKinnon was one of the offensive stars in the win as he doubled his season output of doubles with three, scored three times and drove in three runs from his leadoff spot in the lineup. Meanwhile, junior 1B Michael Pelley, batting second, also had three hits and drove in three runs.

Senior CF Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) was Michigan's offensive hero as he was 3-for-5 with a double and a triple and he scored twice. Lollio collected Michigan's first hit of 2003 with a two-out single in the third inning and added a stolen base. He scored on a bases-loaded walk by junior catcher Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS). Fox had a pair of singles in the game.

Lollio tripled to open the seventh inning and cut the AASU margin to 3-2 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by senior 2B Jordan Cantalamessa (Castle Rock, Colo./Cherry Creek HS).

The Wolverines battled back to tie the game 4-4 in the top of the eighth inning as junior RF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS) launched a long double to right-center and scored when fifth-year senior 1B Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) dropped a single into the corner in left.

Freshman LF Mike Schmidt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) moved pinch runner Chris Burhans (Alpharetta, Ga./The Marist School) to second with a sacrifice bunt and Lollio followed with a double over McKinnon's head in centerfield to tie the game. Cantalamessa followed with a walk, but senior 3B Brock Koman (Pueblo, Colo./South HS), who reached base three times on a single and two walks, fouled out to end the rally.

Sophomore RHP Phil Tognetti (Newhall, Calif./Hart HS), who retired the one batter he faced in the seventh inning to keep the score close, suffered the loss when AASU sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the eighth. AASU's junior RF Joe Swaim popped a double to right for the game-winning RBI, McKinnon followed with his third double of the game and two batters later it was junior 3B Stacy Bennett's three-run homer off freshman RHP Craig Murray (Oak Park, Ill./Maine South HS) that iced the win.

Junior RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) allowed three runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work in the opener. He allowed just one hit over the first four innings.

Sophomore RHP Michael Penn (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Christian HS) allowed a run and two hits with two strikeouts in two innings of work, collecting the final out of the fifth inning and the first two outs in the seventh. Togenetti (0-1) replaced Penn with two outs and two on in the seventh and notched the final out of that frame.

Sophomore LHP Drew Taylor (Toronto, Ontario/Upper Canada College), a transfer from Georgia Tech, is slated to start Saturday's contest against his former teammates as the Wolverines (0-1) face Georgia Tech (4-0) on Saturday (Feb. 22). Former U-M assistant coach Danny Hall is the head coach at No. 3 Tech (Sports Weekly/ESPN), which is also ranked No. 1 by Baseball America and No. 4 by Collegiate Baseball.

N O T E S

• Junior catcher Jake Fox extended his hitting streak to seven games over the past two years, while senior 1B Nate Wright pushed his streak to six games and junior RF Brandon Roberts has hits in four straight.

• Senior CF Gino Lollio's three-hit effort marked his 33rd career multiple-hit game and his seventh game with three hits (six) or more. Junior catcher Jake Fox collected his 25th career multiple-hit game and junior RF Brandon Roberts notched his 22nd career mult-hit outing.

• University of Connecticut head baseball coach Andy Baylock, a graduate assistant for former Michigan head coach Don Lund in 1961, bumped into the Wolverine baseball squad in the airport in Atlanta on Thursday (Feb.20) as the teams crossed paths. Michigan was heading to Savannah, while the Huskies were headed to Mississippi State.

• Former Wolverine catcher Derek Kerr (1984-86) is on hand to see the Wolverines in Savannah.

• Michigan's hitting leaders after the opener include: senior OF Gino Lollio at .600 (3-for-5), junior catcher Jake Fox at .500 (2-for-4), junior RF Brandon Roberts (.400, 2-for-5), senior 3B Brock Koman (.333, 1-for-3) and senior 1B Nate Wright (.250, 1-for-4).