Eight-Run Inning Boosts Central Michigan Over Michigan

Sunday, March 23

Indianapolis, Ind.

11:30 AM

Michigan

7-9

Central Michigan

5-9

Michigan

Central Michigan

Eight-Run Inning Boosts Central Michigan Over Michigan

3/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Central Michigan used an eight-run fifth inning to take a 12-8 win over Michigan in Butler Classic baseball tournament action Sunday (March 23) in Bulldog Ballpark. The Wolverines (7-9) took an early 4-1 lead on a three-run homer by sophomore SS Nick Rudden (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS), but the Chippewas (5-9) came from behind to collect the win.

The Wolverines scored four times in the fourth inning as junior catcher Jake Fox (Greenfield, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral HS) opened the inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games. He moved to second as fifth-year senior 1B Nate Wright (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew HS) was hit by a pitch. Fifth-year senior DH Mike Sokol (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle HS) scored Fox with a long double to center and Rudden followed with his three-run homer to left.

Wolverine starter Bobby Garza (Southgate, Mich./Anderson HS) dodged bullets the first four innings as he allowed a run in the third inning but used strikeouts to end the second, third and fourth innings, stranding eight Chippewas on the bases in those innings.

U-M's luck ran out in the fifth as CMU scored eight times on seven hits off Garza (three runs), senior RHP Tim Leveque (Northridge, Calif./Crespi HS) (four runs) and freshman RHP Craig Murray (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South HS). Leveque (0-2) took the loss.

CMU's Mike Gates set the Mid-American Conference career walk record leading off the inning and he added his 143rd career walk in his second at-bat in the inning. Meanwhile, catcher Brian Campbell had a two-run double to tie the game at 4-4 and 3B Jeff LaFavors had a three-run triple to make the score 7-4. CMU 2B David Latour had a pair of RBI singles in the eight-run fifth inning.

The Wolverines battled for three runs in the sixth inning as senior OF Gino Lollio (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS) lined a two-out, three-run triple to make the score 9-7. However, CMU added three runs in the sixth when OF Terry Grubb hit a three-run homer on the first pitch thrown by redshirt LHP Ali Husain (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ypsilanti HS). Husain allowed just one single in the last 2.2 innings.

The Wolverines scored in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by junior LF Brandon Roberts (Arlington, Texas/Martin HS) and put the tying run to the plate before Rudden forced Fox at third to end the game.

The Wolverines are slated meet the CMU Chippewas again on Tuesday (March 25, 3 p.m.) to open the home schedule in Ray Fisher Stadium. The contest will most likely feature most of the Wolverine pitching staff with the Big Ten season opening next weekend (March 28-30) at Iowa.

N O T E S

Senior 3B Brock Koman extended his team-leading hitting streak to a career-best 16 games with a first-inning double, and junior catcher Jake Fox extended his career-best hit streak to 13 games with his fourth-inning single.

Sophomore SS Nick Rudden's homer in the fourth inning was the first of his career and the first home run allowed by CMU in the last 10 games.

Koman, who leads the team with 30 hits on the season after the loss to CMU, pushed his career hit total to 225, remaining in seventh place on Michigan's all-time hit list, one shy of Bobby Scales (226, 1996-99) in sixth.

Michigan's hitting leaders after 16 games include (25 at-bat minimum): senior 3B Brock Koman at .429 (30-for-70), junior C Jake Fox (.354, 23-for-65), sophomore RF Chris Burhans (.321, 9-for-28), junior RF Brandon Roberts (.310, 18-for-58) and senior DH Mike Sokol (.305, 18-for-59).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423