Feldkamp, Getz Pace Michigan Win Over Florida Atlantic

Monday, February 28

Boca Raton, Fla.

7:00 PM

Michigan

3-0

Florida Atlantic

6-4

Michigan

Florida Atlantic

Feldkamp, Getz Pace Michigan Win Over Florida Atlantic

3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Junior RHP Derek Feldkamp (Adrian, Mich./Blissfield HS) allowed one run in six innings and junior 2B Chris Getz (Grosse Pointe, Mich.South HS) sparked the offense with two hits as the University of Michigan topped Florida Atlantic 4-1 in college baseball action Monday night (Feb. 28) at FAU Stadium.

Feldkamp (1-0) became the first Wolverine starter to work six innings this season as he limited the FAU Owls (6-4) to one run and five hits while recording his first win of the season and the ninth win of his career. Junior RHP Jeff Niemiec (Livonia, Mich./Central Catholic HS), the fourth Michigan pitcher of the game, worked the final 2.2 innings of the game to collect his first career save. He closed out the seventh inning with a strikeout facing the potential tying run and allowed just one hit as he retired six straight and seven of the last eight FAU batters in the game.

Getz was 2-for-3 with a walk, collected two stolen bases and scored one run. With his second multiple-hit game of the season and the 44th of his career, Getz extended his hitting streak to 11 games over the past two seasons. Getz has hits in 39 of his last 42 games.

Senior 1B Kyle Bohm (Stevens Point, Wis./Area HS) gave the fans a thrill in the first inning with a two-out drive that was caught against the wall in left with freshman OF Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) on base after he had singled to extend his hitting streak to three games.

The host Owls took a 1-0 lead off Feldkamp in the second inning on a walk to 3B Robbie Widlansky, a stolen base and a single up the middle by LF Mike McKenna.

The Wolverines (3-0) scored a pair of unearned runs to take the lead in the third inning as junior 3B Alex Martin (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) lined a double over McKenna's head and then scored the tying run when senior Matt Butler (Lombard, Ill./Driscoll Catholic) hit a sharp grounder off the glove of the first baseman Jordan Hafer on a play ruled an error.

Following a walk to Getz, Butler broke for third base with two outs and he scored on an infield single by junior designated hitter A.J. Scheidt (West Bloomfield, Mich./Lahser HS) to give Michigan the 2-1 lead. The lead held and Scheidt had his second "game-winning" RBI of the young season.

Michigan doubled its run total in the fifth inning. Butler led off with a single, extending his hit streak to three games, and raced around third base on a pickoff throwing error by pitcher Mickey Story (1-1). Getz singled through a drawn-in infield to drive in Butler with the third run, stole second base and scored the fourth and final run of the game on a double down the third base line by Bohm.

The Michigan defense sparkled during the game with sophomore SS Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) making three nice plays including a "6-5" fielder's choice to third baseman Martin to nail DH Brian Lipman trying to advance on a routine grounder in the sixth inning. Feldkamp had helped himself earlier in the game as he shut down a rally by picking a runner off first base.

FAU put two runners on base with a single and a walk off sophomore RHP Andrew Hess (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central HS) in the seventh as he replaced Feldkamp, but after a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third it was senior/junior LHP Ali Husain (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) and RHP Niemiec collecting back-to-back strikeouts to stop the rally.

The Wolverines face Big East power St. John's on Florida Atlantic's "B" Field Tuesday (March 1, 2 p.m.) with senior/junior LHP Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS) on the mound. Hammond was a third team All-Big Ten selection in 2004 with a 5-1 record with a 3.82 ERA.

N O T E S

 Kurt Zimmerman (1983-86), a member of three Michigan Big Ten baseball championship teams (1983, 1984 and 1986), two College World Series teams (1983 and 1984) and owner of a CWS home run, was on hand for Monday night's win over Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton.

 The top five batters in the Wolverine lineup have three-game hitting streaks after three games including, in order, OF Matt Butler, OF Doug Pickens, 2B Chris Getz, 1B Kyle Bohm and DH A.J. Scheidt. Senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) and sophomore OF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School), with two starts each, have two-game streaks.

 Junior 3B Alex Martin has two hits as a Wolverine and both are doubles.

 Michigan's leading hitters after the first three games include catcher Jeff Kunkel (3-for-5, .600), 2B Chris Getz (6-for-12, .500), 1B Kyle Bohm (6-for-13, .462), DH A.J. Scheidt (5-for-13, 385), freshman OF Doug Pickens (5-for-13, .385) and OF Matt Butler (5-for-14, .357).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423