Golden Gophers Snap Michigan's 10-Game Win Streak

Friday, April 1

Minneapolis, Minn.

5:30 PM CT

Michigan

16-4, 0-1

Minnesota

8-11, 1-0

Michigan

Minnesota

4/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota RHP Matt Loberg and LHP John Gaub combined on a four-hit shutout as Minnesota beat the University of Michigan 1-0 Friday night (April 1) in the H.H.H. Metrodome in the Big Ten Conference baseball opener for both teams.

The win for the host Golden Gophers (8-11, 1-0 Big Ten), defending Big Ten champs, snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Wolverines (16-4, 0-1). A win would have matched the best-ever win streak for Michigan head coach Rich Maloney, who had a career-best 11-game winning streak at Ball State in 1998. The shutout was the first suffered by Maloney as a head coach at Michigan.

Pitching was the factor in a game that matched two of the early favorites in the Big Ten race as Wolverine fifth-year senior RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) pitched one the best games of his career, allowing one run and four hits while taking the loss and pitching his first complete game of the year. Loberg (3-3) worked the first eight innings to record the win, while lefty Gaub faced four batters in the ninth for his second save.

The Wolverines put the tying run on in the ninth inning on a one-out single by senior co-captain 1B Kyle Bohm (Stevens Point, Wis./Area HS), but Gaub fanned freshman pinch hitter Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) and junior DH Mike Schmidt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) to close out the game.

Minnesota collected the lone run of the game in the third inning on a leadoff walk to CF Tony Leseman followed by a line-drive double by DH Kevin Carlson. Sophomore LF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School) made a diving effort to make the catch, but the ball came loose when he hit the ground and slid into sophomore CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield HS). The speedy Leseman was able to score from first on the play. Carlson moved to third on a grounder, but Brauer settled down to end the third inning with a pair of strikeouts to end the Gopher threat.

The Wolverines had several chances to get on the board against Minnesota's Loberg, including the second inning when junior 3B A.J. Scheidt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) opened the inning with a shot in the gap in right-center. His bid for a triple was ended when the ball bounced over the short fence for a ground-rule double. Scheidt reached third with two outs but was stranded on a groundout.

Junior 2B Chris Getz (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS) created a scoring chance with two outs in the sixth inning when he beat out an infield single, stole his team-leading 12th base of the season and took third as the throw to second bounced into centerfield. Getz was stranded when Loberg battled back to strike out Bohm.

The Wolverines had two long drives that might have left the yard at Siebert Field on the Minnesota campus as Scheidt's double and a long fly to left by Bohm in the fourth inning were kept in the confines of the Metrodome.

Senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) helped the cause for Brauer on defense as he tossed out three Gophers attempting to steal second base. He tossed out Big Ten leader David Hrncirik for only the second time in 15 attempts this season. Getz made all three tags on the steal attempts and turned a line drive into a double play early in the game.

Senior RF Matt Butler (Lombard, Ill./Driscoll Catholic) had his career-best hitting streak snapped 11 games as he was 0-for-4 against Minnesota on Friday. Butler's best bid came in the third inning as he lined a bullet up the middle following a leadoff single by CF Rose. Loberg snared the low liner and was able to double CF Rose off first base on the play.

The Wolverines continue Big Ten play with a doubleheader against Minnesota on Saturday (April 2, 2 p.m. CST) in the H.H.H. Metrodome. Senior RHP Michael Penn (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Christian) and senior/junior LHP Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS) are the tentative starters for the Wolverines. Penn is 2-1 with a 3.49 ERA, while Hammond is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA).

N O T E S

 Senior RHP Jim Brauer moved into the top 10 in Michigan career strikeouts with seven Ks in the game vs. Minnesota, moving his career total to 191. During the series opener he moved from 13th to ninth, passing J.J. Putz (185 strikeouts, 1996-99), Jim Abbott (186, 1986-88), Russell Brock (186, 1989-91) and Mike Grimes (189, 1987-89). He is five behind Steve Howe (196, 1977-79) for eighth and needs just nine strikeouts to become the eighth Wolverine to reach the 200-strikeout plateau for his career.

 Junior 2B Chris Getz extended his streak of Big Ten games with a hit to 19 with his sixth-inning single. In 2004 Getz had hits in 30 of the 32 conference games including the last 18 in a row. Getz set a Big Ten record with 53 hits in conference-only action in 2004.

 The Minnesota shutout on Friday was the first against the Wolverines since a 14-0 loss at Central Michigan on May 14, 2002, and the first in Big Ten play since a 1-0 loss at Penn State on April 28, 2002, when PSU's Arin Gelletley fired a three-hitter as the Nittany Lions scored a run in the bottom of the ninth for the win.

 Michigan's leading hitters after 20 games are OF Matt Butler (37-for-80, .420), 2B Chris Getz (32-for-77, .416), C Jeff Kunkel (17-for-44, .386), 1B Kyle Bohm (30-for-79, .380), DH/3B A.J. Scheidt (23-for-64, .359) and OF Mike Schmidt (16-for-51, .314).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423