Eighth-Inning Rally Leads Fighting Illini Over Wolverines

Friday, April 15

Champaign, Ill.

6:05 PM CT

Michigan

18-11, 1-8

Illinois

19-10-1, 8-1

Michigan

Illinois

Eighth-Inning Rally Leads Fighting Illini Over Wolverines

4/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois junior catcher Chris Robinson's two-strike, two-run single capped a three-run eighth inning rally that led the first-place Fighting Illini to a 4-3 win over the University of Michigan in Big Ten Conference baseball action Friday night (April 15) at Illinois Field.

The win pushes Illinois (19-8-1, 8-1 Big Ten) ahead of Minnesota (7-2) in the conference lead as the Golden Gophers, playing on the road for the first time in Big Ten play, lost at Penn State, 13-5. The loss keeps Michigan (18-11, 1-8 Big Ten) in the conference basement despite the 6-0 loss by Indiana (2-7) at Iowa.

Junior RHP Derek Feldkamp (Adrian, Mich./Blissfield HS), making his first appearance out of the bullpen this year, was charged with the loss for the Wolverines in relief of hard-luck fifth-year senior Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS). Brauer is 0-1 with two no-decisions in three Big Ten starts this year despite allowing just seven runs in 22 innings.

Robinson's game-winning single in the eighth inning was the lone Illinois hit in the inning, which featured three of the four walks allowed by the Wolverines in the game and a crucial error on a sacrifice bunt attempt that loaded the bases with no outs.

Brauer walked the first two batters of the inning, and Feldkamp's first batter reached on the error by senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest,, Ill./Oak Forest HS) when he picked up the ball and dropped it on the bunt attempt. Robinson singled for the two runs and then Feldkamp (4-2) and Kunkel stopped an Illini squeeze attempt on a 1-2 tag play at the plate. Feldkamp got the next two batters out, but the Illini had taken the lead and earned the win.

The U-M squad battled to the end as freshman LF Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) led off the ninth against Illinois closer Jake Toohey by drawing a walk. Sophomore CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield HS) followed with a sac bunt, and with one out Pickens reached third on a wild pitch, but Toohey collected a groundout and a strikeout to earn his fourth save of the year.

The Wolverines had taken a 3-0 lead in the game against Illinois ace Brian Blomquist (7-1) by scoring a run in each of the first three innings. Sophomore CF Rose opened the game with a single and moved to second on his fourth stolen base of the season. Rose moved to third as junior 2B Chris Getz (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS) reached on a error at shortstop, and the Wolverines took a 1-0 lead as RF Matt Butler (Lombard, Ill./Driscoll Catholic) hit a slow roller to third.

Sophomore shortstop Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) made the score 2-0 on a two-out, solo homer, the first round-tripper of his career, on a shot that cleared the scoreboard in left.

Michigan moved the score to 3-0 in the third inning on back-to-back doubles by senior 1B Kyle Bohm (Stevens Point, Wis./Area HS) and catcher Kunkel.

The Wolverines had several chances to add to the lead, but the Illinois defense came up with a two-out, bases-loaded pickoff by catcher Robinson in the third inning and an unassisted line-drive double play with Rose running as Getz had his bid for a double turned into two outs in the fourth.

The third key Illinois play on defense was a 6-4-3 double play to end the sixth inning after singles by freshman DH Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) and Mahler had given U-M a first-and-third situation with one out.

Meanwhile the Michigan defense had sparkled behind Brauer as freshman LF Pickens, who filled in at second base a week ago, turned a bad-hop double down the leftfield line into a single with a strike to Getz at second for a 7-4 out to start the second inning. Bohm took a two-out bad-hop grounded to first and turned it into a 3-1 out to keep a run from scoring in the third inning, and Mahler made a great 6-4 force to Getz on a grounder in the hole to help stop a rally from starting in the seventh inning.

Rose and Mahler each went 3-for-4 to account for six of Michigan's 11 hits in the contest.

The Wolverines continue the weekend series with a doubleheader at Illinois Saturday (April 16, 4:05 p.m.) with senior RHP Michael Penn (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Christian) pitching the opener and one of the lefthanders pitching the second game. Penn is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA, while the selection of LHPs includes senior/junior Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS) at 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA, senior/junior Drew Taylor (Toronto, Ontario/Upper Canada College) at 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA or sophomore/freshman Clayton Richard (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon HS) at 0-0, 0.57.

N O T E S

In other Big Ten action Friday Penn State beat Minnesota 13-5, Purdue edged Northwestern 4-3, Michigan State blanked Ohio State 2-0 and Iowa shut out Indiana 6-0.

Illinois leads the Big Ten at 8-1 (.889) with Minnesota (7-2, .778) in second place, while Penn State (6-3, .667) and Iowa (6-3, .667) are tied for third place. Michigan State, Northwestern and Purdue (all 4-5, .444) are tied for fifth place, while Ohio State (3-6, .333) is in eighth, Indiana (2-7, .222) is ninth and Michigan (1-8, .111) is 10th.

With two strikeouts against Illinois RHP Jim Brauer moved his career strikeout total to 197 to tie and then pass Steve Howe (196, 1977-79) for eighth place on Michigan's career list. Brauer is three strikeouts shy of becoming the eighth Wolverine hurler to reach 200 K's.

Michigan's leading hitters after 29 games are 2B Chris Getz (43-for-108, .398), OF Matt Butler (46-for-122, .377), 1B Kyle Bohm (40-for-109, .367), C Jeff Kunkel (27-for-75, .360), OF Eric Rose (13-for-42, .310) and 3B/DH Derek VanBuskirk (14-for-47, 298).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423