Michigan
Minnesota
Minnesota Completes Weekend Sweep Over Wolverines
4/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota scored seven runs in the second inning and coasted to a 13-3 Big Ten Conference win and a series sweep of the University of Michigan in collegiate baseball action Sunday afternoon (April 3) in the H.H.H. Metrodome.
Minnesota (11-11, 4-0) grabbed a share of the Big Ten lead after a weekend of action, keeping pace with Illinois on top of the standings, while Michigan (16-7) drops to 0-4 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1993, when the Wolverines dropped four to the Gophers.
The Wolverines took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first against freshman RHP Dustin Brabender as the rookie in his Big Ten starting debut issued walks to sophomore CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield HS) and senior RF Matt Butler (Lombard, Ill./Driscoll Catholic) to open the game and junior 2B Chris Getz (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS) singled to right for a 1-0 lead. However, Brabender settled down to get the next three batters.
The Golden Gophers matched the run in the bottom of the first against junior RHP Derek Feldkamp (Adrian, Mich./Blissfield HS) on back-to-back singles by SS Matt Fornasiere and 3B David Hrncirik and a sacrifice fly by 1B Andy Hunter. It marked the fourth time in five chances on the weekend that Michigan had scored in the top of the inning and Minnesota matched it in the bottom of the inning.
Fornasiere and Hrncirik each had three hits to pace the 16-hit Minnesota attack against five Wolverine pitchers.
Minnesota chased Feldkamp (4-1) with a seven-run second inning in which the veteran righthander allowed a single to catcher Jake Elder and then hit three consecutive batters -- the seventh, eighth and ninth batters in the lineup -- with 2B Jeremy Chlan's HBP knocking in the winning run. Fornasiere followed with a two-run single and the rally was in high gear. Elder was 2-for-2 in the inning.
Feldkamp, who entered the weekend with a Big Ten-leading 1.29 earned run average, was tagged with all eight runs in the first two innings. His overall ERA jumped to 3.64, and his conference total is 43.20.
The Wolverines chased Brabender in the third inning as the top three hitters loaded the bases on a Rose walk and singles by Butler and Getz. Senior 1B Kyle Bohm (Stevens Point, Wis./Area HS) grounded into a double play and senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) reached on an error as Butler crossed the plate to make the score 8-3. When Brabender went to 2-0 on junior 3B A.J. Scheidt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) the Gophers went to the bullpen for LHP Andy Peters.
The Wolverines host Central Michigan on Wednesday (April 6, 3 p.m.) at Ray Fisher Stadium with sophomore/freshman LHP Clayton Richard (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon HS) expected to make his first career start. Richard is 0-0 with a 0.84 ERA in six bullpen appearances.
N O T E S
The Wolverines entered the series finale at Minnesota 0-3. The last time the Wolverines had lost the first three games of the Big Ten season -- and the only time under head coach Rich Maloney -- came in 2003 against Illinois and the Wolverines captured the fourth game. The last time the Wolverines were swept in a Big Ten series was by Penn State in 2001 in a three-game series that was shortened to three games by bad weather, and PSU was also the last team to sweep U-M, taking a four-game series in 2000.
The last time the Wolverines started 0-4 in the Big Ten was 1993, when they lost four at Minnesota. The streak reached nine with four losses to Purdue and one to Penn State before U-M won the last three games of the road series against the Nittany Lions.
Senior RHP Phil Tognetti (Newhall, Calif./Williams S. Hart) made his sixth appearance of the season and his 58th career outing. He ranks 11th on the all-time Wolverine pitching appearance list, one shy of Bryan Cranson (59, 1997-2000) for 10th place.
In other Big Ten action Sunday Illinois completed the weekend sweep of Ohio State, 6-4, while Penn State topped Purdue 13-0 and Iowa beat MSU 10-7 for weekend splits. Northwestern swept a doubleheader at Indiana12-9 and 10-6 as the Wilkdcats move into third plaace with the fourth game of the series set for Monday.
Big Ten Standings (Through 4/3/05)
1. Minnesota 4-0 1.000 Illinois 4-0 1.000 3. Northwestern 2-1 .667 4. Michigan State 2-2 .500
Purdue 2-2 .500
Iowa 2-2 .500
Penn State 2-2 .500
8. Indiana 1-2 .333
9. MICHIGAN 0-4 .000 Ohio State 0-4 .000
Monday: Northwestern at Indiana.
Michigan's leading hitters after 23 games are 2B Chris Getz (36-for-87, .414); OF Matt Butler (39-for-98, .398); C Jeff Kunkel (21-for-53, .396); 1B Kyle Bohm (31-for-87, .356); DH/3B A.J. Scheidt (23-for-74, .311) and IF Derek VanBuskirk (11-for-36, 306).
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
