Weekly Release #10
5/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Upcoming Action (All times local to site)
Wednesday, May 4 -- EASTERN MICHIGAN (DH), 4:05 p.m. EDT
Saturday, May 7 -- *PURDUE, 4:05 p.m. EDT
Sunday, May 8 -- *PURDUE (DH), 1:05 p.m. EDT
Monday, May 9 -- *PURDUE, 3:05 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, May 11 -- vs. Notre Dame, 7 p.m. (Baseball Bash, Comstock Park, Mich.)
Friday, May 13 -- *INDIANA, 6:35 p.m. EDT
Saturday, May 14 -- *INDIANA (DH), 4:05 p.m. EDT
Sunday, May 15 -- *INDIANA, 1:05 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, May 18 -- at Western Michigan, 3 p.m. EDT
Friday, May 20 -- at *Penn State, 2 p.m. EDT
Saturday, May 21 -- at *Penn State (DH), 1 p.m. EDT
Sunday, May 22 -- at *Penn State, 1 p.m. EDT
*Big Ten games
Wolverines Host Eastern Michigan, Purdue
The University of Michigan baseball team returns home for six games this week with cross town rival Eastern Michigan in for a doubleheader and Big Ten foe Purdue on hand for a four-game conference series at Ray Fisher Stadium.
The Wolverines (26-12, 8-9 Big Ten) meet EMU (14-27) in a doubleheader Wednesday (May 4, 4:05 p.m.) with the second contest added as a makeup game. [Note that original schedules show a single night game vs. EMU.]
Michigan is scheduled to face Purdue (16-22, 9-7 Big Ten) in single games on Saturday (May 7, 4:05 p.m. EDT) and Monday (May 9, 3:05 p.m. EDT) with a doubleheader set for Sunday (May 8, 1:05 p.m. EDT). The Saturday-Monday schedule is being used in three of the Big Ten series this week due to final exams.
Rich Maloney's Wolverines enter the week having won seven straight and eight of nine after sweeping Michigan State last weekend (Apr. 29-30) to move into seventh place in the Big Ten standings.
Purdue enters the Michigan series having vaulted from seventh place to fourth place by sweeping a series from Minnesota to knock the Gophers out of first place. Purdue does not play non-conference games this week because of final exams.
The four-game Big Ten sweeps for both Michigan and Purdue were the first since 2001 when the Wolverines took four from Indiana and Purdue beat Northwestern four times.
EMU hosts Spring Arbor on Tuesday (May 3, 7 p.m.) before playing the Wolverines.
Pontiac Challenge Cup Grabbed By Wolverines
The Michigan baseball doubleheader sweep in Ann Arbor on Saturday (Apr. 30) clinched the Pontiac Challenge Cups Spring championship for the Wolverines as it gave the baseball team a 3-0 edge in the four-game home-and-home weekend series to win a full point for a 3.5-0 edge over the Spartans with just 2.5 points left.
The Michigan softball sweep on Sunday (May 1) added another full point to the Wolverine lead in the spring which now stands at 4.5 to 0.5 with one full point left to be decided by the men's and women's track teams at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus (May 13-15).
The MSU men's golf team claimed half a point last weekend (Apr. 30-May 1) in East Lansing.
Michigan had taken the early 2.5-0 spring sports lead with a full point for rowing, a full point for tennis (men's and women's) and half a point for women's golf.
Coaching Matchups
Michigan's Rich Maloney (Western Michigan '86), the 18th coach in Wolverine baseball history, enters the EMU-Purdue week after recording his 90th win in a Michigan uniform in the final game of the four-game sweep of Michigan State (May 1). In his 10th season as a head coach, Maloney has a career record of 346-209-1. He is 90-65 in three seasons at Michigan and has led the Wolverines to back-to-back third place finishes in the Big Ten.
A native of Roseville, Mich., Maloney, spent seven years as head coach at Ball State where he was named Mid-American Conference coach-of-the-year twice (1998 and 2001) and he led the Cardinals to MAC championships in 1999 and 2001. Ball State won the MAC West title four consecutive years (1998-2001).
Maloney has won at least 30 games in each of his nine seasons as a head coach at the collegiate level. Maloney, who improved his record against MSU to 14-4, has a 26-7 record vs. Eastern Michigan and he is 8-13-1 vs. Purdue.
Eastern Michigan's Roger Coryell (EMU '71), whose Eagles have reached the MAC Tournament three straight seasons, enters the week with a career coaching mark of 476-542-2 in 18 years.
Coryell, the 2002 MAC Coach-of-the-Year, earned three letters as a pitcher at EMU and was the starting pitcher in the 1970 NAIA national championship won by the then-Hurons.
Purdue's head coach Doug Schreiber (Purdue '86) enters the weekend with a career coaching mark of 189-185 in seven seasons including the 16-22 start this season.
A four-year starter for Purdue (1983-86), Schreiber served as an assistant coach at Arizona State (1995-98), Notre Dame (1994) and Butler (1993) before taking the Purdue job in 1998. He is 7-6 vs. Michigan after taking three of four games in each of the past two seasons in West Lafayette.
Another Baseball Banquet Reminder -- May 15
Former Wolverine baseball and football All-American Rick Leach will be the featured speaker at the annual Michigan Baseball Banquet, hosted by the Michigan Dugout Club, on Sunday, May 15 following the final regular season Big Ten home game vs. Indiana.
The banquet will be held at the Four Points Sheraton in Ann Arbor (3200 Boardwalk). Reservations can be made and information is available from Helen Nelson in the baseball office (734-647-4550). The 'social hour' is slated for 5 p.m. with the dinner to follow at 6 p.m. with the times being determined by the ending of the ball game which is slated to start at 1:05 p.m. at Ray Fisher Stadium. The cost for adults is $40 and for children under 10-years of age, $20.
Big Ten Weekend Schedule
The Purdue series with Michigan is one of the five scheduled in the Big Ten this weekend (May 6-9). Two of the series will be played May 6-8 including the Northwestern at Illinois series and the Minnesota at Iowa series, while the UM-Purdue series in one of the three May 7-9 sets along with Michigan State at Indiana and Ohio State at Penn State..
Big Ten Standings (Through 5/1/05)
1. Illinois 14-6 .700 2. Iowa 12-8 .600 Minnesota 12-8 .600 4. Purdue 9-7 .563 5. Northwestern 10-10 .500 Penn State 10-10 .500 7. MICHIGAN 8-9 .471 8. Ohio State 7-10 412 9. Michigan State 6-10 .375 10. Indiana 5-15 .250
NEXT WEEK (May 13-15): Indiana at Michigan, Illinois at Minnesota, Iowa at Purdue, Penn State at Michigan State and Ohio State at Northwestern.
FINAL WEEK (May 20-22): Michigan at Penn State, Iowa at Illinois, Purdue at Indiana, Michigan State at Northwestern and Minnesota at Ohio State.
Bohm Seeks 100th Wolverine RBI
Senior 1B Kyle Bohm (Stevens Point, Wis./Area HS) heads into the EMU-Purdue week May (4-9) just two RBI short of 100 in his two seasons as a Wolverine.
Bohm, who has 97 career starts as a Wolverine, had a 9-for-16 (.563) weekend in Michigan's sweep against Michigan State including a 4-for-5 game in the series finale. He scored four times in the series and knocked in six runs including his fifth game-winning RBI in the second game of the series.
Bohm, who is second on the team with his .392 (56-for-143) overall batting average, leads the team with 46 RBI and he leads the Wolverines and ranks second in the conference hitting .407 (24-for-59) in Big Ten play.
Bohm has been steady on offense for the Wolverines with 108 hits and 98 RBI in 98 games the past two seasons. He collected his 100th hit as Wolverine in the series opener at MSU and he had three multiple-hit games in the series. He leads the Wolverines with 19 multiple-hit game this season and has 42 at UM. Bohm has two four-hit games at UM.
Bohm reached base six times in the 13-5 win to wrap up the sweep vs. MSU and he led off and scored twice in the nine-run seventh inning, the biggest inning of the year for the Wolverines. He reached base 15 times in 19 plate appearances in the MSU series.
Bohm is noted for his defense and he had 33 put outs in the MSU series and he was in on all eight double plays including a season-high four in the final game of the weekend. In fact he turned an unassisted double play catching a foul line drive and stepping on the bag to double off a runner in the eighth inning to snuff out a Spartan rally attempt. For the season Bohm is fielding .994 handling 348 of 350 chances (326 put outs, 22 assists and two errors).
Kunkel Adds To Career-Best Hit Streak
Senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) heads into the EMU-Purdue week after adding to his career-best hit streak in the four-game series vs. Michigan State, but he did have his streak of games with a double snapped at six.
Kunkel, who has hits in 11 consecutive games, is hitting .374 (40-for-107) for the season with a .531 slugging percentage and a .460 on base percentage. Kunkel, who went 7-for-15 (.467) in the MSU series, is hitting .362 in conference play.
Kunkel had the 'game-winning' hit in the series opener at MSU on Friday (Apr. 29) and in Sunday's (May 1) comeback win he tripled in the tying run in the nine-run seventh inning rally, scored the gamer and later capped the rally with a two-run homer.
UM Hitting Leader Getz Moving Up Steals List
Junior 2B Chris Getz (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS) heads into the EMU-Purdue week (May 4-9) weekend leading the Wolverines in hits (57), runs (37), hitting at .407 (57-for-140) and stolen bases (20).
Getz, who leads the team and the Big Ten with his .473 on base percentage, ranks third in the overall Big Ten batting race behind co-leaders Mitch Hilligoss (Purdue) and Pat McMahon (Northwestern) who share the lead at .412 as both are 61-for-148.
Getz has his team-leading season total of stolen bases at 20 to tie Mike Watters (20 stolen bases, 1985) for the fifth best single season stolen base total at Michigan. Steve Finken (25 steals, 1988) is fourth on Michigan's single season stolen base list.
Getz has 35 career steals in two seasons at Michigan and needs two stolen bases to move into the top 10 in career steals at UM as Scott Timmerman (37 steals, 1990-93) and Greg McMurtry (37, 1987-89) are tied for ninth place.
'Gamer' Butler Collects Another
Senior RF Matt Butler (Lombard, Ill./Driscoll Catholic), who leads the Wolverines with 13 doubles while ranking second with 35 RBI and fourth in hitting at .364 (55-for-151), had a busy day Saturday (Apr. 30) as he walked through graduation ceremonies in the morning, scored the winning run in the first game of the doubleheader vs. Michigan State and delivered his third "walk off" game-winning hit of the season in the nightcap.
Butler is the "active leader" for the Wolverines with 15 career gamers and he shares the team season lead with five game-winning hits with 1B Kyle Bohm. It was Bohm's 11th career gamer that scored Butler with the first-game winner vs. MSU to snap a 1-1 tie.
Butler had two winners as a sophomore before leading the team with eight as a sophomore. Earlier this season Butler earned national attention when he had back-to-back gamers against top ten teams Georgia and North Carolina.
The Wolverines have had 20 gamers thus far in their 26 wins this season with Butler and Bohm leading the way with five each. Junior 2B Chris Getz, senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel, senior 3B A.J. Scheidt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) and junior LF Mike Schmidt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) each have two each while sophomores SS Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) and OF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./River School) each has one.
The active career total of gamers for the Wolverines includes: Butler (15), Bohm (11), Kunkel (9), Scheidt (6), Getz (5), Roblin (3), Schmidt (2) and Mahler (1).
Wolverine Pitching Rotation
The starting pitchers for the Wolverines scheduled for the Big Ten series against Purdue this weekend (May 7-9) includes fifth-year senior RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind., Carmel HS) listed to start the opener with senior RHP Michael Penn (Columbus, Ohio, Worthington Christian HS) set for game two of the series.
The other two starters vs. Purdue will come from a trio of left-handers that includes senior/juniors Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS) and Drew Taylor (Toronto, Ont./Upper Canada College) and sophomore/freshman Clayton Richard (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon HS).
The tentative mid-week starters in the doubleheader against Eastern Michigan (May 4) are senior RHP Phil Tognetti (Newhall, Calif./Williams S. Hart HS) and sophomore RHP Andrew Hess (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central HS).
Michigan Starting Pitcher Profiles
'M' vs. Purdue #1 (Saturday) - Jim Brauer (Sr., RHP, 6-1, 2.21 ERA) would be making his 11th start of the season and his 42nd career start and making 53rd career appearance. He allowed nine hits and two runs while striking out four in eight innings of work at MSU while recording his sixth win of the season. He fanned a season-high 10 Buckeyes and allowed five hits and just one earned run in the 11-3 win in the first night game at Ray Fisher Stadium. He allowed eight hits and three runs in a no decision in a 4-3 loss at Illinois. He allowed 10 hits and three runs in the Big Ten home opener vs. Iowa and left the game after seven innings with an 11-3 lead in an eventual 13-12 loss and a no decision. He ranks second in the Big Ten with his 2.21 ERA. He pitched the sixth complete game of his UM career with a four-hitter in the 1-0 loss at Minnesota in the Big Ten opener with seven strikeouts and season-high five walks He earned fourth win of the season working first six innings of 10-0 shutout win over Oakland #1. He beat Ohio #1 pitching eight shutout innings and allowing three hits and recording nine strikeouts for the second straight start and third time in career. He collected win at Lamar #2 with nine strikeouts allowing one run and five hits in eventual 11-1 win. Had win vs. UIC #2 with seven strikeouts in five innings. He has 60 Ks to rank second in the Big Ten and 15 walks in 69.1 innings this season. He became the eighth Wolverine to record 200 career strikeouts and he ranks sixth on UM's all-time strikeout list (211). He needs four strikeouts to move into the top five. He has pitched 262.0 innings in his Wolverine career to rank fifth on the all-time UM list. He had no decision in UM win vs. Georgia. He has 13-2 record in last 15 decisions since starting 2004 season 0-2. He was an All-Big Ten first team selection and winner of the Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Pitcher in 2004. He became the 14th Wolverine to record 20 career wins making him Michigan's active career win leader and he is tied for 12th on the all-time UM list. Drafted by the New York Mets late in the Major League First-Year Player Draft (June 8), Brauer led the Wolverines with 86.1 innings pitched and he led the team while ranking ninth in the Big Ten with 69 strikeouts. He had a career-high 13 strikeouts vs. Detroit Mercy (Mar. 27, 2004) and his second best total is 10 (vs. OSU, Apr. 22) and he has fanned nine three times vs. MSU in 2002 and matched this year vs. Lamar (Mar. 12) and Ohio #1 (Mar. 19). Brauer was 5-1 in Big Ten play in 2004 with a 3.00 ERA and wins over Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana and Penn State with the loss at Purdue. Has career wins (20) vs. Ohio State (4), Michigan State (3), Bowling Green (2), Illinois (2), Detroit, UIC, Indiana, Lamar, Oakland, Ohio University, Penn State, Purdue and Siena Heights.
'M' vs. Purdue #2 (Sun. #1) -- Michael Penn (Sr., RHP, 5-1, 2.68 ERA) would be making his 10th start of the season and his 39th career start and 61st career appearance. It would be his 37th start and 44th appearance in three seasons at Michigan. He leads the Big Ten with his 1.89 ERA in conference only action and his .215 opponent batting average leads the Big Ten in overall play. He pitched his sixth career complete game, and first of the 2005 season allowing eight hits and one run in an 8-1 win over Michigan State his third straight in Big Ten play. He pitched 6.1 innings allowing five hits and one run in a 6-1 win at Illinois, his second conference win this season. He pitched 6.1 innings allowing four hits and left with 4-0 lead while collecting a 4-2 win over Iowa. He pitched five plus innings in no decision at Minnesota #2 (3-2 extra inning Gopher win) allowing three hits and one earned run. He fanned career-high 11 batters, retired 15 straight and allowed just two first-inning hits in no decision against Oakland #2. He pitched five innings in win in season opener vs. UIC and he took loss despite allowing just two hits in season-high 7.2 innings vs. East Carolina. He had a no decision in the opener at Lamar (Mar. 12) allowing nine hits and four earned runs in five innings. He pitched five innings for the win at Ohio #2 allowing three unearned runs before storm suspended game. He shared the team lead a year ago in wins (7) and was second in complete games (3) and innings pitched (80.2). He pitched complete games against Youngstown State, Iowa and Penn State. He earned three wins in six games over eight days in the final two weekends of the regular season beating Indiana, Western Michigan and Penn State. He has pitched three complete game shutouts in career, all four-hitters, including two at Iowa. He was named Big Ten Co-Pitcher-of-the-Week as he pitched first complete game of the season firing a 4-hit shutout to beat Youngstown State in Kentucky (Mar. 14). Penn's career mark is 15-16, 14-15 at Michigan after transfer from Ball State. His career wins have been against Iowa (3), Western Michigan (2), Illinois, UIC, Indiana, MSU, Northwestern, Oakland, Ohio State, Ohio University, Penn State and Youngstown State.
'M' vs. Purdue #3 (Sun. #2) -- TBA
'M' vs. Purdue #4 (Monday) -- TBA
Michigan's Potential Weekend Starters (Listed in alphabetical order)
Paul Hammond (Sr./Jr., LHP, 2-3, 4.04 ERA) enters the weekend with 12 starts and 35 appearances in his Michigan career with a 7-4 record. He pitched 5.1 innings in relief allowing four hits and an unearned run with four strikeouts while collecting win vs. MSU #3. He worked 2.1 scoreless innings vs. Toledo. He worked 2.2 innings allowing five hits and four runs in 4-1 loss in start at Illinois #3. He pitched twice in the Iowa series taking the loss in the opener allowing the final three runs of the 10-run eighth inning and he retired 11 of 13 batters he faced in the series finale. He allowed eight hits and five runs in 6-3 loss at Minnesota #3 working four innings plus two batters in the fifth. He worked four innings allowing two unearned runs in start vs. Oakland #3. He retired 12 straight after walking the first batter he faced for win vs. North Carolina to earn win with five strikeouts. He worked 1.1 scoreless innings in 9-0 shutout over Central Connecticut State in action at the Lamar Classic. He pitched three scoreless innings with three strikeouts at Ohio #2. He earned second team All-Big Ten honors with 5-1 conference only record with a 2.05 Big Ten only ERA to rank second. He led the Big Ten with a .192 opponent batting average. Returned to action in 2005 after 'Tommy John surgery' during freshman campaign in 2002 and collected first five wins of career with one each over the five other 2004 Big Ten Tournament teams -- MSU, Minnesota, OSU, Penn State and Purdue. Pitched back-to-back Big Ten complete games vs. MSU and Purdue and only loss came at Indiana allowing two earned runs in 6.1 innings of 4-1 loss. He pitched career-best eight innings allowing five hits and two runs in 13-2 win at Ohio State #4 (Apr. 25) in his first start since 2002 before missing year and a half following 'Tommy John surgery.' Hammond had six appearances and two starts as a freshman with a save at UC-Irvine.
Clayton Richard (So./Fr., LHP, 0-0, 2.53, two saves) would be making third career start and 12th career appearance for the Wolverines. He worked 1.2 innings allowing six hits and five runs despite record four strikeouts in a no decision vs. MSU in his first Big Ten start. He was rained out of start vs. Ohio State. He made two appearances in the Illinois series pitching total of four shutout innings as he closed out 6-1 win in the second game of the series in a non-save situation and he pitched 3.1 shutout innings in game three. He made two appearances in the Iowa series recording second career save in the second game of the series. He worked three scoreless innings in a non decision while making first career start vs. CMU (Apr. 6). He has made 12 appearances, tied for second on the team, working 21.1 innings and has recorded 17 strikeouts. He has allowed 19 hits in 78 at bats (.244 opponent batting average). He is playing baseball at Michigan for the first time after two seasons and two Big Ten championships on the Wolverine football team. He worked season/career best three innings to close out shutout over Oakland and earn his first career save walking one but facing minimum nine batters. He allowed a run on three hits with one strikeout at EMU and worked three scoreless innings allowing two hits in his Big Ten debut at Minnesota #2. He made his career debut with scoreless inning with two strikeouts vs. Georgia.
Drew Taylor (Sr./Jr., LHP, 2-2, 4.85) has made 11 appearances with three starts. He would be making 21st career start (20th at UM) and 41st career appearance (29th at UM). He allowed four runs on just one hit with four walks and a HBP in no decision start at MSU. He collected wins with two innings vs. Georgia and three hitless and scoreless innings in relief vs. Oakland #3. Took loss vs. Iowa #3 in first start of the season, allowing three earned runs, in 5.2 innings of 5-3 loss and he took a loss at Lamar #1. Has recorded 21 strikeouts in 29.2 innings and leads the pitching staff with two pick offs. He worked 1.1 scoreless innings vs. CMU (Apr. 6). He worked final two innings at Minnesota #3 allowing pop fly double. He struck out the side at Ohio #3 and retired six of the seven batters he faced in two shutout innings. He has 11 career wins as Wolverine. He made just two appearances in 2004 before missing season due to injury after going 9-1 with 3.97 ERA in 2003 with five straight winning starts over Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Ohio State and Notre Dame. He was All-Big Ten first team selection in 2003when he led the team in innings pitched (95.1) and became just the 15th Wolverine pitcher to win nine games in a season and was the first lefty since Jim Abbott did it in 1988. He fanned career best eight in 2003 Big Ten tournament opener vs. Indiana. He has 11-5 career record with wins over Bethune-Cookman, Butler, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, MSU, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oakland, OSU and Purdue.
Michigan's Midweek Starters vs. EMU
'M' vs. Eastern Michigan (Wednesday #1) - Phil Tognetti (Sr., RHP, 0-0, 11.57) tied for seventh on team with nine appearances this season and enters the EMU doubleheader with 16 career starts and 61 career appearances as a Wolverine to rank in a tie for seventh on UM's all-time career appearances list with Nick Alexander (61, 1998-2000). He led team and ranked second in the Big Ten in 2004 with 27 appearances, and tied for the third best single-season total appearance total at Michigan. He accounted for eight of Michigan's 32 wins in 2004 with four wins and four saves. He has 10 career wins: vs. Iowa (2), Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Duke, Hillsdale, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State.
'M' vs. Eastern Michigan (Wednesday #2) - Andrew Hess (Soph. RHP, 1-1, 8.78 ERA) enters the EMU doubleheader having made eight appearances and two starts. He would be making third career start and 28th career appearance. He pitched 2.1 innings vs. Toledo allowing three hits and one earned run. He collected his first win of the season vs. New York Tech working five innings allowing seven hits and four runs, but only one run after the first inning. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning vs. Oakland. Made 19 appearances in 2004, most on team by a freshman. He has wins over Duke, Minnesota and New York Tech. and pitched five scoreless innings vs. Western Michigan for a non-decision in his lone start as a freshman.
Bullpen/Long Relief
Michael McCormick (Soph., LHP, 0-0, 9.95 ERA) enters the EMU/Purdue week having made 22 career appearances including three starts. He has made six appearances, one start, working 6.1 innings. He worked one scoreless inning vs. UIC, two vs. New York Tech and he allowed one unearned run at Ohio #2. He allowed two runs in a third of an inning vs. Oakland #4. He allowed a run on two hits in an inning at Minnesota #4. He allowed four hits and four runs in one inning start vs. Toledo. His 14 bullpen outings in 2004 were second most on the team by a lefty. He collected his first win of career vs. Eastern Michigan as a freshman.
Brad Seddon (Sophomore/Freshman, LHP, 1-0, 1.54 ERA) collected first career win with six innings out of bullpen allowing four hits and a run at MSU #4. He enters the EMU/Purdue week having made five career appearances and pitching 11.2 innings. He allowed two hits and a run in his debut in two innings vs. St. John's. Has pitched a scoreless ninth at EMU and had a 1-2-3 eighth at Minnesota #4. He worked 1.2 scoreless innings against Central Michigan. His 1.54 ERA is tops among UM pitchers with more than 10 innings of work and his .179 opponent batting average (7-for-39) leads team.
Bullpen/Short Relief
Derek Feldkamp (Jr., RHP, 5-3, 4.19 ERA) worked third of an inning in non-save situation at MSU #1 and ended game with a strikeout after allowing pair of hits and one run. He returned to the bullpen in the Illinois series and he recorded first save of the season with scoreless ninth in 10-9 win over Toledo. Worked 1.2 shutout innings vs. Ohio State to close out the 11-3 win on ESPN. Has allowed one earned run in eight innings in five bullpen appearances. Was 1-1 on the weekend at Illinois despite allowing just one unearned run in five innings taking the loss in the opener. He shares second on team in wins (5) collecting that fifth win in Illinois series finale with four shutout innings in the 8-5 win. He has 16 career starts would be making and 50 career appearances as he heads into EMU/Purdue week. Took second loss of season working 5.1 innings and allowing seven runs and seven hits vs. Iowa #4. Led Big Ten in ERA (1.29) and opponent batting average (.179) until allowing five hits and eight runs in just two innings in an eventual 13-3 loss in the series finale at Minnesota. Allowed one run and one hit in six innings of win over Oakland #4. Pitched six innings allowing four hits and two earned runs at Ohio #3. He has wins at Florida Atlantic, vs. Central Connecticut State, at Ohio University, Oakland and Illinois this season. He pitched five shutout innings in a no decision start vs. North Carolina. Led team with four complete games in 2004 and shared lead in saves (4). He accounted for 10 of Michigan's 32 wins in 2004 with six wins and four saves. Collected fourth save of the season working four innings vs. Penn State (May 22) to clinch tournament berth for Wolverines. Earned Big Ten Co-Pitcher-of-the-Week honors with four-hit shutout at Iowa #2 (Apr. 10) with five Ks for first career complete game. Has 13-9 career record with wins vs. Illinois (2), Oakland (2), Bethune-Cookman, Central Connecticut State, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma and Penn State.
Jeff Niemiec (Jr., RHP, 3-1, 6.75, one save) enters the EMU/Purdue week with a team leading total of 15 appearances for the season and has 25 appearances in three seasons. He has an opponent batting average of .271 (16-for-59). He pitched two thirds of an inning at MSU #1 allowing four runs on three hits in a non-save situation. He worked one inning vs. Toledo and collected third win of season. He faced five batters allowing two walks and three hits in the opening loss to Iowa. He pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the win over CMU. He took loss on his own throwing error in extra innings at Minnesota #2. He earned win with two shutouts innings at Eastern Michigan in 18-12 win. He collected first win in second game of Oakland series recording two outs and getting benefit of four-run rally for last-at bat win. He allowed a run on three hits in the series finale vs. Oakland, but struck out the side in a non-save situation. He made one appearance in the series at Ohio and threw one pitch to record a game-ending double play. He was the winner of the Wolverine Award for spirit and leadership in 2004, he led the team with 2.45 ERA as a freshman.
Ali Husain (Sr./Jr., LHP, 1-0, 7.94 with one save) enters the EMU/Purdue with nine appearances. He faced three batters in non-save situation in ninth inning of win at MSU #4 allowing a hit, recording a strikeout and getting double play grounder. He retired two batters on three pitches vs. Toledo. He pitched scoreless fourth inning with two strikeouts vs. Central Michigan and was credited with the win. He has one save in 2005 and has made 55 career pitching appearances to tie Chris Newton (55 appearances, 1991-94) for 15th place on all-time UM pitching appearance list. He has made 23 appearances to rank second on the team in each of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. He led Wolverines with 1.78 ERA as a junior/sophomore in 2004 and recorded 25 strikeouts in 25.1 innings. He has seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Has career wins vs. Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State and saves at Winthrop and vs. UIC.
Brauer Continues Milestone March
Senior co-captain RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) heads into Saturday's (May 7) series opener vs. Purdue looking to continue on his trek through some of the Wolverine career pitching records.
Brauer (6-1, 2.21 ERA), who ranks second in the Big Ten in strikeouts and ERA and third in wins, beat Michigan State in the series opener in Oldsmobile Park in his third consecutive night game start.
With 13 wins in his last 15 decisions in the past two seasons, Brauer became the 14tth Wolverine to collect 20 career wins and he pulled into a tie for 12th place on UM's career win list with Bill Shuta (20, 1981-84) and Chris Lutz (20, 1986-88). He is one win shy of moving into a five-way tie for eighth place.
Brauer has pitched a team-leading total 69.1 innings this season to move his career totals to 262.0 innings good for fifth place on the Michigan career chart as he moved ahead of former Major Leaguer Gary Wayne (261.1, 1981-84) during the MSU game. A pair of former Major League Wolverines - Fritz Fisher (263.2 innings, 1961-63) and Steve Howe (265.2, 1977-79) -- are the next two pitchers on the UM career list.
Brauer fanned four in the MSU game and he ranks sixth in career strikeouts (211) and needs four more Ks to move into top five in Wolverine history with Pete Helt (215 strikeouts, 1970-73) next on the list.
Penn Collects Complete Game Win
Senior RHP Michael Penn (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Christian) heads into the Purdue series leading the Big Ten with a 1.82 ERA in league play after pitching Michigan's first complete game win of the season.
Penn notched his third consecutive league start and he has wins over first place Illinois, second place Iowa and Michigan State. He had a no decision in an extra-inning loss to second place Minnesota in the opening series of conference play.
Penn (5-1, 2.68 ERA) pitched his sixth career complete game in the 8-1 win over MSU as he allowed the run in the top of the first and pitched six shutout innings for the win. Penn leads the Big Ten in overall action with his .215 (43-for-200) opponent batting average.
The complete game was the sixth of his career in 36 career starts at Michigan. Penn has 43 strikeouts in 53.2 innings as a senior. Penn's only loss of the season was a 2-1 game at East Carolina. In Big Ten play Penn is 3-0 with the 1.82 ERA with a .217 (20-for-92) opponent batting average.
Seddon Doubles Innings Total
Sophomore/freshman LHP Brad Seddon (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) enters the EMU/Purdue week after he more than doubled his career total of innings pitched in one game when he worked six innings against Michigan State (May 1) to record his first career win.
Seddon had pitched 5.2 innings in four outings when entered the game in the third inning with MSU leading 4-0. He allowed four hits and a run against the Spartans and when he left after the eighth inning UM had a 13-5 lead and he had his first win.
More Miscellaneous Michigan Notes
Michigan's sweep of Michigan State marked the first Big Ten four-game sweep for the Wolverines since taking four games from Indiana in 2001 and it was the first sweep of MSU for the Wolverines since 1999 ... the Wolverines have had their best scoring innings in the last two weekends following the eight-run fifth inning vs. Ohio State (Apr. 22) with a nine-run seventh inning at Michigan State (May 1) ... the last time the Wolverines scored exactly nine runs in an inning was in the top of the first in a 15-8 win at Rollins in 1997 ... Michigan has outscored its opponents in seven of the nine innings except the first and the eighth ... UM's favorite inning is the fifth where they have scored 51 runs and the seventh with 48 ... UM's defense had turned 22 doubles plays in 34 games before turning eight in four games vs. MSU including a season-high four in the final game of the series .. Senior 1B Kyle Bohm was in on all eight DPs on the weekend and has been involved in 27 of the 30 for the season ... Junior LF Mike Schmidt played in 88 games as a Wolverine without hitting a triple and now has two in the last five games including the game-winning hit in the fourth game of the MSU series ... Junior 3B A.J. Scheidt reached base eight times in the last three games of the MSU series and had three doubles, three walks, a HBP and two sac flies ... SS Leif Mahler had four walks and HBP in the MSU series and scored four times including the tying run in the bottom of the seventh in the 7-6 win in the third game of the series.
Weekly Michigan Lineup Note
After 38 games in 2005 10 Wolverines have made starts at more than one position led by junior Chris Getz (2B, SS & DH), junior A.J. Scheidt (2B, 3B & DH), junior Mike Schmidt (LF, CF & DH), sophomore Brad Roblin (LF, RF & DH) and freshman Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) (LF, RF & 2B) at three positions while outfielder Matt Butler (CF & RF), catcher Jeff Kunkel (C & DH) and infielders Leif Mahler (SS & 2B), Alex Martin (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) (3B & DH) and Derek VanBuskirk (3B & DH) have all started at two positions.
The only player to have started all 38 games at the same position is senior 1B Kyle Bohm while Butler (RF-22, CF 16) is the only other to make all 38 starts. Bohm (clean up) is the only player to have started each of the 38 games in the same order in the lineup, while Butler has started at leadoff 21 times, second 13 times and third four times.
The most versatile in the batting order are Roblin (2, 5, 6 & 9), Schmidt (2, 6, 7 & 9), VanBuskirk (6, 7, 8 & 9) and Pickens (2, 5, 8 & 9) in four spots, while OF Butler (1 2, 3), catcher Jeff Kunkel (5, 6 & 7), 3B/DH Scheidt (5, 6 & 7), SS Leif Mahler (7, 8 & 9) and 3B/DH, Alex Martin (6, 7 & 9) have started in three batting order slots. In 2004 Roblin hit in eight of the nine positions missing only the clean up (4) spot. So far UM has had seven different players bat seventh and ninth while six different batters have hit sixth.
Usual UM Starters Update
Heading into the EMU/Purdue week four Wolverines have reached 100 or more career starts and two have more than 85 starts, one has 70 and two more have passed the 65-start level.
Senior OF Matt Butler has 154 career starts, junior 2B Chris Getz is next with 146 starts, junior 3B/DH A.J. Scheidt is third at 112 and senior 1B Kyle Bohm with 107 overall starts will hit the century mark as a Wolverine this week. Wolverines with 85 or more starts include transfer 3B Alex Martin at 92 starts and senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel at 86.
Three sophomores including OF Brad Roblin (70), CF Eric Rose (69) and shortstop Leif Mahler (67) all recently reached the 65-start plateau.
The 2005 Wolverine lineup (starters in bold) with backups includes: (number of starts at that position this season/total career starts any position):1B: +Kyle Bohm (38/107), Derek VanBuskirk (0/14); 2B: *Chris Getz (31/146), Doug Pickens (5/20), Leif Mahler (1/67); A.J. Scheidt (1/112); SS: Leif Mahler (33/67), Chris Getz (5/146); 3B: A.J. Scheidt (18/112), Alex Martin& (14/92), Derek VanBuskirk (6/14); LF: Mike Schmidt (19/42), Brad Roblin (15/70), Doug Pickens (4/20); CF: Eric Rose (20/69); Matt Butler (16/154), Mike Schmidt (2/42); RF: Matt Butler (22/154), Doug Pickens (11/20), Brad Roblin (5/70); C: Jeff Kunkel (27/86), Matt Rademacher (11/27); DH: Derek VanBuskirk (8/14); Brad Roblin (6/70), Mike Schmidt (3/42), Jeff Kunkel (3/86), Alex Martin& (2/92), Chris Getz (1/142), A.J. Scheidt (15/112). [* at Wake Forest (51); + at Auburn (10), & at Detroit (76).]
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
