Big Innings by Bulldogs Bring Down Wolverines in Texas

Friday, March 10

Waco, Texas

3:00 PM CT

Michigan

3-5

Louisiana Tech

7-8

Louisiana Tech

Michigan

Big Innings by Bulldogs Bring Down Wolverines in Texas

3/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

WACO, Texas -- Louisiana Tech scored four times in the third inning and four times in the ninth to capture a 13-7 collegiate baseball win over the University of Michigan Friday afternoon (March 10) in a first-day slugfest in the Quala-T Imprint Baylor Classic hosted by Baylor University.

Louisiana Tech (7-8) trailed 2-0 early but bounced back to grab an 8-2 lead after six innings behind starting and winning pitcher Luke Burnett (1-2). Burnett had four strikeouts and limited the Wolverines (3-5) to one earned run and seven hits.

Michigan used the long ball to scored five runs off Bulldog bullpen hurler Steve Alverson, who entered the game with a 3.84 ERA and a .194 opponent batting average. Sophomore Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) hit a three-run pinch homer run, and moments later sophomore RF Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) hit a two-run round tripper and U-M trailed 8-7.

Bulldog 2B Amos Ramon went to the mound to stop the Wolverine rally in the seventh and allowed a single to fifth-year senior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) before getting junior SS Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) to end the inning with a fly to left.

Ramon hit his fourth homer of the year in the eighth off U-M's freshman RHP Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) and worked 2.1 innings to record his first save of the season.

Ramon added a run-scoring single in the four-run ninth against Abraham to put the game away. Ramon was 4-for-5 and scored three runs, while RF Jericho Jones was 3-for-5 with a double, a homer and four RBI to paces the Louisiana Tech offense.

U-M fifth-year senior LHP Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason) breezed through the first two innings, allowing just a double to Jones in the first inning.

However, the Bulldogs scored four runs off Hammond (0-2) in the third inning with Jones hitting a three-run homer over the fence in right-center. Ramon followed with a double and he scored on a single by 1B Albie Goulder. Tech added two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to push the lead to 8-2.

The Wolverines had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning as junior CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) had a 10-pitch at-bat and singled on a 3-2 count. Rose stole second base and scored as senior DH Mike Schmidt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) singled to left. However, Schmidt was picked off first, and after Pickens lined a single off the third baseman's glove he was later caught trying to steal. U-M scored once with three hits and just four batters in the first inning.

Michigan added a run in the second inning as SS Mahler singled to left and advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher Burnett. Sophomore 1B Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) drove in the run with a single to left.

Sophomore/freshman RHP Chris Fetter (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) replaced Hammond to start the fourth and worked two innings, allowing a two-run pinch homer to Ben Tabor in the fifth inning.

Senior RHP Alex Martin (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) started the sixth inning and walked the first two batters, allowed a popped-up bunt to drop for a single to load the bases, and hit Jones with a pitch to make the score 7-2.

Sophomore/freshman RHP Michael Powers (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake) made his career debut, replacing Martin with the bases loaded, and his first pitch was a wild pitch that made the score 8-2. Powers took a line drive off his leg for a single by Ramon to reload the bases, and he got out of the inning with a popup, a strikeout and a groundout. Powers faced just seven batters, allowing one hit and no runs while collecting two strikeouts in his two-inning Wolverine debut.

The Wolverines exploded for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning against Alverson. The rally started with a hustle double by senior 3B A.J. Scheidt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) as his grounder up the middle was deflected into short left by 2B Ramon. Recknagel unloaded the pinch three-run homer off the scoreboard in left following a walk to VanBuskirk to make the score 8-5.

With two outs the veteran DH Schmidt drew his second walk of the game, and Pickens hit his team-leading third homer to left and the score was 8-7.

The Wolverines had two hits to put the tying runs on base in the eighth on singles by VanBuskirk and Recknagel, but Ramon got out the inning with a couple of strikeouts, and he used a double play ball to help close the ninth after Schmidt singled to start the final inning.

VanBuskirk had the second three-hit game of his career, while Schmidt, Pickens, Mahler and Recknagel each had two hits to pace the Wolverines' season-high 14-hit attack.

Michigan meets host Baylor on Saturday (March 11, 6 p.m. CST) in second-day action in the Quala-T Imprint Baylor Classic with fifth-year senior RHP Drew Taylor (Toronto, Ontario/Upper Canada College) at 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA listed as the tentative starting pitcher.

N O T E S

The pinch hit home run by sophomore Nate Recknagel was the first for the Wolverines since Matt Butler hit one vs. Eastern Michigan last season (May 4) at Ray Fisher Stadium. It was the last pinch homer away from Fisher Stadium since senior Mike Schmidt hit one vs. New York Tech a year ago tomorrow (March 11, 2005) in Beaumont, Texas, at the Lamar tournament. The last "true" road pinch homer was hit by Butler at Florida (Feb. 26, 2004) in the season-opening series in Gainesville.

The pinch homer by Louisiana Tech's Ben Tabor, his fourth homer of the year, was the first pinch homer by a Wolverine opponent since Central Michigan's Dan Griesbaum hit one in 2004 (April 14).

Senior Mike Schmidt reached base four times in five plate appearances in the tournament in the first time he had been in Baylor Ballpark since he attended a showcase event when he was a high school third baseman.

Doug Pickens (nine games) continued his hitting streak that includes one game from last season with his first-inning single vs. Louisiana Tech, while Eric Rose extended his hit streak to eight games with his leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning. A.J. Scheidt and Leif Mahler each extended hit streaks to four games, while RHP/DH Adam Abraham did not bat in the game and his streak stays at three games.

Michigan's leading hitters after eight games are:1B/C/DH Nate Recknagel (9-for-20, .450), RF Doug Pickens (12-for-31, .387), 3B A.J. Scheidt (7-for-22, .318), OF/DH Mike Schmidt (4-for-13, .308), SS Leif Mahler (9-for-31, 290) and CF Eric Rose (9-for-32, 281).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423