Michigan
Pacific
Top of Order, Murray Pace U-M Comeback Over Pacific
3/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
WACO, Texas -- Senior RHP Craig Murray (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South HS) pitched five shutout innings as the University of Michigan baseball team scored four runs in the ninth inning for a 13-9 win over Pacific Sunday afternoon (March 12) in final-day action in the Quala-T Imprint Baylor Classic hosted by Baylor University.
Junior CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield HS) and junior SS Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) combined for nine of U-M's 18 hits, and the Wolverines totaled eight runs in the last four innings to overcome a 9-5 deficit after five innings of play.
Michigan scored in the ninth when rally starter junior OF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./River School) had a pinch single, stole second base and advance to third on a throwing error by the catcher. He scored U-M's 10th run as Rose collected his fifth hit of the game on a hard grounder to third. Mahler notched his fourth hit to put runners on first and second.
With the bases loaded fifth-year senior catcher Jeff Kunkel's (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) squibber was booted for an error at third to make the score 11-9, and sophomore LF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) singled in two runs to make the score 13-9. Murray recorded two of his six strikeouts to close out the win in the bottom half of the ninth.
For the third straight game in the weekend tournament Mahler singled in his first at-bat, but he was erarsed in a 6-4-3 double play.
Pacific (12-5) jumped into the lead in the first inning as Adam Ching opened the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. LF Matt Berezay hit his eighth double of the season to score Ching, and moments later 1B Brett Manning singled to make the score 2-0.
The Wolverines scored five times in the second inning as Kunkel singled with one out and scored ahead of VanBuskirk's first homer of the year to tie the score at 2-2. With two outs freshman DH Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) drew a walk, and the Wolverines produced three consecutive two-out singles by freshman 2B Kevin Cislo (Novi, Mich./Novi), Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) and Mahler, and a wild pitch was mixed in for a 5-2 lead.
Pacific put the first two runners on in the bottom of the second on singles by catcher Clint Eastman and 3B Bob Saunders against U-M junior RHP Andrew Hess (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central) but Mahler slowed the rally as he turned a 6-3 double play. Ching doubled in Eastwood to make the score 5-3.
With one out in the third the Tigers put runners on the corners on singles by RF Ramon Glasgow and Manning to chase Hess, with freshman RHP Zach Putnam (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) making his collegiate pitching debut. DH Jordan Seiber singled to right to cut the lead to 5-4, but Putnam retired the side on a pair of infield grounders.
With one out in the fourth Pacific was at it again as Ching collected his third hit of the game with a single to right and CF Anthony Jackson singled to left to put runners on first and second. With two outs Glasgow singled up the middle to tie the game at 5-5. Manning squibbed a 3-2 pitch down the third base line for an infield single to make it 6-5, and Seiber hit a three-run homer to make the score 9-5.
Pacific had at least three hits in each of the first four innings before Murray took over for U-M in the fifth and had a 1-2-3 inning.
The Wolverines were limited by Pacific starter Ty'Relle Harris to just two singles since the second inning before he walked Abraham and Cislo in the sixth and gave up back-to-back RBI singles to Rose and Mahler, making the score 9-7. Pacific RHP Steve Spurgeon, who entered the game with a 16.88 ERA, retired Pickens and Recknagel to end the rally.
Michigan cut the Pacific lead to 9-8 with a run in the seventh as Kunkel doubled to right, moved to third on an opposite-field single to left by 3B A.J. Scheidt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS), and scored on a sacrifice fly by Abraham.
Pacific put two runners on with two-out singles off Murray in the seventh, but SS Mahler made a nice play to retire Ching in his bid for a fourth hit.
The Wolverines scored in the eighth as Rose beat out bunt a for his fourth hit of the game. He stole second and moved to third on a sac bunt by Mahler before scoring on a double by sophomore RF Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) to tie the game at 9-9.
Murray walked the first two batters in the bottom of the eighth, and after a sac bunt by the cleanup hitter Glasgow, Manning was walked intentionally to load the bases for DH Seiber. Murray fanned Seiber and pinch hitter Will Brindza to end the rally.
Michigan's next game will be Friday (March 17) against George Washington in the first game of the Coca-Cola Classic hosted by Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C. Fifth-year senior Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason) is listed as the tentative starter with his 0-2 reord and 6.92 ERA.
N O T E S
In the second game on Sunday Louisiana Tech defeated host Baylor by a 12-4 margin to win the tournament based on the head-to-head win against the Bears. The finals records were: LaTech 2-1, Baylor 2-1, Michigan 1-2 and Pacific 1-2. Mahler (SS) and Murray (Relief Pitcher) were named to the all-tournament team.
Eric Rose collected his third career five-hit game, and for Leif Mahler it was his first four-hit game.
When Michigan pitching coach Bob Keller was playing college baseball at Biola University in California he hit his first career home run against Pacific. Keller ranked second in career homers at Biola when he graduated in 1992.
Michigan fifth-year senior LHP Drew Taylor (Toronto, Ontario/Upper Canada College), son of Dr. Ron Taylor, former Major League pitcher and team physician of the Toronto Blue Jays, was a youngster traveling with the team during back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, and one of his favorite Blue Jay players was Ed Sprague, currently the coach for Pacific.
A.J. Scheidt and Leif Mahler each extended hit streaks to six games in the Pacific game.
Michigan's leading hitters after 10 games are: SS Leif Mahler (14-for-38, 368), ), RF Doug Pickens (14-for-39, .359), 1B/C/DH Nate Recknagel (10-for-28, .357), CF Eric Rose (14-for-41, .341) and 3B A.J. Scheidt (9-for-30, .300).
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
