Michigan
Notre Dame
Recknagel, Powers Key U-M Victory Over Notre Dame
5/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. -- Sophomore 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) hit a homer and a double and drove in two runs and sophomore/freshman RHP Michael Powers (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake) collected his third win of the season as the University of Michigan beat Notre Dame 3-1 Tuesday (May 16) in the annual Baseball Bash in Fifth Third Ballpark, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps.
Recknagel's 2-for-4 night at the plate raised his batting average to a team-high .374.
Freshman LF Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) worked a scoreless eighth inning and sophomore/freshman RHP Ben Jenzen (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South) collected his fourth save of the year by working a scoreless ninth inning.
Recknagel hit a run-scoring double in the first inning for his sixth game-winning RBI and launched his fifth homer of the year for insurance in the sixth inning for the Wolverines (34-18) against the nationally ranked Fighting Irish (38-14-1), who are No. 23 in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Wolverines grabbed the lead in the first inning as junior CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) walked to lead off the game, stole second base for his 50th career steal, and scored when Recknagel followed with his double down the line in left to make the score 1-0. Sophomore second baseman Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) singled to center to make the score 2-0.
RHP Powers hit a batter in the first inning but had two strikeouts in the inning and fifth-year senior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) threw out the runner, Brett Lilly, to end the inning.
In the second inning Irish 2B Ross Brezovsky singled up the middle to start the inning and RF Dan Dressman hit into a 6-4-3 double play started by junior shortstop Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep).
ND LF Matt Bransfield singled to lead off the third against Powers, but on a missed bunt attempt Kunkel fired the ball to Recknagel for his Big Ten-leading fifth pickoff throw of the season.
Korpi settled down and retired eight in a row after the Pickens single in the first inning, and he had five strikeout in that stretch.
Powers worked 1-2-3 innings in the top of the fourth, fifth and sixth had faced the minimum 18 batters through six innings despite allowing two hits and hitting one batter.
In the fifth inning senior LF Mike Schmidt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage) lined a two-out double that short-hopped the fence in left and Rose reached on a walk, but Mahler forced Schmidt at third to end the inning.
Recknagel led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a long homer to left-center, his fifth homer of the season, and then Korpi got the next three batters along with his seventh strikeout. It was only the 12th homer allowed by the Irish this season.
ND's 1B Craig Cooper tripled to open the seventh inning, and after a strikeout, DH Jeremy Barnes singled to right to put the Irish on the scoreboard. Powers picked Barnes off first for the second out, and after a double by 2B Brezovsky, Powers got the final out on a fly to Schmidt in left.
Abraham worked a 1-2-3 eighth with three flyout to Rose in center, and Jenzen came on for the ninth. He allowed a walk and a single and with two outs Brezovsky came to the plate as the go ahead run and hit a fly to Rose in center. Rose had six putouts in center and recorded five of the last in the game.
Recknagel and Pickens each had two of the five Wolverine hits in the win over the Irish as Michigan has won back-to-back games in the Bash and trails the series 6-5.
Michigan opens the final weekend series of the regular season against Iowa on Friday evening (May 19, 6:35 p.m.) with fifth-year senior LHP Paul Hammond (Mason, Ohio/Mason) on the mound. Hammond is 6-3 with a 2.60 ERA.
N O T E S
Former Wolverine Garabed Tadian, a member of Michigan's 1953 national championship baseball team, was on hand at Fifth Third Ballpark to throw out the first pitch representing the Wolverines. Tadian lettered in 1953 and 1954 while playing for legendary U-M head coach Ray Fisher. The Wolverines were 43-18 in those two seasons, and Tadian was also a member of the 1953 Big Ten championship team.
There were several media connections in the ballpark as Comcast Local did the game on television with former Wolverine Geoff Zahn and local radio personality Ben Holden as the announce crew. WTKA made its radio debut with Ryan Maguire doing the play-by-play. Zahn, former Michigan player and coach, will throw out the first pitch before the Friday night game with Iowa. WTKA will be on the air Sunday vs. Iowa with "Diamond" Jim Moore joining Maguire to provide color.
Official scorer Mike Dean played the national anthem on his chromatic harmonica.
Michigan's leading hitters after 52 games are: 1B/C/DH Nate Recknagel (65-for-174, .374), C Jeff Kunkel (65-for-184, .353), SS Leif Mahler (58-for-166, .349), CF Eric Rose (56-for-168, .333), 2B/OF Doug Pickens (56-for-186, .301) and LF/DH Adam Abraham (39-for-130, .300).
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
