Michigan
43-20
Stetson
38-24
U-M Stays Alive with NCAA Regional Win Over Stetson
6/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
With the win, Michigan (43-20) will face Vanderbilt in an elimination game on Sunday (June 4) at 1 p.m. Should the Wolverines defeat the Commodores, they will meet host and top-seeded Georgia Tech later in the day at 5 p.m. U-M would need to defeat the Yellowjackets twice to claim the regional crown.
The 43 wins set a career best for Wolverine head coach Rich Maloney. He has won at least 30 games in each of his 11 seasons as a head coach and this is his fourth 40-win season. He won 42 games in 1999 at Ball State and equaled the mark last season with the Wolverines.
Stetson (38-24) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Hammond on a two-out double off the fence by Braedyn Pruitt and a single by Chris Johnson. It was the only damage done against Hammond, as he collected his team-leading eighth win of the season while allowing six hits and recording six strikeouts.
Hammond had five 1-2-3 innings while earning his 17th career win as a Wolverine and it was his second regional win in Atlanta in the past two seasons. He beat Furman with 3.2 innings out of the bullpen last season.
Rose was 3-for-4 for his 19th multi-hit game of the season and his 11th three-hit game. He hit his third career homer to cap a four-run second inning and added singles in the fifth and eighth innings. Rose also added his team-leading 32nd stolen base in the fifth inning and he scored three times while driving in three runs.
The Wolverines took the lead with four runs in the top of the second inning. U-M tied the game on consecutive singles to open the inning by freshman DH Adam Abraham (Grosse, Pointe Park, Mich./South HS), fifth-year senior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) and sophomore RF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS).
With one out, senior LF Mike Schmidt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) singled to make the score 2-1. The hit turned out to be Schmidts sixth game-winner of the season and the eighth gamer of his career.
After Schmidt was thrown out attempting to steal second base, Rose took advantage of the wind and homered to right for his second round-tripper of the year.
Hammond worked a 1-2-3 second, recording his first strikeout of the game, but Stetson loaded the bases in the third inning on a pair of singles and a hit by pitch. Hammond fanned Brian Pruitt for the final out of the inning.
Hammond then caught fire as he retired the next seven Stetson batters and allowed just two hits and a walk over the last 6.1 innings. He retired 19 of the final 22 batters he faced.
Michigan added a run in the fifth as Rose singled to center and collected his team-leading 32nd stolen base of the season. Junior shortstop Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) doubled down the third base line to help Michigan gain a 5-1 lead.
Sophomore 2B Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice HS) made an eye-opening diving back-hand play up the middle to rob Brad Pippa of a single as he led off the bottom of the fifth inning. After Hammond fanned Shane Jordan, it was Mahlers turn to make a dazzling play up the middle to rob Brandon Paritz with a spin and throw to sophomore 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS).
The Wolverines added to the lead in the sixth, scoring five unearned runs and chasing Stetson starter Chris Ingoglia (6-2). U-M loaded the bases as Kunkel reached on an error, senior 3B A.J. Scheidt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) doubled to right and Schmidt drew a walk.
Rose walked with the bases loaded to drive in the first run, Recknagel drilled a three-run double to center and Pickens singled in Recknagel to give Michigan a 10-1 lead.
The Wolverines went to the bench for the final run of the game, as freshman IF Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS) led off the top of the ninth with a pinch double and scored on a ground out to short by pinch hitter Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School) to give the Wolverines a 10-run lead.
Rose had three hits to lead the 17-hit Michigan attack while Abraham, Mahler, Recknagel, VanBuskirk and Scheidt each had two hits. It was Michigans biggest hit output since getting 19 against Ohio State on April 14.
Scheidt has four of Michigan's 23 hits in the first two games of regional action while Abraham, Mahler and Rose each have three hits. Abraham and Pickens have eight-game hitting streaks and Kunkel has a seven-game streak.
All-Big Ten first team starting pitcher sophomore/freshman RHP Chris Fetter (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS), who holds a 5-1 record and a Big Ten leading 1.89 ERA, will pitch for the Wolverines tomorrow. Michigan could play two games on Sunday in the double elimination format.
N O T E S
Michigan connections at the Atlanta Regional: Michelle Teschler, a member of the 2005 Michigan softball national championship team, now working in Atlanta, stopped in at the Stetson game Andrew Parrish, son of former Michigan football coach Stan Parrish and a Saline grad, is working in athletic operations at host Georgia Tech Craig Keilitz, who worked in the Michigan compliance office in the early 1990s and is an associate athletic director in marketing at Wake Forest, is the assistant tournament director of the regional.
Michigan's 11-run outburst vs. Stetson was the most in a regional game since the Wolverines beat Notre Dame 11-5 in 1999 and the most in a post-season game since beating Minnesota 11-9 in the Big Ten Tournament last weekend.
Senior 3B A.J. Scheidt was 2-for-5 vs. Stetson with a pair of doubles for his second two-hit game of the regional, pushing his career hit total to 200. He has 42 career doubles and 64 career multi-hit games.
Michigan's leading hitters after 63 games are: 1B Nate Recknagel (79-for-215, .367), CF Eric Rose (70-for-208, .337), C Jeff Kunkel (74-for-225, .329), SS Leif Mahler (68-for-207, .329), LF/DH Adam Abraham (52-for-166, .313), 2B/OF Doug Pickens (68-for-228, .298), RF Derek VanBuskirk (56-for-197, .284) and 3B A.J. Scheidt (58-for-205, .283).
Contact: Jim Schneider (734-763-4423)
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hammond, Paul (8-4)
L: Chris Ingoglia (6-2)
Batting:
2B: Mahler, Leif 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 1 ; Christian, Jason 1 ; Scheidt, A.J. 2
HR: Rose, Eric 1
RBI: Rose, Eric 3 ; Mahler, Leif 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 3 ; Pickens, Doug 1 ; VanBuskirk, Derek 1 ; Roblin, Brad 1 ; Schmidt, Mike 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rose, Eric 3 ; Mahler, Leif 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 1 ; Abraham, Adam 1 ; Christian, Jason 1 ; Kunkel, Jeff 2 ; VanBuskirk, Derek 1 ; Schmidt, Mike 1
SB: Rose, Eric 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 1
CS: Schmidt, Mike 1
Batting:
2B: Braedyn Pruitt 1
RBI: Chris Johnson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Braedyn Pruitt 1
HBP: Chris Johnson 1
