Michigan's Season Ends With NCAA Loss to Vanderbilt

Sunday, June 4

Atlanta, Ga.

1:00 PM

Michigan

43-21

Vanderbilt

38-26

Vanderbilt

Michigan

6/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Vanderbilt scored two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to cap a 5-4 comeback win over the University of Michigan baseball team and eliminate the Wolverines in NCAA Atlanta Regional action Sunday afternoon (June 4) at Russ Chandler Stadium.

With the loss, Michigan (43-21) closes out the 2006 season having collected both the Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championships while winning 43 games, the most since the 1989 Wolverines won 49 games.

Michigan rallied for a 3-2 lead with a pair of home runs in the sixth inning, but the lead was short-lived as the Commodores (38-26) advanced to play Georgia Tech in the regional finals.

Sophomore 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) hit his eighth homer of the year to put the Wolverines on the scoreboard and cut Vanderbilt's lead to 2-1 in the sixth inning.

Fifth-year senior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) singled following the Recknagel blast and sophomore 2B Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice HS) homered to give Michigan a 3-2 lead.

The lead lasted just three pitches as Vandy's Alex Feinberg doubled on the first pitch of the seventh inning. After a wild pitch advanced the runner to third,  Feinberg scored when Kunkel slid to get the ball and his foot hit the top step of the dugout. It was ruled out of play and the tying run was allowed to score.

David Macias doubled before fifth-year senior Ali Husain (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) replaced starter Chris Fetter (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS). After ball one to Pedro Alvarez, the decision was to walk him intentionally, and on ball four Husain threw a wild pitch. Husain then hit Ryan Flaherty to load the bases and freshman DH Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) was brought in to pitch.

Brian Hernandez popped the ball into short right and sophomore Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) made a great diving catch, but Macias came home with the go ahead run as Vanderbilt took a 4-3 lead.

Michigan put two runners on base with two outs in the seventh, as Recknagel was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and Kunkel collected his third hit, but Abraham forced Kunkel for the final out of the frame.

Ryan Davis homered with one out in the top of the eighth, his second against the Wolverines in three days, to make the score 5-3. Feinberg singled following the homer but was thrown out by Kunkel trying to steal. Brad French singled off Abraham's shin and sophomore/freshman Ben Jenzen (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS) came on to pitch and retired Macias on one pitch as he hit a fly to junior CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield HS).

Michigan scored once in the eighth as VanBuskirk and senior 3B A.J. Scheidt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) singled with one out and the run scored as senior LF Mike Schmidt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) bounced into a force play and VanBuskirk scored on a throwing error for the final 5-4 margin.

Vanderbilt had opened the first against Fetter with singles by Macias and Alvarez, but Fetter got out of the inning with a fly ball, a pick off of Macias at second and another fly out with Rose making both outfield put outs.

Junior SS Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep), who made the pick off tag in the top of the first, singled with one out in the bottom of the first for his fourth hit of the tournament and his 11th hit in the past two Atlanta regionals.

Pickens singled to open up the bottom of the second inning and he stole second base. With two outs, Schmidt beat out a bunt for a single pushing Pickens to third. Rose hit a fly to short right, where Ryan Davis made a diving catch for the third out.

French doubled to lead off Vanderbilt's third inning and he moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. With Alvarez at the plate, he swung and missed Fetter's first pitch that replays showed hit the batter. The ball deflected away and it was ruled a wild pitch, as French scored the first run of the game.

After several minutes of delay while all four umpires ruled that it was a wild pitch, Alvarez hit the next pitch for his team-leading school record 21st homer of the year for a 2-0 Commodore lead.

Kunkel doubled with two outs in the third, his 15th two-bagger of the year, to extend his postseason hit streak to eight games, but Abraham grounded to third to end the inning.

Macias singled to open the Vanderbilt fifth inning and the Wolverines turned a strikeout, throw-out double play as Alavrez struck out and Kunkel fired a strike to Mahler for the second out, and then Flaherty hit a fly to Rose in center.

Hernandez led off the sixth with a single, the fifth time in the first six innings that Vanderbilt's leadoff man reached base. de la Osa moved him to second with a sacrafice bunt, but Fetter fanned Shea Robin and Ryan Davis to end the inning.

Vanderbilt starter Ty Davis had 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth and allowed just a Kunkel double since the second inning while recording three of his six strikeouts in the two innings, but Recknagel hit his eighth homer to lead off the sixth inning to get the Wolverines on the scoreboard. Kunkel followed with a single to left for his second hit of the game and Pickens hit his seventh homer to give the Wolverines the 3-2 lead.

Recknagel doubled with one out in the ninth, but Vanderbilt's Casey Weathers retired Kunkel and Abraham to close out the win and record his third save.

N O T E S

More Michigan connections at the Atlanta Regional: Jack Ritter, member of the 1953 Wolverine national championship team was on hand Sunday Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall was an assistant coach for the Wolverines from 1980-87.

A.J. Scheidt and Jeff Kunkel each had five hits to lead the Wolverines in the regional action, with Scheidt hitting .385 (5-for-13) while Nate Recknagel and Derek VanBuskirk each hit .364 (4-for-11). Recknagel had two doubles and a homer and four RBI

Doug Pickens closed the season with a nine-game hitting streak and Jeff Kunkel had an eight-game streak with hits in 79 of his last 100 games.

Ali Husain made his 76th career pitching appearance to tie Mike Ignasiak (76, 1985-88) for third place on Michigan's career appearance list.

  Michigan's final leading hitters after 64 games are: 1B Nate Recknagel (81-for-218, .372), C Jeff Kunkel (77-for-230, .335),CF Eric Rose (70-for-213, .329), SS Leif Mahler (69-for-212, .325), LF/DH Adam Abraham (52-for-171, .304), 2B/OF Doug Pickens (70-for-232, .302), RF Derek VanBuskirk (58-for-201, .289) and  3B A.J. Scheidt (59-for-209, .282).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423