East Carolina Sweeps Wolverines in Greenville

Saturday, March 17

Greenville, N.C.

1:00 PM

Michigan

6-5

East Carolina

14-6

Michigan

East Carolina

3/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Site: Greenville, N.C. (Clark-LeClair Stadium)
Scores: East Carolina 2, Michigan 1; East Carolina 3, Michigan 2
Records: U-M (6-6), ECU (15-6)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Mar. 23 -- vs. Oakland (Ray Fisher Stadium ), 3:00 p.m.

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Host East Carolina ran its winning streak to nine games, as the University of Michigan baseball team dropped a pair of one-run games to ECU Saturday afternoon (March 17) in Clark-LeClair Stadium.

ECU (15-6) never trailed in the opener, as 1B Stephen Batts was the offensive star and RHP T.J. Hose (4-2) collected his fourth win of the season. In the night cap, the Wolverines (6-6) never trailed until ECU LF Brandon Henderson's two out game-winning single snapped a 2-2 tie in the 12th inning.

ECU closer Shane Mathews (1-2) took the win in the second game, working the final 2.2 innings with seven strikeouts. The five ECU pitchers fanned 19 Wolverines in the second game.

Senior OF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School) paced the Wolverines in the second game with three singles and a double.

The Wolverines grabbed the lead in the first inning of game two, as sophomore SS Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) reached on a bunt single and stole second base. Senior Roblin beat out a bunt for his first single and also stole second. base. Sophomore DH Zach Putnam (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) -- the losing pitcher in the opener -- lined a single to left to drive in Christian, but ECU's lefty starter Dustin Sasser retired the last two batters to end the inning.

Senior RHP Andrew Hess (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central H.S.) allowed a pair of singles by CF Harrison Eldridge and SS Dale Mollenhauer to open the bottom of the first. Hess made a great play, turning a sac bunt attempt into a force at third, but Hess then threw the ball into centerfield on a failed pick off attempt for an error, allowing ECU to tie the game on a groundout by Ryan Tousley. Hess allowed four hits and one earned run in his six innings of work.

Sasser settled down in the second inning, allowing a walk to freshman RF Alan Oaks (White Lake, Mich./Divine Child) mixed in with three strikeouts.

Putnam had a two-out single in the third inning -- his sixth multi-hit game of the year -- but sophomore 3B Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South) lined a shot up the middle that pitcher Sasser grabbed as it was going between his legs; the play retired the side. It was the closest Abraham would get to extending his hit streak to 11 games.

The Wolverines rallied in the fifth, as co-captain CF Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) opened the inning with a walk and moved to third on singles by Christian and Roblin. Junior 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) chased starter Sasser with a single to right, giving U-M a 2-1 lead with the bases loaded and no outs. RHP Josh Dowdy came in and retired Putnam, Abraham and catcher Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice) to get out of the jam; the Wolverines headed to the bottom of the fifth with a 2-1 lead.

Sophomore 2B Kevin Cislo (Novi, Mich./Novi) opened the sixth with a triple -- his first extra base hit of the season -- but with one out he tried to steal on a pitch out, resulting in a missed squeeze attempt with Rose at the plate.

After a 1-2-3 fifth inning, Hess walked Batts to open the sixth inning, and SS Christian made a great play to get a force on a hit-and-run grounder up the middle. With two outs and a two-strike count, 2B Drew Schieber was hit by a pitch. DH Jake Dean singled to tie the game at 2-2 and Schieber was caught in a rundown on an 8-5-4 play -- Rose to Abraham to Cislo -- to end the inning after the run had scored.

Junior/sophomore RHP Chris Fetter (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), who lost his weekend start due to the Friday rainout, replaced Hess in the seventh inning and gave up a leadoff single to 3B Corey Kemp. A bunt put Kemp on second, but Fetter got out of the inning with a fly to center and a line drive to Recknagel at first.

The Wolverines had runners in scoring position in the eighth, 10th and 11th innings, but the strikeouts got the ECU pitchers out of the jams.

ECU SS Dale Mollenhauer reached on a bunt single off Fetter in the 12th inning, and Henderson's game-winning hit came off sophomore LHP Mike Wilson (Pickering, Ont./Pine Ridge Secondary). Wilson had fanned the first batter he faced before the two-out winner.

ECU first baseman Batts paced the East Carolina Pirates in the 2-1 win in the opener; he drove in the game-winning run in the first inning, scored the insurance run with two stolen bases and an error in the fifth inning and on defense he made a third out scoop in the sixth that kept the Wolverine from tying the score.

The host Pirates scored in the first inning of the opener, as CF Eldridge reached on a bad hop infield single off the chest of Christian. He moved to second on a sac bunt and scored on a hit and run single by first baseman Batts.

Freshman catcher Chris Berset (Vienna, Va./The Heights School) collected the first Wolverine hit of the opener with a single to start the third inning, but he was forced by junior/sophomore Kenny Fellows (Holt, Mich./Holt) and senior CF Rose lined into a double play to end the inning.

The Wolverines had a chance in the fifth when sophomore 3B Abraham doubled with one out to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, but ECU's T.J. Hose (4-2) retired the next two batters to keep the 1-0 led.

The Pirates scored again in the fifth inning and Batts did it on his own as he singled to left, stole second and third and scored as catcher Berset's throw sailed past Abraham for a throwing error.

The Wolverines scored in the sixth, as Fellows led off with a walk and Rose had an infield single to deep short as Fellows beat a late throw to second. Christian's attempt at a sac bunt turned into a 1-5 force at third, but senior RF Roblin walked to load the bases with one out.

The Wolverines scored as Hose threw a wild pitch, but Hose fanned Recknagel and Putnam grounded to short to end the inning with U-M trailing 2-1 and ECU's Batts made a fine defensive scoop to retire Putnam.

ECU 3B Schieber singled off Putnam to start the sixth inning, the sixth-straight inning the Pirates had a leadoff single; but after a pair of two-out walks loaded the bases, senior/junior RHP Michael Powers (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake) replaced Putnam, and retired clean-up hitter Ryan Tousley with a fly to right

Roblin had four hits in the doubleheader and Berset, Putnam and Christian each had two hits; no Wolverine had a hit it both games.

Michigan opens the home schedule Friday (March 23) against Oakland University at Fisher Stadium. The game is set for a 3 p.m. start. Zach Putnam is scheduled to start against Oakland, which is coached by his older brother Dylan Putnam. U-M's Putnam is 2-2 with a 1.88 ERA after Saturday's 2-1 loss to East Carolina

N O T E S

Senior OF Brad Roblin collected the first four-hit game of his career in the second game of the doubleheader against East Carolina. He has 35 career multi-hit games in 122 career starts and with two stolen bases at ECU he has 37 for his career.

Sophomore 3B Adam Abraham moved his hit streak to 10 games in the opener, but was 0-for-5 in the second game, only his second game without a hit this season. Freshman catcher Chris Berset was 2-for-3 in the opener and he has hits in back-to-back games, the only current UM hit streak.

Michigan's leading hitters after 12 games are: SS Jason Christian (18-for-46, .391), 3B/P Adam Abraham (16-for-47, .340), OF Brad Roblin (16-for-48, .333), P/OF Zach Putnam (17-for-52, .327), and 1B Nate Recknagel (13-for-50, .260).

Contact: Jim Schneider (734-763-4423)