Michigan
36-12, 18-5
Penn State
24-23, 16-9
Penn State Sweeps Wolverines to Win Big Ten Series
5/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ray Fisher Stadium)
Scores: Penn State 9, #24 Michigan 3; Penn State 15, #24 Michigan 5
Records: U-M (36-13, 18-6 Big Ten), PSU (25-23, 17-9 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, May 15 -- vs. Notre Dame (Comstock Park, Mich.), 7:00 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Penn State used a 37-hit attack to sweep Sunday's (May 13) Mother's Day doubleheader from the University of Michigan, 9-3 and 15-5, to stay alive in the battle for the Big Ten baseball regular-season title.
PSU veterans 2B Matt Cavagnaro, C/DH Joe Blackburn and 1B Cory Wine each had five hits in the doubleheader sweep for Penn State (25-23, 17-9 Big Ten) over the host Wolverines (36-13, 18-6 Big Ten).
Penn State won the last three games of the series for the first series loss of the season for the Wolverines, and the three-game losing streak is also a season high for U-M. The Wolverines had not dropped three games in a conference series since the first weekend of conference play against Northwestern March 31-April 2, 2006.
Penn State hosts Ohio State in the final weekend of action, while the first-place Wolverines travel to Iowa and second-place Minnesota heads to Indiana.
In the opener, PSU used a squeeze-bunt single by LF Brian Ernst to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning against U-M junior/sophomore RHP Chris Fetter (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) and moved the lead to 5-0 when the Nittany Lions hits for the cycle as a team in the fourth inning Wine tripling to start the inning. In that fourth inning PSU added two doubles and a single, and CF Garrett Fields hit a two-run homer, his first of the season. Fetter (6-2) took the loss, working 3.2 innings while allowing 10 hits and five runs.
The Wolverines reached the scoreboard as sophomore DH Zach Putnam (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) doubled to start the fourth inning and scored on an infield grounder by junior RF Doug Pickens (West Bloomfield, Mich./Brother Rice). Michigan scored twice in the fifth inning of the seven-inning contest with sophomore 3B Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) and Pickens driving in the runs with singles. Pickens and Putnam each had two hits to lead the Wolverines in the opener.
PSU added three runs in the top of the seventh for the final 9-3 margin in the first game.
Penn State scored twice in the top of the first in the nine-inning second game off U-M freshman LHP Jeff DeCarlo (Medford, Mass./St. John's Prep) as PSU collected a walk and three singles after two outs. Michigan cut the deficit in half when sophomore SS Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) walked to lead off the first inning, stole second base, and eventually scored on a passed ball.
PSU chased DeCarlo (1-1) after a three-run homer by Cavagnaro to start the second inning, and he was replaced by 3B Abraham. Abraham pitched five innings before giving up the first three runs in the seven-run, seventh-inning rally for the visitors, matching the most runs scored against U-M in an inning this season. Troy had a seven-run seventh inning against the Wolverines at Mississippi State on March 2.
Michigan had scored single runs in the third, on a single by sophomore Kevin Cislo (Novi, Mich./Novi) and a double by junior 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion), and in the fourth, on a bases-loaded groundout by freshman 2B Anthony Toth (Lorain, Ohio/St. Ignatius).
Cislo made his Wolverine debut in the outfield in the first game when senior co-captain Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) left the game after crashing into the fence in centerfield during the first inning. Rose batted once and played in the field in the second inning but was replaced defensively in the third inning. Cislo made his first start in center in the second game.
Michigan junior/sophomore RHP Clint Tobias (Sunfield, Mich./Lakewood HS) made his Big Ten pitching debut in the eighth inning of the second game and retired all four batters he faced. For the season he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA, having retired all seven batters he has faced.
The Wolverines scored the final two runs of the second game when senior 2B Matt Fisher (Westchester, N.Y./Westlake HS) collected a two-out single -- the first Big Ten hit of his career -- and Christian followed with a two-run homer, his sixth round-tripper of the season.
Cislo and Putnam each had six hits in the series vs. Penn State as the Wolverines collected 37 hits, and Christian scored seven runs while collecting two doubles and two homers.
The Wolverines face Notre Dame in the annual "Baseball Bash" game on Tuesday (May 15) at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, Mich. The game is hosted by the U-M and UND alumni clubs of Grand Rapids, Mich. Freshman LHP Eric Katzman (Harrington Park, N.J./Northern Valley Old Tappan HS), with his 3-2 record and 6.14 ERA, could be the starter in that game.
N O T E S
Penn State's 9-3, 15-5 sweep at Michigan tightened up the Big Ten standings with one weekend of action remaining as the Wolverines head on the road to Iowa with three teams -- Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State -- still in the race for first place. In other Sunday action Minnesota gained a series split with Ohio State, winning 5-3; Iowa gained a split at Purdue, 10-9, holding off a six-run, ninth-inning rally that ended with the bases loaded; Illinois finished its sweep of Indiana, 7-2; and Michigan State completed its sweep of Northwestern, 4-3.
Big Ten Standings (Through 5/13/07)
1. MICHIGAN 18-6 .750 2. Minnesota 16-7 .696 3. Penn State 17-9 .654 4. Iowa 16-10 .615 5. Ohio State 14-12 .538 Illinois 14-12 .538 7. Michigan State 13-14 .481 8. Purdue 11-16 .407 9. Indiana 6-21 .222 10. Northwestern 5-23 .179
Junior RF Doug Pickens extended his current hitting streak to a personal season-best 16 games with a second-inning single in the first game and a fourth-inning single in game two.
Junior 1B Nate Recknagel's fifth-inning single in Sunday's first game vs. Penn State was the 200th hit of his collegiate career.
Michigan's leading hitters after 49 games are: LF Derek VanBuskirk (39-for-98, .398), 2B Kevin Cislo (44-for-119, .370), C/2B/OF Doug Pickens (67-for-184, .364), P/DH Zach Putnam (64-for-176, .364), 1B Nate Recknagel (61-for-177, .345), SS Jason Christian (67-for-196, .342), OF Brad Roblin (Wayland, Mass./Rivers School) at .338 (45-for-133), 3B/P Adam Abraham (63-for-187, .337), and CF Eric Rose (54-for-164, .329).
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Michael Lorentson (3-1)
L: DeCarlo, Jeff (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Scott Gaffney 1 ; Robert Yodice 1
3B: Mike Deese 1
HR: Matt Cavagnaro 1
RBI: Matt Cavagnaro 3 ; Scott Gaffney 2 ; Cory Wine 3 ; Joe Blackburn 1 ; Mike Deese 2 ; Brian Ernst 1 ; Robert Yodice 2
SH: Scott Gaffney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Matt Cavagnaro 2 ; Scott Gaffney 2 ; Cory Wine 1 ; Joe Blackburn 2 ; Mike Deese 1 ; Brian Ernst 1 ; Rick Marlin 2 ; Scott Kelley 1 ; Jim Leitgab 1 ; Robert Yodice 2
HBP: Robert Yodice 1
Batting:
2B: Recknagel, Nate 1
HR: Christian, Jason 1
RBI: Christian, Jason 2 ; Recknagel, Nate 1 ; Toth, Anthony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christian, Jason 2 ; Cislo, Kevin 1 ; Abraham, Adam 1 ; Fisher, Matt 1
SB: Christian, Jason 1
