Michigan
Hawaii
Michigan Thumps Hawaii, Falls to Arizona State in the Desert
3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site: Surprise, Ariz. (Texas Rangers Field #6 and Parker Field)
Score: #18 Michigan 11, Hawaii 5; #1 Arizona State 8, #18 Michigan 4
Records: U-M (4-3), Hawaii (5-5), ASU (6-0)
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 7 -- vs. Georgia Southern at Keith LaClaire Tournament (Greenville, S.C.), 1 p.m.
Boxscores: Game 1 | Game 2
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The University of Michigan baseball team split the final day of the ASU Coca-Cola Classic on Saturday (March 1). The Wolverines, ranked 18th by USA Today/ESPN and eighth by Baseball America, opened the day with an 11-5 win over Hawaii before falling 8-4 to No. 1 Arizona State at Parker Field in the Texas Rangers' Spring Training facility. Michigan led the Sun Devils as late as the seventh inning, but ASU used a late rally to avert the upset.
Fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler(Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep), senior C/1B Nate Recknagel(Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) and junior 3B/P Adam Abraham(Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South) all had four hits on the day. Junior DH Zach Putnam(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and junior SS Jason Christian(Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) led the Wolverines with four RBI each.
Senior/junior P Chris Fetter(Carmel, Ind./Carmel) earned the victory over Hawaii, allowing just one earned run in six and two-thirds innings. Fetter struck out three batters, allowed seven hits and issued no walks. Putnam allowed just two runs in three innings in the start against Arizona State, striking out three in the no-decision.
It did not take long for the Wolverines to get on the board in the first game of the day. With Mahler aboard in the first inning, Recknagel took the first pitch he saw over the leftfield fence to give U-M a 2-0 lead. Hawaii bounced back with two runs in the home half of the first and was threatening to score more in the second when a two-out strikeout by Fetter stranded two Rainbow runners.
Michigan regained the lead in the top of the third inning to take a 3-2 advantage. With the bases loaded and two outs, Abraham laced a single up the middle to score Mahler. Recknagel was en route to the plate to make it two, but a cutoff throw by the second baseman caught a Wolverine off base and ended the play with only one run across.
The Wolverines loaded the bases again the following inning with one out, generating four runs in the frame to take a 7-2 lead. Christian came to the plate with one out and a U-M player at every base and ripped a ball into the rightfield corner. Senior LF Derek VanBuskirk(St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair), sophomore 1B/P Mike Dufek(Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) and freshman OF Ryan LaMarre(Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi) came around to score easily as Christian raced to third with a triple. Mahler was next up and, with Christian running home on the pitch, squared to bunt. The fifth-year senior got his bat on the ball as it came straight for his head, putting it in play and allowing Christian to score.
In the seventh inning VanBuskirk became the second player for Michigan to empty the base paths as the Wolverines improved to 3-for-3 in the game with the bases loaded. VanBuskirk launched a ball off the centerfield wall, just below the 400-foot sign, clearing the bases of Recknagel, Putnam and Abraham. VanBuskirk scored two batters later on a Dufek double to right-center to give U-M an 11-2 lead. Riding the momentum, Michigan flashed the leather in the bottom of the seventh inning. Abraham made a stab at a line drive followed by a long throw for the first out and Christian made a diving stop for out number two in the frame.
Michigan struck first in the nightcap as well, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in its first trip to the plate. With Mahler and Recknagel aboard with singles, Putnam deposited a hit that bounced just inside the rightfield line for a two-base hit, driving in his two teammates. The Sun Devils responded in kind, scoring twice in the home half of the first inning to knot the game at 2-2.
The Wolverines held the top-ranked team in the country at bay, allowing just one run in the fifth inning to stay within one at 3-2. In the seventh inning, the Wolverines struck for two more runs to take a 4-3 lead. Mahler found a spot behind first base that eluded the charging infielder and rightfielder, allowing the tying run to come home in the form of LaMarre. Putnam came up two batters later and unleashed a laser through the right side to knock in another run and give U-M the lead. Arizona State was once again quick to respond, putting up five runs in the home half of the inning to put the game out of reach.
Michigan will head to Greenville, N.C., for the Keith LaClaire Tournament next weekend (Friday through Sunday, March 7-9). The Wolverines will open up against Georgia Southern on Friday at 1 p.m.
N O T E S
Fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler was 3-for-5 in the 8-4 loss to Arizona State on Saturday, giving him hits in all seven games this season and extending his overall hitting streak to a career-best 12 games (including five games at the end of the 2006 season prior to being sidelined for the entire 2007 season due to injury).
Mahler has four multi-hit games this season and 41 for his career. Saturday's three-hit game is the 12th of his career.
Junior RHP/DH Zach Putnam made his 2008 pitching debut Saturday vs. Arizona State and worked three innings, allowing three hits and two runs with three strikeouts. Putnam was 3-for-4 with three RBI, and his seventh-inning single gave the Wolverines a short-lived 4-3 lead over the top-ranked Sun Devils. Putnam leads the team with 13 RBI. Putnam has 28 career multi-hit games with four this season, including two of his six career three-hit games.
Michigan went 0-2 against No. 1 Arizona State. The last time U-M faced a top-ranked team was last year in the NCAA Regional in Nashville when the Wolverines took two of three games from No. 1 Vanderbilt to win the regional.
Michigan has collected at least 10 hits in six of the seven games this season.
Senior co-captain Derek VanBuskirk had two doubles in Saturday's first game against Hawaii, giving him four doubles in the two games played at Nolan Ryan Field vs. Portland (Friday) and Hawaii. VanBuskirk shares the team lead in doubles (5) with Mahler.
Sophomore 1B/RHP Mike Dufek had the first multi-hit game of his career when he went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and reached four times (with a walk) in the win over Hawaii on Saturday. Four of Dufek's five hits have been doubles.
Junior 3B/RHP Adam Abraham had three hits vs. Hawaii and a single in the second game vs. Arizona State to extend his hitting streak to seven games this season. He has 35 career multiple-hit games with nine three-hit games.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
