
Michigan Defeats Oakland in Wilpon Complex Opener
3/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wilpon Complex)
Score: Michigan 7, Oakland 4
Records: U-M (9-6), OU (2-10)
Next Game: Friday, March 21 -- vs. IPFW (Wilpon Complex), 3:05 p.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In the first game played at the Wilpon Baseball Complex, home to historic Ray Fisher Stadium, the University of Michigan baseball team claimed a 7-4 victory over Oakland University Thursday afternoon (March 20). Freshman RHP Travis Smith(Austin, Texas/Stephen F. Austin HS) went 5.0 innings with six strikeouts for the win, and senior C Nate Recknagel(Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) paced Baseball America's No. 25-ranked Wolverine offense with a solo home run and two runs batted in.
Smith, who will be remembered as the man who threw the first pitch in Michigan's new facility, fell behind 1-0 after the top of the first inning. Following a walk to the leadoff hitter and a sacrifice bunt, Dan Ryan singled in the first run of the game with a flare into leftfield. That, however, would be the only runner to cross the plate against the 6-5 freshman starter.
U-M knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning. Senior LF Derek VanBuskirk(St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) opened the inning and reached on a error by the Golden Grizzlies third baseman, his second of three on the day. Sophomore 1B Mike Dufek(Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) then walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a double steal to put runners on second and third, junior 2B Kevin Cislo(Novi, Mich./Novi HS) walked to load the bases.
With the bases juiced, fifth-year senior SS Leif Mahler(Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) grounded the ball down the third base line. The Oakland third baseman tried to scoop it and tag the base for the forceout, but he bobbled the ball, allowing Dufek to slide in safely at third and VanBuskirk to stroll across home plate to make the score 1-1.
Smith controlled the pace of the game over the next three innings, compiling six strikeouts and allowing just one other hit. The six K's are a new career high, as he moved his season total to 11 and improved his record to 2-0.
The Wolverines added three runs in the bottom of the fifth when their bats started to come alive. Cislo began the inning, reaching on a fielding error and advancing to second after Mahler was hit in the side. Following a double steal, Recknagel earned his third game-winning RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to left that brought home Cislo.
The Wolverines were leading 2-1 but were still hitless until junior 3B Adam Abraham(Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) hit a shot off the wall in left-centerfield that scored Mahler and had Abraham standing on second base. VanBuskirk followed with a run-scoring single to left-center.
Michigan held a 6-1 lead heading into the eighth, but the Grizzlies clawed back with three in the top half of the inning, before freshman RHP Tyler Burgoon(Defiance, Ohio/Defiance HS) came in and shut the door when he caught Aramani Johnson looking to end the threat.
With two outs in the eighth inning Recknagel came to the plate needing a hit to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. With a 1-2 count, the senior did just that, as he lifted a high flyball over the left-centerfield wall for his seventh home run of the year and the first homer hit in the Wilpon Baseball Complex.
The shot put U-M up 7-4, and Burgoon preserved the lead for his second career save, getting Adam Stafford to fly out to Kenny Fellows(Holt, Mich./Holt HS) to end the game.
The Wolverines will return to action Friday afternoon (March 21) when they host the IPFW Mastodons at 3:05 p.m.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Smith, Travis (2-0)
L: G. Welke (0-2)
S: Burgoon, Tyler (2)
Batting:
2B: D.J. Jarrad 1
RBI: D. Ryan 1 ; D.J. Jarrad 2
SH: A. Stafford 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Wilson 1 ; A. Stafford 1 ; D. Ryan 1 ; R. Merkle 1
SB: E. Ogg 1 ; D. Ryan 1
HBP: A. Stafford 1 ; J. Kozuch 1

Batting:
2B: Abraham, Adam 1
HR: Recknagel, Nate 1
RBI: Mahler, Leif 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 2 ; Abraham, Adam 1 ; VanBuskirk, Derek 1 ; Dufek, Mike 1
SH: Cislo, Kevin 1
SF: Mahler, Leif 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cislo, Kevin 1 ; Mahler, Leif 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 1 ; Abraham, Adam 2 ; VanBuskirk, Derek 1 ; Fellows, Kenny 1
SB: Cislo, Kevin 2 ; Mahler, Leif 2 ; VanBuskirk, Derek 1 ; Dufek, Mike 1 ; Fellows, Kenny 1
HBP: Mahler, Leif 1 ; Recknagel, Nate 1