Michigan Completes Weekend Sweep With Win at Illinois

Sunday, April 13

Champaign, Ill.

1:05 PM CT

Michigan

22-8, 0

Illinois

18-12, 0

Michigan

Illinois

Michigan Completes Weekend Sweep With Win at Illinois

4/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Site: Champaign, Ill. (Illinois Field)
Score: Michigan 7, Illinois 4
Records: U-M (22-8, 11-1 Big Ten), Illinois (18-12, 6-6 Big Ten)
Next Game: Tuesday, April 15 -- vs. Eastern Michigan (Wilpon Baseball Complex.), 6:35 p.m.

Boxscore

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Freshman RHP Travis Smith(Austin, Texas/Austin HS) pitched 7.0 strong innings for the University of Michigan baseball team, as the Wolverines completed the weekend sweep of Illinois with a 7-4 victory in Sunday's 'get-a-way' game (April 13) at Illinois Field. The win improves U-M's Big Ten Conference record to 11-1 and keeps the Maize and Blue atop the conference standings.

Smith threw 98 pitches, 58 for strikes, and threw a first pitch strike to 26-of-30 batters he faced on the day. Through four innings of work the freshman had only thrown 30 pitches and had faced only two over the minimum.

The Wolverines started off the game -- like they have all series long -- with 1-0 lead after the first inning. Junior SS Jason Christian(Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS) belted a full-count pitch over the right-fielders head and off the wall for a stand up double to lead off the game. Christian came around to score on the next at bat when junior CF Kevin Cislo(Novi, Mich./Novi HS) laid down a sac bunt that Illini starter Aaron Martin fielded and threw wildy into the fence along the first baseline. The error brought Christian around third and across home plate for the 1-0 lead and sent Cislo down to second.

Martin settled to get out of the inning gave up another run in the top of the second. Following walks to senior LF Derek VanBuskirk(St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) and sophomore Alan Oaks(White Lake, Mich./Divine Child HS) to lead off the second, sophomore C Chris Berset(Vienna, Va./Heights School) placed a sac bunt down the first baseline to advance the runners up to second and third.

Fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler(Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) then lifted a sac fly into left field, bringing VanBuskirk in from third for the 2-0 advantage. A walk to Christian and an infield single by Cislo loaded the bases with two outs, but Martin got senior 1B Nate Recknagel(Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) to fly out to right to end the threat.

Michigan made it a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning with four more runs in the frame. Again the inning started with a leadoff walk -- this time issued to Berset. In the ensuing at bat, Mahler acted like he was going to lay down a bunt, but pulled it back at the last and rifled the ball into right field to move Berset over to third. Christian then singled into left field to drive home Berset for his fourth straight game with an RBI. Mahler came home on the fielders choice off the bat of freshman CF Ryan LaMarre(Jackson, Mich.,/Lumen Christi HS), who replaced Cislo earlier in the ballgame.

A throwing error by the Illini third baseman advanced Christian to third. Recknagel brought him home on for the final run of the inning and the 6-0 Wolverine lead. The Wolverines added another run in the fifth for a 7-0 lead when LaMarre drove home Mahler, who doubled two batters earlier.

Though the Illini scored four runs over the final four innings, Smith and senior/junior Michael Powers(St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) combined to finish the ballgame and seal the weekend sweep.

The Wolverines return home for their next two games, hosting intracountry rival Eastern Michigan University Tuesday evening (April 15) at 6:35 p.m. inside the Wilpon Baseball Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium.

N O T E S

Michigan topped Illinois 7-4 on Sunday to complete the weekend sweep as the Wolverines have won seven of eight Big Ten road games over the past two weekends to remain on top the conference race after three weeks of play with an 11-1 (.917) record. U-M gained a game in the standings on Purdue as the host Boilermakers dropped a 13-3 decision to Penn State. Second place Purdue (9-3) is the one Big Ten team that Michigan does not play in the regular season this year. In other Big Ten play Sunday afternoon Iowa scored five times in the last two innings to beat Indiana 10-5, the third win of the weekend for the Hawkeyes. In doubleheader action Minnesota topped Northwestern 5-4 in the first game of the weekend and host NU won the second game 10-0, while Ohio State edged Michigan State 5-4 in game one and MSU took the second game was 1-0 on a bases loaded walk in extra innings. The OSU-MSU series will be a three-game series, while Minnesota and Northwestern are scheduled to play two games Monday (Apr. 14) to complete a four-game series.

Big Ten Standings (After 4-13-08): 1. Michigan 11-1 (.917); 2. Purdue 9-3 (.750); 3. Ohio State 7-4 (.636); 4. Illinois 6-6 (.500); 5. Minnesota 4-6 & Northwestern 4-6 (.400); 7. Michigan State 4-7 (.364); 8.Indiana 4-8 (.333), Penn State 4-8 & Iowa 4-8 (.333).

The Wolverines collected six double plays on the weekend after turning just 18 in the first 26 games of the year ... In Sunday's 7-4 win the game-winning run scored on an error so for the first time all season the Wolverines did not have a game-winning RBI.

Junior SS Jason Christian was 2-for-4 in the win on Sunday at Illinois giving him three multi-hit games in the series and six for the season. Christian has 31 career multi-hit games. Christian was 7-for-19 (.368) in the Illinois series.

Freshman RHP Travis Smith pitched seven innings for the second time this season allowing seven hits and two earned runs to earn his first Big Ten win. Smith is 3-1 with a 3.41 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.

Senior/junior RHP Michael Powers pitched the final two innings Sunday at Illinois to close out the win in a non-save situation. Powers pitched six innings in the series allowing eight hits and one run and he saved the Friday win. He leads the team with 13 pitching appearances in 2008 and he ranks in a tie for 16th on U-M's career appearance list at 56 with a pair of former Major League pitchers - Gary Wayne (56, 1981-84) and Steve Ontiveros (56, 1980-82).

Senior 1B Nate Recknagel had an eighth inning double to move his current hit streak to five games, giving him hits in 27 of U-M's 30 games played this season with hits in 126 of his 155 career games as a Wolverine. For the season Recknagel is leading the team hitting - .394 (43-for-109), runs (29), homers (11), RBI (36), slugging (.761) and on base percentage (.473).

Junior CF Kevin Cislo singled in the second inning before leaving Sunday's win at Illinois as he extended his shared team-leading current hit streak to seven games along with P/DH Zach Putnam. Putnam moved his streak to seven games with a third inning single. Cislo, who leads U-M in Big Ten action with a .463 (19-for-41) average was 7-for-11 (.636) in the weekend series at Illinois. Putnam was 7-for-19 (.368) for the series with a double and three home runs.

Fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler was 2-for-4 with a double and a sac fly in the Sunday game at Illinois giving him seven hits in the series. Mahler leads the Wolverines with 10 doubles. He collected his seventh multi-hit game on Sunday and his 44th career multiple-hit game.

Freshman OF Ryan LaMarre came off the bench in each game of the series and was 3-for-6 (.500), scoring twice and driving in four runs against Illinois. LaMarre is hitting .300 (6-for-20) in Big Ten play.

Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 647-4423