Notes and Quotes: #17 Michigan 11, Northwestern 2
5/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
N O T E S
• Michigan (42-12, 26-5 Big Ten) used Saturday's 11-2 win over Northwestern in the final conference game of the season to set the Big Ten record for wins in a season (26). The Wolverines broke the record of 25 set by Ohio State in 1994 and matched by the Buckeyes again in 1999.
• Michigan's three seniors -- second baseman Leif Mahler, first baseman Nate Recknagel and leftfielder Derek VanBuskirk were honored on the field prior to the start of Saturday'sgame.
• Fifth-year senior Leif Mahler was 2-for-3 with a walk in his final regular-season game at Fisher Stadium in the Wilpon Baseball Complex. Mahler, who leads the team with 16 doubles, notched his 19th multiple-hit game in 2008, giving him 56 career multiple-hit games. Mahler ranks 10th on U-M's all-time hit list with 216 hits
• With his start against the Wildcats on Saturday, Mahler has played in 213 games as a Wolverine and is tied for seventh place on U-M's all-time games played list with Jason Alcaraz (213, 1996-99). He is one game shy of a fifth-place tie with Mike Cervenak (214, 1996-99) and Brock Koman (214, 2000-03).
• Senior leftfielder Derek VanBuskirk was 3-for-3 vs. Northwestern on Saturday with a double and three RBI. The three-hit game against the Wildcats was VanBuskirk's fourth of the season and his 16th multi-hit game of the year. He has 48 career multi-hit games. He is fifth on the team with a career-best total of 41 RBI, giving him 96 career RBI.
• Senior first baseman Nate Recknagel was 0-for-3 with two walks in Saturday's win vs. Northwestern. Recknagel, leads the team with 20 multi-hit games in 2008, has hits in 44 of U-M's 54 games this season and in 143 of 177 games in his career at U-M. For the season, Recknagel leads the Wolverines in hitting at .381 (75-for-197), hits (75), home runs (23), RBI (68) and slugging (.787). Recknagel ranks sixth on U-Ms career RBI list (165) and seventh in career hits (236).
• Junior centerfielder Kevin Cislo was 1-for-2 with a two-run triple and his team-leading 17th stolen base of the season. Cislo finished off the Big Ten season with a team-leading .415 (34-for-82) average in conference play. Cislo has led U-M in Big Ten play in each of the last two seasons after hitting .421 (40-for-95) in 2007. His two-year Big Ten only average is .418 (74-for-177).
• Freshman outfielder Ryan LaMarre was 2-for-4 vs. Northwestern on Saturday (May 17) and his two-out RBI-single in the second inning proved to be the first game-winning RBI of his career.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Rich Maloney
On setting the Big Ten Conference wins record ... "I told the boys that it's something special. Because the Big Ten is going to 24 games next year, I think this is a record that may never be broken. This is definitely something for these kids to be proud of -- a 26-5 record -- and something I will remember the rest of my coaching career."
On the upcoming Big Ten tournament ... "I think we are as prepared as we can be. It is definitely an advantage to be hosting the tournament. Being able to sleep in your own bed is always a positive."
U-M Senior Leftfielder Derek VanBuskirk
On the series vs. Northwestern ... "I think the series went really well. We just couldn't get are bats going in the second game yesterday, but anytime you can win three out of four games, you got to be happy"
On the upcoming Big Ten tournament ... "I feel really confident about our chances. We just need to keep doing what we've been doing."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior Second Baseman Leif Mahler
On setting the Big Ten win record ... "It feels pretty awesome. It wasn't what we were setting out to do but breaking the record along -- along with winning the Big Ten title -- makes my last season here special."
U-M Senior First Baseman Nate Recknagel
On playing his last regular season game at home ... "I was definitely a little sad about it. But we still have the Big Ten Tournament, and, hopefully, we will host an NCAA Regional. I'm just happy the team is in place to make a run in the postseason."
