Michigan
Kentucky
Michigan's NCAA Opener vs. Kentucky Suspended by Rain
5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan baseball team's NCAA Regional opener against Kentucky on Friday night (May 30) was suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning due to inclement weather. The game is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. Saturday (May 31) in the Wilpon Baseball Complex, home to Ray Fisher Stadium.
Michigan, seeded No. 2 in the regional, was leading 5-1 with two outs and runners on first and second when rain and lightning halted the game. After a wait of an hour and 13 minutes, play was suspended for the night.
The winner of this contest will play top-seeded Arizona at 7 p.m. Saturday, while the loser will return to the diamond at 2 p.m. to face No. 4 seed Eastern Michigan in an elimination game. Arizona defeated EMU 13-7 Friday afternoon in the first game of the regional.
Kentucky took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but junior RHP Zach Putnam(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) wriggled out of a jam with the help of a pickoff play at third base, and Michigan responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning. The Wolverines' rally was highlighted by a two-run double by junior SS Jason Christian(Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS) and a suicide squeeze bunt by fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler(Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Rich Maloney
On the postponement due to weather... "It was a fantastic crowd. The facility couldn't take any more people, which was very encouraging. The president of the university was here, several of our donors were here, and then all the fans to support the kids. They played extremely well in the time we had to play. It's too bad because Zach (Putnam) was settling into it real well and he won't be able to go tomorrow to start with, so someone else will have to step in."
On playing two games in one day... "I just think we have to find a way to win the first game -- that's first and foremost. Kentucky is an outstanding hitting team. They had their opportunities early, and fortunately Zach (Putnam) was able to work his way out of it. They're a great hitting team, and it's nice being able to go to bed with the lead, but we don't have the W. Hopefully Adam (Abraham) can find a way to get a hit with the runners in scoring position to get a run. We're just trying to win game one first."
On how important it was to jump on starting pitcher Chris Rusin in the second inning... "The guys executed outstanding. It was important. After they had scored a run, they had a bit of momentum going there, and then we answered right back like we have throughout the year. For five innings we played outstanding baseball. We executed two hit-and-runs, a squeeze play, turned a double play, executed a pickoff. We executed really to the Nth degree for five innings, but five innings doesn't win a game."
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
