Wolverines Win Both Sides of Twinbill With Siena

Saturday, March 7

Port St. Lucie, Fla.

11:00 AM

Michigan

9-2

Siena

1-10

SIENA

Michigan

3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Site: Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Tradition Field Complex)
Results: Michigan 12, Siena 3; Michigan 19, Siena 6
Records: U-M (10-2), Siena (1-11)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 8 -- vs. N.Y. Mets - Exhibition (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), 12:10 p.m.

Boxscores: Game 1 | Game 2 | Postgame Notes

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The University of Michigan baseball team used big days at the plate from freshman Coley Crank(Pinole, Calif./Pinole Valley) and sophomore Ryan LaMarre(Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi) in game one, and great starting pitching from sophomore Travis Smith(Austin, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) and more offense from junior Mike Dufek(Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) in game two, to sweep away Siena 12-3 and 19-6 in doubleheader action on Saturday (March 7) at the Tradition Field Complex.

The Wolverines struck first in game one, scoring a run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Crank -- his first collegiate RBI -- to give the Wolverines and junior starting pitcher EricKatzman(Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) a 1-0 lead.

Siena struck back with a pair of runs in the third inning to briefly take a 2-1 lead before the Michigan bats pounded out nine runs over the next three innings, including a six-run sixth, capped by a two-run homer from LaMarre, to take a 10-2 lead.

The offensive outburst was more than enough for Katzman, who fanned seven Saints through five-and-two-thirds innings of work before giving way to sophomores Tyler Burgoon(Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) and Matt Gerbe(Shelby Township, Mich./Eisenhower), who finished off Katzman's second win of the season.

Michigan added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on LaMarre's second two-run blast of the game as the Wolverines cruised to the 12-3 win.

In game two, Smith made quick work of the Saints, striking out five in the first two innings on his way to eight strikeouts as Michigan cruised to a 19-6 win.

Crank and LaMarre stayed red-hot, going 3-for-3 and 1-for-3, respectively, with LaMarre clubbing his third homer of the day, a three-run shot in the third inning, which put Michigan on top 4-0.

The Maize and Blue offense was far from done, however, scoring five more times in the fourth as Crank, junior third baseman Nick Urban(Whitehall, Mich./Whitehall) and sophomore shortstop Anthony Toth(Lorain, Ohio/St. Ignatius) each posted RBI. Senior leftfielder Kenny Fellows(Holt, Mich./Holt) added a two-run single as the Wolverines batted around to go on top 9-0.

The Wolverines added eight more runs over the next three frames, including a four-run sixth that included the first collegiate hit for sophomore/freshman Garrett Stephens(Davison, Mich./Davison), who clubbed a pinch-hit home run. Dufek also added his second round-tripper of the day in the offensive explosion of game two.

There were numerous offensive stars on the day for Michigan, none brighter than LaMarre, Dufek and Crank, who combined for 14 hits, five homers and 15 RBI in the two victories. Crank had a perfect day, going 6-for-6 with two RBI and three runs scored as the Wolverines pounded out 34 hits and scored 31 runs.

The Wolverines are back in action on Sunday (March 8) when they complete the weekend with an exhibition contest against the New York Mets at 12:10 p.m. at Tradition Field Complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

N O T E S

Michigan's 12-3 and 19-6 sweep marks the fifth and sixth games in the last seven that the Wolverines have scored in double digits.

The win in the opener pushed U-M's overall record to 9-2, matching the best start for the Wolverines since the 1987 team started 9-2. With the sweep, U-M is 10-2 for the best start since Bud Middaugh's 1985 Wolverine squad set the Michigan record with a 16-0 start that went to 17-2.

The Wolverines have won 11 straight collegiate games in Post St. Lucie, Fla., and own an 11-3 overall mark there. U-M lost three straight to UIC in 2004 before sweeping UIC (two games) in 2005 and taking three each from Bethune-Cookman (2007), Villanova (2008) and Siena (2009). U-M is 8-1 in collegiate games at Tradition Field with the other five games played on side fields in the New York Mets spring training complex.

Junior 1B Mike Dufek was 2-for-4 with a double and a homer in the first game of Saturday's twinbill. Dufek's two-run homer in the fifth inning snapped a 2-2 tie and proved to be Dufek's first game-winning hit of the season and the fourth of his career. Dufek was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, the seventh of his career, in the second game.

Sophomore CF Ryan LaMarre was 3-for-4 with two homers in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader. It marked LaMarre's second two-homer game of the season; he hit two vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Feb. 27).

In game two, LaMarre stroked a three-run homer in the third inning, extending his team-leading hit streak to eight games. LaMarre moved his team-leading batting average to .440 (22-for-50) and he also leads the team in homers (6) and RBI (25). LaMarre collected his second game-winning RBI of the season with his fielder's choice grounder in the first inning of the second game, his third career gamewinner as a Wolverine.

LaMarre hit .500 (6-for-12) with three homers and eight RBI in the Siena series and in his last seven games LaMarre is hitting .571 (16-for-29) with two doubles, six homers and 23 RBI.

Senior co-captain 2B Kevin Cislo stayed on pace with LaMarre, extending his hit streak to eight games, going 2-for-5 in Saturday's opener and had a two-run double in the nightcap.

Freshman Coley Crank was 6-for-6 in the doubleheader sweep. As catcher in the opener, Crank was 3-for-3 with a pair of run-scoring singles. In the second game, Crank was 3-for-3 as the DH. Crank has reached base in seven straight plate appearances starting with a HBP vs. Akron (March 1) and the six singles vs. Siena. For the season, Crank is hitting .500 (7-for-14).

Junior LHP Eric Katzman fanned a career-high seven Saints in the win in the first game, moving his career record to 7-4.

In game two, sophomore RHP Travis Smith pitched a season-high six innings, allowing four hits and two runs with eight strikeouts as he moved his record to 2-1. Smith, who is 7-2 as a Wolverine, has 19 strikeouts in 13.2 innings in his three starts.

Redshirt freshman 1B Garrett Stephens collected his first career hit with a three-run pinch homer in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. The pinch homer was the first for the Wolverines since Friday (March 6) when junior Alan Oaks hit his third career pinch homer.

Junior/sophomore SS Anthony Toth was 2-for-4 in the second game Saturday, extending his hitting streak to three games with his fifth multi-hit game of the season.

Sophomore/freshman OF Bryce Aspinwall, who entered Saturday's second game as a pinch hitter, went 2-for-3 with a double. For the season, he is hitting .571 (4-for-7) with five runs scored in seven games.

Freshman 3B John Lorenz was 4-for-6 in Saturday's twinbill, going 2-for-4 as a starter in the opener and 2-for-2 in the second game after entering the game as a defensive replacement. Lorenz is hitting .259 (7-for-27) in 12 games (10 starts).

Former Wolverine RHP J.J. Putz (1996-99), a member of the New York Mets -- U-M's Sunday (Match 8) opponent -- recorded a save for Team USA in its win over Team Canada at the World Baseball Classic in Toronto on Saturday (March 7). Former Wolverine All-America shortstop Barry Larkin (1983-85) is a coach on the Team USA staff.

Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423