Michigan Splits Pair of One-Run Decisions at Notre Dame

Wednesday, April 22

South Bend, Ind.

4:30 PM

Michigan

22-16

Notre Dame

22-15

Michigan

Notre Dame

Michigan Splits Pair of One-Run Decisions at Notre Dame

4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Site: South Bend, Ind. (Eck Stadium)
Scores: Michigan 3, Notre Dame 2; Notre Dame 4, Michigan 3
Records: U-M (22-17), ND (23-16)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 24 -- vs. Indiana (Wilpon Baseball Complex), 6:35 p.m.

Boxscores: Game 1 | Game 2 | Postgame Notes

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The University of Michigan baseball team used a late-inning rally for a comeback, 3-2 win in game one, only to see Notre Dame flip the script for a comeback win of its own in the nightcap, 4-3, in a doubleheader split on Wednesday night (April 22) at Eck Stadium. Junior/sophomore shortstop Anthony Toth(Lorain, Ohio/St. Ignatius) and freshman designated hitter Coley Crank(Pinole, Calif./Pinole Valley) each posted a pair of hits in game one, and Crank added a solo homer in game two for the Wolverines.

In game one, Wolverine starting pitcher Eric Katzman(Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning before giving way to sophomore reliever Kolby Wood(Eau Claire, Mich./Berrien Springs), who went on to work the next four innings.

While Wood was holding the Notre Dame bats at bay, the Wolverine offense struck through for a run in the fourth as senior second baseman Kevin Cislo(Novi, Mich./Novi) produced a leadoff single, stole second and scored on a single to rightfield by junior rightfielder Nick Urban(Whitehall, Mich./Whitehall) to take a 1-0 lead.

Michigan added to the lead in the sixth inning when Crank doubled and sophomore/freshman pinch runner Bryce Aspinwall(Sharpsburg, Ga./Woodward Academy) came around to score on a single by junior leftfielder Alan Oaks(White Lake, Mich./Divine Child) to make it 2-0.

The Irish finally got on the board in the sixth off the combination of Wood and sophomore reliever Tyler Burgoon(Defiance, Ohio/Defiance), scoring twice -- both runs being charged to Wood -- to tie the game, 2-2.

In the seventh, the Wolverines pushed across the game-winning run when senior centerfielder Kenny Fellows(Holt, Mich./Holt) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Toth. That brought up junior first baseman Mike Dufek(Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain), who grounded to second base but reached when the throw to first was wide, rolling all the way to the fence near the Michigan dugout, allowing Fellows to score to give U-M a 3-2 lead.

Burgoon closed out the win, striking out two in the final inning to finish off the Irish and pick up his fourth victory of the season.

In the nightcap, senior hurler Mike Wilson(Pickering, Ontario/Pine Ridge) got the start and shut out the Irish through four innings, while the Michigan offense built an early lead, scoring a run in the second inning on a solo homer by Crank.

The Maize and Blue added to the lead in the fifth when Oaks singled and scored on a squeeze bunt that turned into a base hit by junior second baseman Mike Kittle(Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) to go on top, 2-0. The Wolverines added another run when Kittle came around to score on a fielders choice off the bat of Toth, pushing the Michigan advantage to 3-0.

Wilson ran into trouble in the fifth when he walked the first two batters of the inning, causing sophomore Travis Smith(Austin, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) to be summoned from the bullpen. Smith was unable to extinguish the fire, allowing a two-run single before hitting a batter and walking home the tying run before being replaced by sophomore Matt Miller(Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) with the score tied, 3-3. Miller got out of the bases-loaded jam but not before surrendering a sacrifice fly that scored the go-ahead run for Notre Dame, giving the Irish their first lead of the game, 4-3.

After the Wolverines went down in order in the sixth, Miller did the same to the Irish, striking out the side to set up the final inning, but the Wolverines were unable to get anything going in the final frame, falling 4-3.

Travis Smith took the loss in relief, moving to 4-5 on the season as the Wolverines dropped to 22-17 on the season.

The Maize and Blue returns home to the Wilpon Baseball Complex on Friday (April 24) when it begins a three-game Big Ten home series with Indiana at 6:35 pm.

N O T E S

U-M head coach Rich Maloney moves his overall record vs. Notre Dame to 7-3 with the doubleheader split Wednesday (April 22) in South Bend.

Wednesday's game at Eck Stadium on Notre Dame's campus marked the first time since 1996 that the two teams have played at a campus location. The last five meetings took place in Grand Rapids, Mich., at a neutral facility, and the Irish and Wolverines have not met in Ann Arbor since 1977.

Junior/sophomore SS Anthony Toth was 2-for-3 with a sac bunt in the opener for his 14th multi-hit game of the season. Toth went 1-for-3 with one run batted in in the second game. Toth, who is hitting .333 (46-for-138), has hits in 21 of his last 24 games.

Freshman C/DH Coley Crank was 2-for-3 with his fourth double of the season in the 3-2 win in the opener at Notre Dame on Wednesday before going 1-for-2 with a homer and a walk in the second game. Crank's second homer of the season gave U-M a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the second game. Crank has three multi-hit games in his rookie campaign and is hitting .296 (16-for-54).

Sophomore RHP Tyler Burgoon pitched the final two innings of Wednesday's opener at Notre Dame, suffering a 'blown save' as he entered with a 2-0 lead and runners on second and third and allowed the runs to score, but he recorded his fourth win of the season when the Wolverines rallied to win, 3-2. Burgoon is 4-0 on the season with a 3.52 earned run average and has 23 strikeouts in 28.1 innings. Burgoon is 6-0 for his career at U-M.

Sophomore RHP Kolby Wood pitched four innings out of the bullpen in the opener at Notre Dame for a no-decision. Wood (0-1) allowed six hits with two strikeouts and left the game leading 2-0 after allowing a single and a double to the first two Irish batters in the sixth inning.

Junior/sophomore 2B Mike Kittle, who served as a pinch runner in Wednesday's opener, was 1-for-1 in the nightcap with a squeeze-bunt RBI single in the fifth inning. Kittle, who drew a walk in the third inning, scored later in the fifth inning on Toth's fielder's choice grounder to give U-M a 3-0 lead in the eventual 4-3 loss.

Senior LHP Mike Wilson pitched the first four innings of the second game at Notre Dame on Wednesday and left with a 3-0 lead after walking the first two batters in the fifth. Wilson allowed four hits and two runs with three walks and three strikeouts in the no-decision in the game won by the host Irish, 4-3.

Sophomore RHP Matt Miller retired all six batters he faced to close out the second game at Notre Dame and had four strikeouts. In Miller's last two outings -- at Michigan State and Notre Dame -- he has pitched 5.1 innings and fanned 11 batters.

Junior OF Alan Oaks, who started both games in leftfield, was 2-for-6 in Wednesday's twinbill at Notre Dame. Oaks had a run-scoring single in the opener, and singled and scored a run in the second game.

Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423