Michigan
21-21
Long Beach State
20-18-1
10-Run Eighth Inning Helps U-M Double Up LBSU in Series Opener
4/26/2024 10:11:00 PM | Baseball
» Michigan won the series opener, 14-7, behind a 10-run eighth inning.
» Stephen Hrustich went 2-for-2 with three walks, two runs and two RBIs. Â
» Joe Longo tied his career highs with hits and RBIs at three.Â
» Every available U-M batter saw game action -- with 11 different batters scoring a run.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After falling behind in the top of the eighth, the University of Michigan baseball team scored 10 runs in the bottom of the frame to win 14-7 against Long Beach State on Friday night (April 26th) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium.
Michigan (21-21) scored 10 runs on six hits and two errors to take a 14-7 lead over the Dirtbags in the bottom of the eighth. Cole Caruso hit his third grand slam of the year to highlight the inning. Joe Longo tied his career high in hits and RBIs with three each. Stephen Hrustich reached base five times with two hits and three walks. Jacob Denner earned his sixth win of the season, pitching the final 1.2 innings with two strikeouts.
Kurt Barr earned the start on the mound and pitched back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to open the game. Kyle Dernedde recorded four assists and a putout over the first six outs with Barr striking out the other.
Long Beach State (20-18-1) got its first baserunners in the third with a walk and a double. A fielder's choice retired the lead runner and a lineout to Dernedde ended the inning. Mack Timbrook opened the home half of the frame with a double down the right-field line. After a hit by pitch and walk, Timbrook scored on the wild pitch. Longo drew a walk to reload the bases and Dylan Stanton was hit by a pitch which brought home AJ Garcia for U-M's second run of the game. The Wolverines could not add more as a strikeout ended the inning.
The Dirtbags answered and took the lead in the top of the fourth. LBSU hit a solo home run with two outs and added two more runs after three singles. U-M had a good chance in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded after two singles and a hit by pitch, but a groundout allowed the Dirtbags to keep the the lead. Barr contained LBSU after the three-run fourth inning and allowed just one baserunner over his final two innings.
Michigan retook the lead with a Longo home run in the bottom of the seventh. Hrustich drew a two-out walk and Longo took the next pitch deep as U-M led 4-3 after seven innings. Long Beach State responded again with a four-run top of the eighth. A one-out home run opened the scoring before three singles and a double-plated three more runs.
U-M opened the bottom of the eighth with Caruso reaching on an error, a walk and hit-by-pitch which loaded the bases with no outs. After a popout, Bradley Navarro singled to score two runs and put U-M down just one. Singles from Hrustich and Longo scored three runners, and put U-M ahead 9-7. After a hit-by-pitch to load the bases again, Caruso hit his third grand slam and fourth home run of the season. Michigan added one more run in the inning with Timbrook scoring on an error. Denner retired the side in order in the top of the ninth with two strikeouts.
The Wolverines will continue the series against Long Beach State on Saturday (April 27) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium with the first pitch at 2 p.m., and the game streaming live on B1G+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Denner, Jacob (6-3)
L: Williams, Nick (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Briseno, Armando 1 ; Hammond, Jack 1
HR: Newman, Jr., John 2
RBI: Ashworth, Kyle 2 ; Newman, Jr., John 2 ; Santander, Cole 1 ; Hammond, Jack 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Newman, Jr., John 2 ; Champagne, Alex 2 ; Briseno, Armando 2 ; Roulston, Justin 1
HBP: Ashworth, Kyle 1
Batting:
2B: Timbrook, Mack 1
HR: Longo, Joe 1 ; Caruso, Cole 1
RBI: Navarro, Bradley 2 ; Hrustich, Stephen 2 ; Longo, Joe 3 ; Stanton, Dylan 1 ; Caruso, Cole 4 ; Leitgeb, Brock 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Garcia, AJ 1 ; Kim, Jonathan 1 ; Voit, Mitch 1 ; Hrustich, Stephen 2 ; Longo, Joe 1 ; Kilinski, Trevor 1 ; Velazquez, Alfredo 1 ; Caruso, Cole 2 ; Counsell, Jack 1 ; Timbrook, Mack 2 ; Dernedde, Kyle 1
SB: Timbrook, Mack 1
HBP: Stanton, Dylan 2 ; Velazquez, Alfredo 1 ; Timbrook, Mack 1 ; Dernedde, Kyle 1
