from MGoBlue.comWolverines Extend Winning Streak to 12 in Series Opener at Indiana
April 25, 2008
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Sembower Field)
Score: Michigan 14, Indiana 6
Records: U-M (29-8, 16-1 Big Ten), Indiana (16-22, 4-13 Big Ten)
Next Game: Saturday, April 26 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 1 p.m./4 p.m.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan baseball team extended its winning streak to 12 games with an eight-run victory, 14-6, against Indiana in Sembower Field. The Wolverines (29-8, 16-1 Big Ten) received three-run home runs by senior LF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) and junior 3B Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) and junior RHP Zach Putnam (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) struck out five in seven innings for this fifth win of the season.
VanBuskirk, Abraham, Senior 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) and fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) each had three hits for the day, combining for 12 of U-M's 18 hits. Junior SS Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS) was the fifth Wolverine with a multi-hit game with a pair of hits, including an RBI double in the second inning.
Sophomore C Chris Berset (Vienna, Va./Heights School) put U-M on the board first with an RBI double into left-centerfield in the second inning. Following a one-out single into left by sophomore RF Alan Oaks (White Lake, Mich./Divine Child HS), Berset, batting from the left side, one-hopped the ball to the fence, allowing Oaks to score from first for the 1-0 lead.
Berset then came around on Christian's sharp double to rightfield two batters later. With two outs in the inning, Christian pulled the ball over the first baseman's head and into right field for a 2-0 Wolverine advantage.
Michigan added three more in the third inning after VanBuskirk connected for his fourth home run in his last five at bats. The blast traveled over the right-centerfield wall and scored Putnam and Abraham, who walked and singled, respectively, earlier in the stanza.
In the ensuing inning, Recknagel stood on first with Putnam at the plate and two outs in the frame, when Putnam drove the ball to the Hoosier third baseman. The ball went into the dirt on the throw over to first allowing Putnam to reach on the throwing error.
That brought Abraham to the plate with on and two outs. The tri-captain worked the count full and on the second 3-2 pitch, he drilled a line drive that carried over the left-field wall for this fifth home run of the season and an 8-0 U-M lead.
Indiana pulled within 8-3 in the bottom of the fifth though an a three-run pinch hit home run by Tyler Rogers. The first two batters of the frame reached via a single and a walk, but Putnam retired the next to batters in succession leading to the three-run homer.
Putnam helped his cause in the top of the sixth, driving in Mahler with a double to left field to make the score 9-3. The double by Putnam extended his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games.
The Hoosiers made it a four-run game in the eighth, scoring twice for a 9-5 game.
Again the first two batters reached base on a single and a walk and came home on a two-run double off the bat of RF Kip Schutz. The rightfielder moved up to third base on the ensuing at bat as Jerrud Sabourin bounced out to Mahler at second.
Michael Early was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners with only one out. Putnam though, was able to induce an inning ending 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam.
The Wolverines scored five more runs to end the game, with two RBI coming off a VanBuskirk single in the eighth inning. The senior tri-captain has 14 RBI in his last two games as he drove in nine in the Wolverines 27-6 win last Sunday (April 20).
The two teams return to the diamond Saturday afternoon (April 26) for a doubleheader with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m. in Sembower Field.
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