from MGoBlue.comhttp://www.mgoblue.com/baseball/article.aspx?id=137502
Champs Again! U-M Clinches Big Ten Title With Sweep of Gophers
May 11, 2008
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Siebert Field)
Scores: #19 Michigan 11, Minnesota 5 (9 innings); #19 Michigan 12, Minnesota 8
Records: U-M (38-11, 23-4 Big Ten), Minnesota (18-33, 8-19 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game: Tuesday, May 13 -- vs. Notre Dame (Comstock Park, Mich.), 7:05 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan baseball team clinched its third consecutive Big Ten Conference championship with a doubleheader sweep of Minnesota Sunday afternoon (May 11). The Wolverines (38-11, 23-4 Big Ten) took game one, 11-5 in nine innings, and won game two 12-8.
Sophomore 1B/DH Mike Dufek (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) was Michigan's performer of the day, going 4-for-9 with two home runs, seven runs batter in and four runs scored. Dufek also came in and recorded his first collegiate save, pitching the final two innings of game two.
Two of Dufek's four hits for the day cleared the right-centerfield wall, including his first career grand slam to give the Wolverines a 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth inning of game one. Dufek returned to the home run column in the second game, blasting the ball over the scoreboard in right-center for career jack number three, resulting in a two-run shot and his sixth and seventh RBI of the day.
U-M jumped on the board early in game one when the first four Wolverines reached safely for a 1-0 lead. Junior SS Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS) led off the game with a single over the head of the Gopher first baseman, stole second on the ensuing at-bat, and moved to third on fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler's (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) single that found its way through the left side.
With runners on the corners and no outs, senior C/1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) reached on a fielder's choice to short, bringing Christian down the line for the 1-0 lead. Junior 3B Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) drew a walk as the fourth straight Wolverine to reach in the inning, but Gopher starter Kyle Carr struck out the next two hitters to keep the lead at 1-0.
Sophomore starter Eric Katzman (Harrington Park, N.J./Northern Valley Old Tappan HS) worked an effective first four innings of the ballgame, holding the Gophers scoreless while posting a career-best six strikeouts.
In the bottom of the fifth, the first three Gopher batters reached base on a single and two walks, marking the end of the day for Katzman, who gave way to senior/junior RHP Michael Powers (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) with the bases loaded and no outs. The Gophers scored four in the frame to take a 4-1 lead after five innings, but in the top of the sixth the Wolverines retook the lead on Dufek's first career grand slam.
Abraham led things off with a single to left and advanced to third on a single into right-center by VanBuskirk. On the next pitch, Cislo was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. It was with one out that Dufek turned on a fastball and launched a no-doubter over the right-centerfield wall, 360 feet away from home plate, to put U-M back on top, 5-4. It marked the third time in four games Dufek has driven in four runs in a ballgame.
Minnesota evened the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the frame, though, when Jeff DeSmidt brought Matt Nohelty on an RBI single.
The score remained tied into the top of the ninth, when U-M exploded for six runs on six hits and a walk for a 11-5 lead, all with two outs in the inning.
With two outs in the frame, senior LF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) drew a walk and stole second during Kevin Cilso's (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) at-bat. Cislo then drove VanBuskirk to third with an infield single that hugged the third base line. Senior/junior Kenny Fellows (Holt, Mich./Holt HS) delivered the game-winning RBI during the ensuing at-bat when he laced a single into the right-centerfield gap to bring VanBuskirk down the line for the 6-5 lead.
Dufek singled home Cislo for this fifth RBI of the game, setting a new career high in the category, and freshman Ryan LaMarre (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi HS) followed with a single to score Fellows. Both Dufek and Fellows scored one batter later when Christian pulled a triple down the rightfield line, ended the scoring and handing the Maize and Blue an 11-5 advantage.
Powers returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh and sent the Gophers down in order, getting Derek McCallum to strike out looking for the final out of the contest.
Michigan returns to the diamond Tuesday evening (May 13) when the Wolverines face Notre Dame in the annual Baseball Bash at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, Mich. Action begins at 7:05 p.m.
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