from MGoBlue.comhttp://www.mgoblue.com/baseball/article.aspx?id=136894
Dufek, LaMarre Hit First Career Homers as U-M Rolls Ball State
May 6, 2008
Site: Muncie, Ind. (Ball Diamond)
Score: Michigan 15, Ball State 8
Records: U-M (34-11, 20-4 Big Ten), Ball State (26-17, 11-7 MAC)
Next Game: Friday, May 9 -- at Minnesota (Siebert Field), 6:35 p.m. CDT
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan baseball team captured its 35th win of the season with a 15-8 victory over Ball State Tuesday afternoon (May 6) at the Cardinals' home park, Ball Diamond.
Freshman RHP Kolby Wood (Eau Claire, Mich./Berrien Springs) improved to 2-0 for the year, tossing three scoreless innings and netting a career-best four strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.08 in 17.1 innings of work.
At the plate, sophomore 1B Mike Dufek (Scottsdale Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) and freshman OF Ryan LaMarre (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi HS) each hit their first career home runs, both coming in the fourth inning.
The Wolverines (35-11, 20-4 Big Ten) hit four homers for the day, with senior LF Derek VanBuskirk (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair HS) and fifth-year senior Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) providing the power in the first and seventh innings, respectively.
The Maize and Blue started early, as junior SS Jason Christian (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS) drew a walk to lead off the game. Christian put him self into scoring position one with his 10th steal of the season, setting up senior C Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS).
Christian led off the game with a walk and came around to score on an RBI single to leftfield by Recknagel to give U-M a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Mahler, who doubled in the previous at bat, moved over to third on the hit, giving the Wolverines runners on the corners with no outs.
VanBuskirk extended the lead to 4-0 when he blasted his ninth jack of the season -- a three-run shot that carried over the right-centerfield wall. Recknagel and junior 3B Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, South HS) scored on the home run after Abraham singled in the successive at bat.
In the bottom of the first inning, Wood saw the first batter reach on an error, but was able to strike out the side, setting a new personal best in the category. He would make it four strikeouts one inning later as he started the ballgame with four straight outs via the K.
U-M added five more runs in the third inning, with Dufek and LaMarre blasting their first career bombs. Dufek drove in the first three of the innings when his blast cleared the right-centerfield wall with Recknagel and VanBuskirk on the bases.
LaMarre connected for a two-run shot two batters later following a two-out walk to sophomore RF Alan Oaks (White Lake, Mich./Divine Child HS). LaMarre's blast was the first hit by a freshman this season and gave U-M a 9-0 lead.
LaMarre delivered his third RBI of the game in the fifth, scoring second on a single into leftfield for a 10-2 advantage. One batter later, Christian brought Oaks around from second for a 11-2 lead as he drilled a long single off the wall in right.
In the sixth inning, senior/junior OF Kenny Fellows (Holt, Mich./Holt HS) made gave U-M a 12-3 lead, as he reached on an high bouncer that found its way into rightfield. Dufek then drove in RBI number four on the day when he lifted a long flyball into center that brought VanBuskirk from third.
Mahler rounded out the Wolverines scoring in the top of the seventh with a leadoff jack that cleared the leftfield wall on a 1-2 count for his third homer of the year and fourth of his career.
Michigan returns to the diamond Friday evening (May 9) when the Wolverines travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to start a four-game Big Ten Conference series with Minnesota. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CDT.
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N O T E S
• Michigan's 15-8 win Tuesday (May 6) at Ball State -- a game that had been scheduled for Wednesday (May 7) in Ann Arbor but moved to Muncie, Ind. due to impending bad weather -- featured first career homers for sophomore 1B Mike Dufek and freshman OF Ryan LaMarre. Both first-time round trippers came in the five-run third inning.
• LaMarre, who started Tuesday's (May 6) game in right field and later played in center, was 3-for-4 with his second three-hit game of the season and the first since the season opener vs. Villanova (Feb. 22). LaMarre has five career multi-hit games.
• Dufek knocked in three runs with his home run in the third inning and he added a sac fly in the sixth inning giving him four RBI vs. Ball State. Dufek has eight RBI in his last two games as he matched his previous career best of four RBI vs. Ohio State on Sunday (May 4). Dufek has 16 RBI for the season.
• Tuesday's (May 6) win over Ball State was Rich Maloney's 226th win as head coach at Michigan giving him a 226-123 overall record in his six seasons. Maloney's record in 13 years as a head coach is 482-267-1 including his seven seasons with Ball State. Maloney is 2-0 vs. Ball State with both wins coming this season with an 8-4 win on March 15th in Conway, S.C. Michigan is 14-1 in the all-time series vs. Ball State and Maloney is 3-1 in the series including the one Ball State win over Michigan.
• Senior/junior RHP Michael Powers, the sixth Wolverine pitcher of the game, worked the ninth inning allowing two hits and a walk while striking out the side in his team-leading 19th pitching appearance. Powers, the active career leader with 63 appearances, moved into a tie for ninth place on Michigan's career pitching appearance list with Derek Feldkamp (63 appearances, 2003-05). Powers in one appearance behind current Minnesota Twins pitcher Bobby Korecky (64 appearances, 1999-2002) for eighth on the U-M list.
• Senior 1B Nate Recknagel was 1-for-3 with one RBI at Ball State on Tuesday (May 6). Recknagel has hits in 39 of U-M's 46 games this season and in 138 of the 171 games he has played in his career at U-M. For the season Recknagel leads the Wolverines in hitting at .394 (65-for-165), hits (65), home runs (18) and RBI (58). Recknagel ranks sixth on U-M's career RBI list (160).
• Recknagel's first-inning single proved to be his team-leading 10th game-winning RBI of the season and it was his 23rd career gamer.
• Senior LF Derek VanBuskirk was 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI in the win at Ball State. The homer was his ninth of the season to rank second on the team and it was his 14th career home run. He is fifth on the team with a career best total of 36 RBI, topping his previous best of 35 RBI in 2006.
• Fifth-year senior 2B Leif Mahler was 2-for-6 in the win at Ball State, including his career-best third homer of the season, fourth HR of his career. Mahler has 14 multi-hit games for the season and it was the 51st multiple-hit game of his U-M career. Mahler, who has played 2B and SS in his career, is now 11th in career games played at Michigan at 205 snapping a tie with another former 2B/SS Scott Tousa (204 games, 1998-2001). Next on the list are former teammate Eric Rose (207 games, 2004-07) and Bryan Besco (207, 1995-99) who are tied for ninth place.
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