April 4, 2008
Assistant Coach Folmar talks with Loren Crispell on the radio postgame show (mp3)
University Park, Pa. - Michigan jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first four innings and then held off a couple of furious Penn State rallies to squeak by the Nittany Lions 3-2 on Friday night in the opener of a four-game weekend Big Ten series. Michigan ace Zach Putnam gave up seven hits, including five in his last three innings of work but also struck out 12 in his eight innings of work, including the last two hitters he faced to thwart a potential Penn State rally in the eighth.
Seth Whitehill started for the Nittany Lions and rebounded from his rough outing a week ago with a decent performance. He threw 4.1 innings and allowed six hits and three runs, giving up single runs in the first, third and fourth innings. He struck out four and walked just one. Paul Hawkins relieved him with one out in the fifth and turned in his best and longest performance of the year, throwing 3.2 innings and allowing just two hits while striking out two and walking none. Drew O'Neil pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Michigan's Nate Recknagel, the leading home run hitter in the Big Ten, put the Wolverines on top 1-0 by depositing a 3-2 pitch from Whitehill over the wall in center field just to the left of the batters' eye in straight-away center.
The Wolverines extended the lead to 2-0 in the third inning as they manufactured a run. Chris Berset led off with a single to left field, was sacrificed to second by Leif Mahler as Joe Blackburn made a nice play coming out from behind the plate to throw out Mahler at first. Berset went to third on a groundout and scored on Kevin Cislo's single up the middle.
Brian Ernst went 2-for-3 and reached base three out of four plate appearance and moved into ninth place on the Penn State career hits list. |
In the third, Recknagel sent another ball deep into the outfield but this time it was to the deepest part of the park near the nook in left center and he legged out a triple. One out later, he scored on a single through the right side by Adam Abraham to make it 3-0.
That would all of the Wolverines' offense for the night, however, as Hawkins and O'Neil held Michigan to just three singles in the final five innings. Hawkins got two double play balls, a lineout to first in the sixth and a 4-6-3 double play to end the seventh and also struck out Recknagel both times he faced him, swinging to end the fifth and looking to end the eighth after Recknagel had sent the previous pitch keep into the picnic pavilion in left field but foul.
After having just three baserunners on a pair of singles and a hit batsman through the first five innings, Penn State began its comeback in the sixth. Brian Ernst started it by lining a one-out single into left center field and he went to second when catcher Berset's pickoff throw went into right field. Ernst then came home on a double to deep center by Blackburn as Ernst ran on the pitch.
In the seventh, the Nittany Lions got two more hits and took advantage of an error to pull within one at 3-2. With one out, Ryan Boonie chopped a ball down to third that Abraham had to charge to field. His throw to first would not have beaten Boonie anyway and it sailed high and into the seats for an error, allowing Boonie to go to third. One out later, Lou Picconi singled to right center to score pinch runner Scott Kelley, but Picconi was later thrown out trying to steal second for the third out of the inning.
In the eighth, Ernst drew a one-out walk and went to second on a single through the right side by Rob Yodice that Ernst barely eluded on his way to second. But from that point, Putnam struck out Blackburn and Cory Wine to end the threat.
After O'Neil did his job and kept the deficit at one in the top of the ninth, Michigan closer Tyler Burgoon came on and struck out Rick Marlin for the first out. Kelley, in his first at-bat since entered the game at a pinch runner two innings earlier and then going to left field, gave the first pitch he saw a ride to deep center field but it was caught just in front of the warning track. Burgoon then got Landon Nakata to ground out to end the game.
Ernst had a solid game as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored and reached base three out of four times at the plate. Yodice went 2-for-4 while Blackburn was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The teams will continue their series with a doubleheader beginning at 2:05 p.m. tomorrow.
Notes: Nittany Lion women's golf coach Denise St. Pierre threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. The women's golf team host the Big Ten Women's Golf Championships the last weekend of this month....Blackburn has now hit in nine of his last 12 games and has reached base safely in 11 of his last 12....With his RBI single in the seventh, Picconi has now reached base safely in 12 straight games and in 21 out of 22 overall this year....Hawkins has thrown five straight scoreless innings over his last three appearances.....Ernst's two hits on the night gave him 191 for his career and moved him into ninth place on the Penn State career hits list.....Wine needs 36 putouts to break the school record for career putouts.