'M' baseball drops three of four to Hoosiers

The Michigan baseball team would have made any radio disc jockey proud this weekend.

The hits just kept on coming.

During a weekend in which the Wolverines (12-6 Big Ten, 24-17 overall) pounded out 41 hits over four games, Michigan dropped three of four games in its series at Indiana. Michigan lost yesterday and Friday and split the doubleheader on Saturday.

Yesterday, the Wolverines lost 10-5. The Wolverines charged out to a 5-1 lead by the fourth inning before the Michigan bats went south against Indiana relievers Chad Smith and Tom Willerer. The tandem shut down the Wolverines for the last five innings.

The Michigan relievers, on the other hand, had trouble keeping the Indiana bats in check, yielding nine runs in the final four innings. The fielding left something to be desired, as well, as the Wolverines committed four errors in the game.

Saturday, the Wolverines managed to take one of the games from the Hoosiers. In the first game of the doubleheader, Michigan won, 6-5, while Indiana took the second, 3-1.

The first act of the twin bill was a characteristic Michigan performance. In the third inning, five Wolverines crossed the plate to put them up, 5-0.

But the Hoosiers pecked away at the lead, scoring two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings against Michigan starter Bryan Cranson (5-2).

The top of the seventh - the final inning in doubleheader games - was crucial for the Wolverines. Michigan scored a run to provide some insurance going into the Indiana half of the inning.

The run proved invaluable for Michigan, as the Hoosiers squeezed out a run in the bottom half before reliever Tyler Steketee closed down the Hoosiers for his seventh save.

The second game wasn't as typical a game for the Wolverines. Brian Berryman (2-4), went the distance. Although only yielding three runs on six hits, his counterpart, Indiana's Greg Schabel (1-1), bettered Berryman by holding the Wolverines to only one run.

Center fielder Dan Sanborn drove in the only Michigan run, scoring shortstop Brian Kalczynski in the second inning.

While pitching was the word in Saturday's second game, pitching was thrown out the window on Friday.

The Wolverines bashed 21 hits while the Hoosiers ripped 14 in a wild game. Michigan was down by 10 runs, rallied, and eventually lost, 11-10.

Brian Steinbach (5-4), ordinarily the most reliable starter on the Michigan staff, surrendered 10 runs - all earned - in his five innings of work. The 6-foot-5 right hander was relieved by Mike Hribernik and Matt Herr, who cooled off the Indiana bats and allowed the Wolverines to sneak back into the game.

Michigan's offense broke through in the seventh inning, scoring six runs to keep the unthinkable rally alive. The Wolverines scored a pair of runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth, but it just wasn't enough.

Of the 41 Michigan hits this weekend, right fielder Derek Besco and third baseman Mike Cervenak each accounted for six. Kalczynski had a hit in every game, for a total of seven for the series.

MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
Freshman Andrew Miller and the rest of the Wolverines were bowled over in a weekend series with Indiana. Despite its strong performance at the plate, Michigan dropped three of the four games.

04-21-97