'M' baseball slugs way to victory, 13-11

The Michigan baseball team was seeing orange yesterday, and plenty of it.

Bowling Green, donning its orange-and-brown uniforms that seemed better suited for fast food employees, played everyone but the bus driver against the Wolverines.

And it almost worked, as the Wolverines withstood a furious Falcon rally before winning, 13-11, yesterday at Fisher Stadium.

Nineteen players saw action for Bowling Green, as coach Danny Schmitz used all but three of his available players on the trip.

And the all-out approach gave Michigan (11-15) everything it could handle, as the Wolverines committed two crucial errors during the Falcons' three-run rally in the game's final inning.

Michigan entered the ninth with a comfortable advantage, leading the Falcons 13-8. But after the first two Falcon runners reached base against closer Tyler Steketee, two consecutive Bowling Green singles drove in runs, and Michigan's lead shrank to 13-10.

Facing the top of the Bowling Green lineup with the bases loaded, Steketee was in a jam.

But the senior, who gave up the game-winning hit in a loss at Ohio State last weekend, refocused. He struck out two of the final three Bowling Green batters, blowing a fastball by second baseman Jay Harrington for the final out of the game. Steketee struck out four and gave up just one earned run in his two-inning performance.

Despite the active bats yesterday, Michigan also received some solid pitching.

Freshman Nick Alexander made his first start of the season and was effective, allowing three runs and four hits before leaving after the fourth inning.

I thought I threw pretty well," Alexander said. "I was hitting my spots. I just let them hit the ball, and let the defense take care of the rest. That's my job."

Alexander's outing was made more successful by plenty of run support from his teammates.

After Bowling Green (14-10) got to Alexander for two quick runs in the first inning, Michigan responded with a six-run explosion in the third.

Third baseman Mike Cervenak wasted no time starting the rally, leading off the inning by belting a massive 400-foot homerun to right-center off Bowling Green starter Chris Vaught. The next batter, right fielder Derek Besco, blasted a shot similar to Cervenak's that bounced off the wall, giving him a double. Besco would later score when Bowling Green shortstop Drew Niles booted Bobby Scales' grounder in the hole.

Michigan would only get one more hit in the inning, but poor control by Vaught and relief pitcher Tony Fontana kept the inning alive. Vaught and Fontana combined to throw three wild pitches and walk three more batters before the inning was over, giving Michigan a lead it would never relinquish.

"We've been waiting for the runs to come around, because the hitters have been struggling lately," Alexander said. "We knew the hitting was there, and it's nice to start scoring some runs."

The Falcons refused to go away though, thanks in large part to first baseman Bob Niemet. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Niemet, who doubles as the Falcons' quarterback during football season, had a monster game. The Wolverines did not get Niemet out all day, as he blasted two home runs, going 5-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored.

Niemet was responsible for sparking Bowling Green rallies in both the sixth and seventh innings. He led off the sixth with a double off winning pitcher Vince Pistilli (1-0), eventually scoring on an error by first baseman Jeff Van Sickle. The Falcons would score three runs in the inning.

In the seventh, Niemet blasted a solo home run off Michigan pitcher Robbie Reid with two outs. Bowling Green would score one more run in the inning, cutting Michigan's lead to 10-8.

The Wolverines responded in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs off two errors by Bowling Green third baseman Mike Muzi, pushing their lead to 13-8.

The Wolverines continue non-conference action today, as they host Oakland University at 3 p.m. The Pioneers (4-11) will be the Wolverines' last nonconference opponent before they resume Big Ten play this weekend, hosting Minnesota for a four-game series.

04-08-98