The Michigan baseball team headed into its weekend series at Penn State in third place in the Big Ten, holding a slim one-game lead over fourth place Indiana.
With a 6-1 win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, and two Indiana losses at first-place Ohio State, Michigan (15-13 Big Ten, 29-27 overall) was guaranteed a spot in the four-team Big Ten tournament for the third time in four years this coming weekend at Ohio State.
The Wolverines dropped the other three games of the series at Beaver Field.
Michigan started quickly in the first game on Friday, taking a 4-1 lead after three innings. But the Wolverines managed only one hit the rest of the way and lost by a final score of 5-4.
It looked as though starter J.J. Putz might still record a victory as he took a 4-2 lead into the final inning. But with one out and men on first and second, third baseman Shawn Fagan homered, stealing the game for the Nittany Lions.
In the clincher for the Wolverines, Bryan Ralston earned his eighth victory of the season and improved his Big Ten record to 6-0 by pitching five scoreless innings, giving up just four hits and striking out three.
Bobby Korecky pitched the final two innings in relief, allowing no earned runs and striking out three on just one hit. The Wolverine pitchers shut down the Nittany Lions' hitters, allowing just five hits.
Centerfielder Brian Bush led the hitting for the Wolverines, scoring two runs on two hits.
Bush doubled in the fourth inning and scored a run. After singling to lead of the sixth, the speedy centerfielder stole both second and third base before being driven home by a Mike Cervanek single.
In the night cap, the Penn State bats came back to life, as they blasted the Michigan pitchers for three multi-run innings in a 13-3 victory. Second baseman Eric Spadt led the hitting for the Nittany Lions, driving in three runs with a double and a homer.
The final game of the series on Sunday was a shoot-out, as the two teams combined for 28 runs in a 15-13 victory for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions opened the game with a 6-0 lead after two innings, building on their solid hitting performance from the previous day. But three runs in the third inning and a seven run fourth inning gave Michigan a brief 10-6 lead, before Penn State came back with a five run fourth to regain the lead 11-10.
The Wolverines managed to tie the game at 12 after six innings but were unable to regain the lead and fell to the Nittany Lions for the third time in four games.
This weekend the Wolverines will head down the home of Big Ten regular season champion Ohio State.
05-17-99
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