5B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 8, 2002 I YESTERDAY'S GAME Michigan 4 Minnesota 3 SATURDAY GAME 2 lMichigan 2 E Minnesota 4 SATURDAY GAME 1 M Michigan 1 01 .' Minnesota 3 FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan 0 Minnesota 10 Metro stop: M' nine avoid series sweep By Charles Paradis Daily Sports Writer At 5-foot-6 and batting last in the order, Michigan freshman Matt But- ler does not usually cause much fear when he enters the batter's box. But yesterday Butler proved just how fearsome he could be. - After losing to Minnesota once on Friday and twice on Saturday, Michi- gan was in danger of getting swept this weekend. In danger, that is, until Butler stepped up to the plate in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday. The diminutive outfielder was already 3-for-3 on the day with a triple and two doubles when he stood at home plate representing the go- ahead run. In the top of the ninth, both Bran- don Jominy and Butler reached base on singles. Right fielder Gino Lollio strike out, but Jominy and Butler advanced on a double steal. With runners in scoring position, interim head coach Chris Harrison called on his right-handed catcher Jason Wuerfel to pinch hit for the left-handed Mike Sokol. The substi- tution worked as Wuerfel punched a single into left field to score both runners and take a 4-3 lead. "It's what you dream of as a kid," Wuerfel said of his game winning single. Michigan then fended off the Min- nesota rally in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Gophers. Butler played excellent baseball all around. Not only was he perfect from the plate, but he also made a spectacular diving catch in the out- field. Yesterday's performance by Butler exhibited all the qualities the Michigan baseball team was looking for: Strong hitting, fielding and the ability to come through under pres- sure. "Matt had a great game for us today," Harrison said. "He came up with some clutch hits, he made a real great play in right center and played some real good defense." The Wolverines fell behind early in the first three games of the week- end, and yesterday was no different as Minnesota jumped out to an early lead. With two outs, Junior Luke Appert stepped up to bat for Min- nesota and rocketed a first-inning home run for the second time in as many games. Senior pitcher Jeff Trzos remained calm despite giving up the long ball. The left-handed hurler kept his com- YESTERDAY'S GAME Michigan 4, Minnesota 3 Michgan (44 Big Ten, 818 46) tues (53,12315) Player AB R H I Player AB R H BI Lollio rf 4 0 2 1 Steidl dh 4 0 1 0 Soko dh 3 00 0Pattee3b 4 00 0 Wuerfel ph 1 0 1 2 Appert 2b 4 1 2 1 Koman sss 2 0 Kennedyrf 3 100 Robertslif 5 0 0 0Howard If 3 0 1 1 Wright 1b 4 0 0 0 Elder 1b 3 0 0 0 Coleman c 2 0 0 0 Roachl1b 1 0 0 0 Fox c 2 0 0 0 Guetzlaff cf 4 1 1 0 Rudden 2b 3 0 1 0 Welch ss 3 0 0 0 Korecky ph 0 00 OBeaulieu c 2 0 1 1 Rutkowski pr 0 0 0 0 Dick ph 1 0 0 0 Cantanessa 0 0 0 0 Gagner p 0 0 0 0 Jorny 3b 4 2 1 1 McCauley p 0 00 0 Butler cf 42 0 Theisp 0 0 00 Collins p 0 0 0 0 Beresford p 0 0 0 0 Total 3 410 4 Total 32 3 6 3 LOB -Minnesota 6; Michigan 9. 2B- Minnesota 3: Appert (8), Howard (11), Beaulieu (3); Michigan 2: Butler 2 (2), BB - Minnesota 3: Kennedy, Howard, Welch; Michigan 4: Koman 3, Sokol. SB- Minnesota 2: Kennedy (18), Howard (11); Michigan 3: Rudden (2), Butler (1), Jominy (6). CS- Michigan 2: Koman (4), Rudden (1). R H E Michigan 010 000 102 4 10 1 Minnesota 200 100 000 3 6 0 IP H R ER BB SO Minnesota Gagner 5 6 1 1 3 8 McCauley 1.1 2 1 1 0 0 Theis L(1-1) 2.1 2 2 2 1 2 Beresford 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 Michigan Trzos 7 6 3 3 2 3 Collins W (2-0) 2 0 0 0 1 2 Umpires- HP: Curt Moreno, 1B: Sean Valleck, 2B: Bill Lopina, 38: Ken Gracener At- Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis Attendance - 523 Tme -2:52 SATURDAY GAME 2 Michigan 2, Minnesota 4 Michigan (44 BgTen, 8:6) M innuota (53,13.1.5) Player AB R H Bi Player AB R H BI Catanessa2b3 0 0 0 Steidicf 2 0 1 0 Korecky ph 1 0 0 0 Welch ss 3 0 1 0 Sokol dh 3 0 1 0Appert 2b 3 1 1 1 Koman ss 2 00 O0 Kennedyrf 3 010 Roberts if 4 0 0 0 Howard 3 1 1 0 Lollio rf 3 1 3 0 Buckin If 2 0 0 0 Wrightib 3 1 1 0 Pattee 3b 3 1 1 1 Fox c 3 00 1iRoach ib 3121 Jominy 3b 3 0 0 0Dick dh 2 00 0 Butler cf 3 0 1 0 Elder ph 1 0 0 0 Leveque p 0 0 0 0 Beaulieu c 3 0 1 1 Brauer p 0 000 Krogman p 0 0 0 0 Total 28 26 61Total 26 4 9 4 E - Minnesota 2: Welch (11), Pattee (14) DP - Min- nesota LOB-Michigan 8; Minnesota 5. 28- Min- nesota 2: Pattee (6), Roach (5), HR -Minnesota: Appert (5) 98- Michigan 2: Sokol, Koman; Minneso- ta: Steidl. SB- Minnesota: Steidl (14), Beaulieu (3). CS- Minnesota: Kennedy (1). R H E Michigan 000 002 0 2 6 0 Minnesota 100 300 x 4 9 2 iP H R ER BB SO Michigan Leveque L(1-1) 3.1 7 4 4 1 2 Brauer 2.2 2 0 0 0 3 Minnesota Krogman W (3-3) 7.0 6 2 1 2 5 Umpires - HP: Ken Gracener, 1B: Curt Moreno, 28: Sean Velleck, 38: Bill Lopina. At - Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis Attendance -462 Time-1:58 SATURDAY GAME 1 Michigan 1, Minnesota 3 Michigan second basemah Jordan Cantalamessa records a put out against a sliding Jason Kennedy In Sunday's 4-3 win. posure and prevented Minnesota from getting too far ahead. Although Trzos allowed early runs, his recov- ery let Michigan get back in the game and was a large part of the Wolverines' win. "The good thing was (Trzos) kept battling," Harrison said. "He gets a lot of credit for this win." Mental toughness was not only important for Trzos, but for the rest of the Wolverines as well. According to Harrison, it was important that the team not get down mentallygafter the three losses earlier in the weekend. He did not want to give up a game because of a mental let down. "I told them after the second game on Saturday," Harrison said. "The Big Ten is tough, the way that you do well in it is to win like we did today. After you lose three games, you stay tough mentally and come away with a win." Hill no longer just a thrower' By Jim Weber Daily Sports Writer It's easy to tell when junior Rich Hill is coming to the mound. As soon as he leaves -the dugout, scouts reach for their radar guns. The left-hander has the size - 6-foot-5 -'and a 90 mile-per-hour fastball that scouts drool over. As a result, he was drafted in the sev-_ enth round by the Anaheim Angels BASEBALL in the 2001 Major League First- Year Player Draft, and is Michi- Notebook gan's active career strikeout leader (173). Like he did in his first two seasons, Hill leads the team in strikeouts (48), with almost twice as many as any other Wolverine. He has baffled opposing batters and managers even more as of late. In Saturday's 3-1 loss to Minnesota, Hill pitched a complete game, allowing just five hits and two earned runs while strik- ing out eight. Hill lowered his ERA to 3.86, but his record dropped to 1-3 because he received little offensive support. Four weeks ago, Hill had 15 strikeouts and allowed just two runs - one earned and one off of his error - against Texas-San Antonio. But Michigan still lost, 3-2, in extra innings after Hill left the game. Hill also thinks his stats have been skewed from performances like he had in an 11-4 loss to Oral Roberts on March 23. "I pitched six good innings, but I gave up a home run - that happens - and there were two guys on base," Hill said. "That gets the ERA up." Just like his ERA and record, Hill's controltisn't per- fect. "Bobby (Korecky) hits the spots a lot better than I do," Hill said last weekend after the Iowa series. "I might throw a fastball right down the middle and try and get them to swing. That is what I was doing today, and it looked pretty good. "Bob and I, we both throw hard. It seems to me that Iowa's bats were late the whole day. They just couldn't catch up to anything." Minnesota's coach John Anderson was so impressed that he gave Hill one of the greatest compliments a pitcher can receive. "He told Coach Harrison that I am finally a pitcher, instead of just a thrower," Hill said. As Anderson discovered, Hill has made a lot of progress since the teams met a year ago. His fastball has gained even more velocity and has been clocked at up to 93 miles per hour. More importantly, he has more control over the pitch, and he has better placement. Hill has made even more progress with his changeup and curveball. Hill said his curve used to "loop" but is now much sharper when it breaks. He believes the key to his off-speed pitch is that it confuses hitters, who have to key on his fastball that Michigan pitching leaders (Through April 7) Player ERA W-L IP H BB SO R ER 1. Joe Young 0.00 0-0 3.1 5 1 4 1 0 2. Matt Collins 2.38 2-0 11.1 7 4 9 7 3 3. Paul Hammond 3.00 0-0 6.0 11 2 7 2 2, 4. Rich HIll 3.86 1-3 35.0 32 22 48 22 15 5. Bobby Korecky 4.95 2-3 43.2 45 13 25 36 24 6. Jeff Trzos 5.18 1-3 35.0 29 11 14 28 14 7. Phil Tognetti 6.35. 0-2 5.2 11 5 5 5 4 8. Chad Garson 6.43 0-0 7.0 12 2 5 5 5 9. Tim Leveque 6.75 1-1 20.0 27 12 14 15 15 10. Jim Brauer 6.92 1-3 26.0 33 10 20 26 20 Michigan batting leaders (Through April 7) Player AVG. AB R H HR RBI BB SO 1. Brock Koman .360 89 17 32 2 11 12 7 2. Jason Wuerfel .318 22 2 7 0 6 0 5 3. Gino Lollio .310 76 9 26 2 13 9 14 4. Brandon Roberts .303 76 11 23 3 16 9 18 5. Mike Sokol .302 86 14 26 1 13 13 23 6. Nate Wright .279 61 7 17 1 7 1 14 7. Matt Butler .273 22 2 6 0 0 4 3 8. Jake Fox .245 49 9 12 1 2 6 16 9. Brandon Jominy .245 49 9 12 0 6 3 10 10. Bobby Korecky .233 30 5 7 0 0 1 3 Freshman pitcher g io d Mlchigan(44 DigTen, 8-16) Piaer ABH8Bi Caarassa2b B 0 0g1 Koman ss 3 02 0 Roberts If 3 0 1 0 Lolliorf 2 000 Wright b 3 010 Coleman c 1 0 0 0 Fox ph/c 3 1 10 Jominy 3b 2 0 0 0 Butler cf 1 xO 1 0 Korecky ph 1 0 0 0 Rutkowski cf 0 0 0 0 Hill p 0 0 0 0 Total 25 1 7 1 Minnesota(53,13-15) Player ABR H B Steidl cf 2 11 0 Pattee 3b 2 1 0 0 Appert 2b 3 1 1 0 Kennedyrf 2 0 1 3 Howard If 2 0 0 0 Elder 1b 3 0 2 0 Hencirik pr 0 0 0 0 Roach1b 0 0 0 Gerkin dh 2 0 0 0 Guetaff ph/dh0 0 0 0 Welch ss 3 0 0 0 Beaulieu c 2 0 0 0 Woodrowp 0 000 Theis p 00 00 Total 213 53 L -.1 LOB- Minnesota 5; Michigan 8.2B- Minnesota: Kennedy (5); Michigan 2: Koman (5); :B- Minnesota 2: Howard 1, Guetzlaff 1; Michigan 2: Koman 1, Lol-. lo 1. SB-Minnesota 3: Steidl (11), Pattee (4), Elder (2). CS- Minnesota 2; Steidl (3), Howard (3) Minnesota 000 100 0 1 7 1 Michigan 200 001 x 3 5 0 BERNDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Junior left-hander Rich Hill pitched a complete game in the first contest of Saturday's doubleheader but took a 3-1 loss. scouts love. Hill thinks that was the case when he struck out Minnesota's best hitter, Jason Kennedy, on Saturday. Hill has grown quite fond of his new weapon - the slow ball. "I love that pitch," Hill said with a laugh. RARE MISCUES: Multiple errors and unearned runs are not new to Michigan baseball, but they are to second baseman Jordan Cantalamessa. Prior to the weekend series, the Wolverines already had 44 errors this season - 14 more than their oppo- nents. They even allowed 13 unearned runs in the first inning of a 21-2 loss to San Diego. But, going into Fri- day's game with Minnesota, Cantalamessa had a .985 fielding percentage and just one error. His success at second base was even more impressive considering he hasn't played the position for a year; he was moved to the outfield last year to accommodate former Wolverine captain Scott Tousa. Cantalamessa and his numbers took a crash in the third inning of Friday's game. First, he failed to turn a double play that led to one unearned run. His second error and the second unearned run of the inning came when he dropped a pop fly. Cantalamessa actually caught the ball, which almost touched the top of the Metrodome, but it fell out of his glove when he crashed to the Astroturf. Cantalamessa wasn't the only Wolverine who had trouble in the field Friday. Pitcher Bobby Korecky committed a fielding error in the third inning. First baseman Nate Wright committed his first error of the season in the fifth inning, leading to four more unearned runs. Minnesota Woodrow W (3-3) Theis Michigan Hill L (1-3) IP H R ER BB SO 6.0 7 1 1 2 6 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 6.0 5 3 2 2 8 The Fish vs. The Dome Heading into this weekend at the Metrodome, the Wolverines were excited to get a chance to play in a big-league ballpark. After playing there, though, some Michigan k°y players had some second thoughts.Q "I thought it was really ugly," freshman Matt Collins said yesterday.w By Dan Rosen Daily Sports Writer Left-handed reliever Paul Ham- mond didn't see much action for Michigan yesterday. In fact, the freshman didn't take the mound at all on the trip to Minnesota this weekend. With the way that starters Rich Hill, Bobby Korecky and Jeff Trzos have been throwing of late - the three gave up just six earned runs in 20 innings pitched against the Gold- en Gophers - the Wolverines have not had too much of a chance to test their pitching depth. But Michigan interim coach Chris Harrison was especially impressed with the way Hammond threw against Detroit last Wednes- day, and the freshman should begin to see more action as the Big Ten season heats up. "Matt (Collins) and Paul are both throwing well for us," Harrison said. He said that he plans on using Hammond as the team's primary closer for the Big Ten season. The left-hander is taking nothing for granted, though. He expects to split time in the finishing role with fellow newcomer Collins, a right-hander from Bloomfield Village, who earned the win Sunday in relief of Trzos. Hammond said that the pitch- er whose chosen to close will proba- bly depend on the situation, with Hammond relieving righthanders One of the things about Ham- mond that has impressed Harrison is his pickoff move. Last Wednes- day, Harrison gave Hammond the start - the first of his career - to make sure that he got to throw a couple of innings before being tb-c int Rm pn,_ in T at has put in every day at practice. "My pickoff move (was) terrible until I got here," the Mason, Ohio native said. "We work on pickoff moves 20 minutes a day. We work on a lot of different situations, dif- ferent pickoff moves. (Mine) has improved a lot since I came to Michigan." Catcher Jake Fox said that Ham- mond is so successful picking guys off because he takes advantage of being a lefty. Southpaws have tradi- tionally had an easier time keeping runners close at first because they have a prime view of the base and don't have to turn their bodies too mdch to throw over. "He brings his leg up and reads the runner, and if (the runner) takes off, he just throws over," Fox said. "It makes it easy on us as catchers because we don't ever have to worry about runners getting good jumps or anything. He's great at that." As a team, the Wolverines have been successful picking runners off so far this season. Korecky also threw out two runners in his start against Iowa last Saturday. But Hammond's pickoff move is not the only thing that has given Harrison confidence in the young freshman. The left-hander said that his control, especially as of late, has probably helped his cause as well. "I've definitely been more pin- point with my pitches than in the past," Hammond said. "And my changeup has been a lot better." So far this season, Hammond has given up just two earned runs in six innings of action. His contributions, along with those of Collins - who has allowed just three earned runs in 11.1 innings - could greatly benefit a Michigan team that has Umpires -HP: Bill Lopina, 1B: Ken Gracener, 28: Curt Moreno, 38: Sean Velleck. At-Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis "Time - 2.12 FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan 0, Minnesota 10 Michigan (3.2 Big Ten,7414) Minnesota (11-14 Big Ten, 3.2) Player AB R H 8I Piayer AB R H BI Ca aressa2B4 00 0Steidcf 4 2 0 1 Sokol dh 4 0 1 0 Guetlaffph/cf 1 0 1 0 Koman ss 4 0 1 0Wechas 5 1 1 1 Roberts If 3 0 1 0OAppert 2b 3 1 1 1 Lollio rf 3 0 0 0 Kennedy rf 4 1 1 1 Wright lb 30 0 0 OHoward if 4 1 2 2 Coleman c 1 0 0 0Pattee 3b 4 1 1 1 Wuerfeiph/c1 0 0 0 Roach b 3 1 1 1 Jominy 3b 3 0 00 Elder ph/1b 1 00 0 Butlercf 1 0 0 0 Dick ph 2 1 0 0 Fox ph 1 0 00 Becker ph/dh 1 0 00 Rutkowski cf 1 0 0 0 Beaulieu c 3 1 1 1 Korecky p 0 0 0 OMolidrem p 0 0 0 0 Garson p 0 0 0 0 Totals 29 0 3 0OTotal 25 1 5 1 E- Cantalamessa 2(3); N. Wright(1); B. Korecky(3). DP- Minnesota 1. LOB - Michigan 4; Minnesota 4. 2B- M. Sokol(6); B. Roberts(8); S Howard 2(10); B. Pattee(5), D. Roach(4). HR - J. Kennedy(6). SB- A. Coleman(1). CS- L. Appert(3). Iowa 000 000 000 0 3 4 Michigan 003 040 03X 10 9 0 IP H R ER Be SO Michigan Bobby Korecky 7.0 4 7 0 2 3 Chad Garson 1.0 5 3 3 0 2 Minnesota Craig Molldrem 9.0 3 0 0 1 5 Umpires - HP: Sean Valleck, 18: Bill Lopina, 28: Ken Gracener, 38: Curt Moreno At- Hubert H.HumphreyMetrodome, Minneapolis Attendance- 634 Time-2:00 BIG TEN STANDINGS Conference Overall Team W Indiana 6 Ohio St 6 Minnesota 5 Purdue 5 Michigan State 4 Michigan 4 Illinois 3 Northwestern 2 Penn State 2 Iowa 2 Friday's results: Purdue 6, ILUNolS 2 INDIANA 10, Iowa 7 L 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 w 23 18 13 12 19 8 15 8 11 10 L 6 6 15 15 6 16 6 15 14 14 After comparing the clear that he's right. Category Stadium name Home team Age Capacity Surface team's home parks, it's We have The Fish Michigan Baseball 79 4,000 Grass DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily David Terrell and the guy from Hello Faz Pizza agree: There's nothing like a game at The Fish. They have Metrodome Minnesota Twins 20 55,883 AstroTurf Edge The Fish The Dome The Fish The Dome The Fish MINNESOTA 10, Michigan 0 NORTHWESTERN 6, Michigan State 3 Penn State 14, OHIO STATE 2 Saturday's results: Purdue 5, ILLINOIS 2 ILLINOIS 5, Purdue 1 INDIANA 5, Iowa 1 INDIANA 6, Iowa 1 MINNESOTA 3, Michigan 2 MINNESOTA 4, Michigan 2 RA;-.r -C+- - N- ---rrcTrn.