5B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 15, 2002 YESTERDAY'S GAME Michigan 11 Illinois 12 SATURDAY GAME 2 SATURDAY GAME 1 Michigan 10 Michigan Illinois ., 5 3 1 Illinois FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan Illinois 0 1 0 Michigan 11, Illinois 12 Player A R H B t Player AB Korecky dh 5 1 2 0 Cashman cf 4 Jominy 3b 4 3 2 OMeagher ss 5 Koman ss 3 2 2 1Schutzn:er ib 2 Roberts If 4 1 1 1 Arlis c 5 Fox c 5 2 3 5 Simmons 3b 5 Lollo rf 3 0 0 0 Parenti rf 5 Sokol ph 1 0 1 1 Wickerdh 3 Rutkowski pro0 0 0 OFlynn If 4 Wright 1b 50 0 0 O Raymond 2b 4 Cartalamessa2b 4 2 2 2 Ziemba p 0 Butlercf 4 0 0 0 Olsonp 0 Trzos p 0 0 00 Gorsky p 0 Leveque p 0 0 0 0 Mazurek p 0 Garson p 0 00 0 YESTERDAY'S GAME R H BI 0 1 0 0 0 0 4'2 0 2 2 4 2 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 224 232 0121 - t. 1 I 1 1 1 Backstops help in various ways By Dan Rosen Daily Sports Writer Michigan's Alex Coleman won't challenge right-field- er Brandon Roberts or catcher Jake Fox for the team lead in home runs this spring. In fact, Coleman has just one extra base-hit in 50 at-bats this season - a double against California-Riverside on Feb. 24. But the junior catcher plays an important role for the Wolverines with his steady defense and calming influence on the young BASEBALL members of the pitching staff. Hit- ting in the seventh spot of Michigan's Notebook batting order, Coleman needs to get on base to set up scoring chances for the top half of the lineup. On Friday against Illinois, the Texas native went 2- for-4 and gave the Wolverines valuable opportunities to put a run on the board. After a leadoff single in the top of the fifth inning of Michigan's 1-0 loss to Illinois, Coleman got into scoring position on a bunt by second baseman Jordan Cantalamessa. Even though the bottom of the Wolverines order was unable to advance the junior past third base, Coleman gave the team a good opportunity to score a run in a tight pitchers duel. In Michigan's 9-7 win over Central Michigan last Wednesday, Coleman's efforts with the young pitchers helped save the game. In the ninth inning, Coleman made his way out to the mound to help relax freshman pitcher Matt Collins. Until that point in the inning, the right-hander had given up two runs and it appeared that a Michigan victory might be in jeopardy. But Coleman steadied Collins' nerves and the pitcher forced the next hitter to ground into a game-ending double play. "I just told him he was making the pitches, we were getting the ground balls," Coleman said. "I told him to go out there and keep making (them)." Coleman has also had a positive impact on defense. The catcher position is often called the most important defensive position on the field because of the amount of action it sees. Coleman has accumulated a .988 fielding percentage behind the plate, good for third on the Wolverines. This season, the junior has made just one error in 19 games - providing much-needed consisten- cy for a team that is near the bottom in the Big Ten in fielding percentage. That type of production is what earns Coleman play- ing time. One of Michigan's other catchers, Jake Fox, has been hitting well of late. The sophomore had six hits in I1 at-bats this weekend with three homeruns. But Harrison still expects him to split time with Coleman behind the plate. "You never want to play one catcher for the whole season," Harrison said. "We have the luxury of having Merriman changes pitchers' approach Total 37121410 Total 36 11310 LOB - Illinois 9; Michigan 5; E - Michigan 1: Fox (8); OP- Michigan 1; lllinios 1; 28 - Illinois 2: Schutzen- hofer (9), Arlis (9); Michigan 4: Koman 2(10), Fox (6), Sokol (7); HR - Illinois 2: Arlis (3), Simmons (3); Michigan 4: Fox 2(5), Cantalamessa 2(2) BB -li-i- nois 6: Schutzenhofer 3, Wicker, Flynn, Raymond; Michigan 2: Jominy, Lollio. CS - Michigan 1: Korecky (1). By Jim Weber Daily Sports Writer Catcher Jake Fox's bat erupted on Saturday. The sophomore was one of many lineup additions after Friday's loss. two catchers to use." IT'S ALIVE: Roberts' bat woke up this weekend. The sophomore right fielder was 2-for-18 in his last five games and hadn't hit a ball out of the park since a March 9 win over Bowling Green. But in Saturday's first game, Roberts capped off a 10-run Michigan assault with a seventh-inning grandslam. "In that situation, you know the pitcher has to throw to you," Roberts said of coming up with the bases loaded. "He doesn't want to walk you. So I was looking for a fastball down the middle, and that's what he threw me." It was the sophomore's fourth home run of the sea- son. Roberts added to that total with another long ball in the second game of the doubleheader - a 5-3 Michi- gan win. THE JUMBLE: Harrison made some changes to Michi- gan's batting order on Saturday after a 1-0 shutout on Friday at the hands of Illinois ace Andy Dickinson - the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in 2001. Harrison moved No. 8 hitter Brandon Jominy into the No. 2 slot. He also brought Fox in as the designated hitter to add some offense to the lineup. The Wolverines' bats proceeded to explode for 10 runs in the final three innings of the first game of Satur- day's doubleheader. Jominy responded to his new spot in the lineup with a 2-for-4 performance, while Fox went 2-for-3 and hit his third home run of the season. Michi- gan split the weekend series. Michigan assistant coach Steve Mer- riman appears to have hypnotized his pitchers. In the first year of his second stint with Michigan (he was also on staff in 1995), Merriman has brought a new attitude to the Wolverines that even makes conditioning fun. "(Merriman) is very upbeat, and he makes us feel like we want to run," senior pitcher Bobby Korecky said. Korecky also wants his pitches called by Merriman - and with good reason. In Korecky's first two outings, Michi- gan lost by a combined total of 29-17, and the ace's ERA was above 13. That's when Merriman stepped in. Merriman started calling Korecky's pitches, as he does with all the other pitchers on staff. Since then, Korecky has returned to the form that made him the ace of the pitching staff, allowing just nine runs in five starts. He was especially dominant this weekend, allowing just one earned run in eight innings on Friday against Illi- nois, but lost, 1-0, because Michigan gave Korecky no offensive support. Korecky said that Merriman has helped him "more than I could imag- ine" and described Merriman calling his games as a relief. "It takes a lot of pressure off the guys," interim coach Chris Harrison said. "All they have to do now is get the sign and put the ball where he is telling them to put it." Junior Rich Hill, the second pitcher in Michigan's rotation, was a skeptic. "At first, I didn't know about (Merri- man calling the game)," Hill said. "But when I went out there, I really liked how he called the games." Merriman's effect on Hill is as impressive as his effect on Korecky. Hill has dropped his ERA by almost one full run since last season and he has allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts. This weekend, Hill shut out Illinois in a 10-0 win on Saturday, and struck out. eight. Merriman is good at calling his pitchers' games because of the preparation he does before each series. "He knows the (opposing) batters before the game," Hill said. "He does a great job going over the lineup and get- ting scouting reports." But his scouting reports were not the only reason Michigan led the Big Ten with the fewest earned runs allowed in conference play coming into the Illinois series. Merriman spends a lot of time working with his pitchers on an indi- vidual basis. With some pitchers, Mer- riman works extensively on mechanics. With others, he works on the mental aspect of the game. Merriman has been able to do some- thing that can be much more difficult than convincing players they like to run; he has made his pitchers believe in themselves. After working with Merri- man, Hill said that he steps to the mound with the mind set that is going to "dominate" every time. Merriman thinks that freshmen need the most help building confidence. "(Matt) Collins and (Paul) Ham- mond are two examples of freshmen that are mature right now, because of what we did with them early," Merri- man said. "Most freshmen don't suc- ceed in those situations. "The biggest thing that you try and do is build confidence and show them that the stuff they have is good." As Michigan's top two closers, Collins and Hammond have succeeded. Collins picked up his team-leading third win of the season in a 5-3 victory in Saturday's second game after striking out the final batter with the bases loaded. Collins was also clutch a week ago against Minnesota, shutting out the Golden Gophers in Michigan's come- from-behind 4-3 win. Hammond snapped out of his hypno- sis against Illinois, lasting just two- thirds of an inning in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. But he has pitched well in the other opportunities he has been given, posting a 3.38 ERA coming into this weekend. Hammond has made the most progress on his pickoff move, which he and the rest of the staff now spend a lot of time on. His high school pickoff move was bad, but he had two pickoffs in one inning a couple weeks ago against Detroit. The pitching staff looks like they are in a trance when it practices, too. Mer- riman set up a specific regiment for his starters when they are not pitching and his practice schedule is very strict; each exercise is done for a certain number of pitches and has a goal. It has gotten to a point where the Wolverines go out of their way to prac- tice. For example, Michigan does a drill in which each player moves laterally back and forth, rolling balls to each other. Starter Jeff Trzos was without a partner one day, but that didn't stop him from participating. Instead of using a teammate, Trzos ran back and forth picking up cups that he positioned on the field. Sounds like fun. Michigan Illinois Illinois Z iemba Olson Gorski w (1-0) Mazurek s(3) Michigan Trzos Leveque 1(1.2) Garson 214 200 1t1 011 020 17X IP H R ERBBSO 2 1 5 1 7 0.2 0.1 d 5 3 1 8 5 1 4 5 2 0 5 6 1 4 5 2 0 5 6 0 1 1 0 0 4 2 0 2 2 3 1 6 0 0 Umpires HP: Steve Partington,18: Lenny Brickens, 28: Tim Catton, 38: Scott Inman At- Illinois Field, champaign Attendance.-906 Tie.-2:57 SATURDAY GAME 2 Michigan 5, illin s 3 Mbcilui (44 BgTen, 8&10) mIfols(157 ,1W0 Play. Player AB R H BI So AB R H BI LW rf 4 1l1iCashman cf 4 01 0 ominy 3b 3 00 0 Meagherss 4 0 1 0 Koman ss 1 2 1 1Schut hoil1b3 21 0 Roberts2f 3 1 1 1 Simmons3b 3 1 1 0 Foxc 3121 1A010 1 Fredecksondh 1 0 0 0 Wght ri b 301 Roweph/dh3 0 1 0 Wuealredh b3 01 0P enoirf 3 03 2 Cantalamessa263 0 Bensko 2b 3 0 0 1 Butlercf 30 O o0Smithp 0000 Brauerp 0 0 0 0 Lanep 0 00 0 Hammond p 0 0 0 0 Collins p 0 0 0 0 1113 21 1214 0 ITotal 26 56 56Total 2649 4 E -lllinois: Meaher (12); Michigan: Fox (7) OP - Michigan LOB.- Michigan 3, Illinois 11. 288- Michi- gan: Koman (8),Fox (5), HR. Michigan: Roberts (5) Ban: Illinois: Schutzenhofer, Simmons, Parenti, Nben- sko; Michigan: Koman 2. SB - Illinois: Meagher (9), Parenti (12). SB -Michigan: Jominy (2) Michigan Illinois Michigan Brauer Hammond Collins w (3-0) Minnesota Reilly Smith Lane 1(2-2) R H E 000 2030 0 5 B1 010 100 1 3 9 1 IP H R ER BB S0 3.0 0.2 3.1 3 1 100 1 1 1 131 5 4.0 2 2 2 2 0 Umirs. HP: Scott Inman, 18: Steve Partington, 28: Lenny Brickens, 38: Tim Catton. A.Ilinois Field, ChampaignI Attendance.1,206 Time--:16 SATURDAY GAME 1 Michigan 10, Illinois 0 (S6 B(56n,D17) liub (48,1738) Player AS R H 8I Player AB R H 8I Llio rf 3 1 0 0 Cashman cf 3 0 0 0 Rukowskipri 0 0 0 Meagherss 3 0 1 0 Jominy 4 1 2O0Shut id1b 3 00 0 Koman ss 2 2OArlisc 3010 Roberts If 4 2 2 4 Simmvons 3b 3 0 0 0 Foxdh 322 1B o2 30 10 Coleman c 3 0 0 0 Patrick dh 2 0 0 0 Wright lb 2 1 11 DiMaria ph 1 00 0 catiamssa24 0 1 0 Parentirf 2 0 1 0 Butler 2 1 2l1FlynnlIf 1 01 0 illp 0 OOORowe p 0 000 Conroy p 0 00 0 Parksp 0 0 00 Gorski p 0 0 0 0 Total 281010 8 Total 24 0 5 0 Alex Coleman file LOB - Illinois 4; Michigan 6. E - Illinois 1: Schutzen- hofr (4); Michigan 1: Jominy (8) 28. Illinois 1: Arlis (8); Michigan 2: Fox (4). Wright (5); HR - Michigan 2: Roberts (4), Fox (3) 885. Illinois 0; Michigan 5: Koman 2, Fox, Coleman, Butler. CS- Meagher (2), Arlis (3) SH- Illinois 1: Flynn (1); Michigan 1: Butler (4); SF- Wright (1) Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 205 poundss Position: Catcher Hometown: Dallas High: Coleman blocked home plate and tagged out Iowa's Jeff Gremely to end a Hawkeyes' rally in the top of the third inning on March 31. Gremely had beaten the throw, but Coleman's leg kept the Iowa shortstop from scoring before the ball got there, The out at the plate helped preserve a Michigan win and a 3-1 series victory in the opening weekend of the Big Ten Season. Low: The junior catcher suffered a 3for-17 slump from March 30 to April 7. Coleman broke out of the drotght against Central Michigan on April 10, with a 2-for-4 performance. He fo- lowed that with a similar stat line against ; Illinois on Friday. ,: .:r.. ric' ::.:: ... . ,. :.: Scouting report: Coleman is a strong defensive catcher. He has just made one error on the season and is third on the team with a .988 fielding percentage. He also plays a big role as a calming influence to the pitching staff in the heat of the game. When his bat is hot, Coleman gets a lot of singles. He has just one extra base-hit this year - a double, way back on Feb. 24 against Cal.-Riverside. Michigan Illinois Illinois Rowe Conroy Parks Gorsk i Michigan Hill R H E 000 023 10101 000 000 0 0 5 1 IP H R ER 88SO 5.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 5 1 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 2 3 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 7 5 000 8 Coach Harrison on Coleman: Despite the Foffensive explosion of Jake Fox this past weekend, Coleman and Fox will still split time behind the plate. Interim coach ChrisHarrison loves having a player of Cole- man's defensive ability on the field. "Alex is a really good reciever," Harrison said. "He's also very intelligent. Even though he doesn't hit for a high average, he gets big hits for us." BRENDA N O'DONNELL/Daily Umpire. HP: Tim Catton, 18: Scott Inman, 28: Steve Partington, 38: Lenny Brickens At-Illinois Field, Champaign FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan 0, Illinois 1 Mch an (4.6Bigien, 9.17) lIln*s (4-6,17.4) Player AS R H BI Player AS R H I Lolio rf 4 0 0 0 Cashman cf 4 1 1 1 Sokol dh 3 0 0 0Meagher ss 4 01 0 wuerfelph 1 00 0 SchA b4 0 00 Koman ss 3 0 1 0Simmons 3b 3 0 20 RobertsIf 4 00 Arlis c 3 0 1 0 Wright 1b 4 0 10 Fraatklim 3 01 0 Colemanc 402 ORoweIf 3 0 0 0 CanitassaP2 00 0 Flynnf 0 0 00 Jominy 3b 30 0 0 OParenti rf 3 0 1 0 Butler cf 1 00 ORaymond2b 3000 Fox ph 1 0 0 0 Dickinson p 0 0 0 0 Rutkowskicf 0 0 0 0 Korecky p 0 0 0 0 'M' nine split series with Illinois Total 30 04 0Total 301£7 1 ILLINI Continued from Page 1B fielder Gino Lollio. Sokol doubled to left center, but Koman was held at third while Jominy scored. The Wolverines were unable to wave Koman home because of the good recovery of Illinois center fielder Brandon Cashman, who - after let- ting the ball go over his head - made a good throw to the cutoff man. Nate Wright then grounded out to the pitcher for the final out of the game, with runners stranded on sec- ond and third. "We had good at bats," Harrison said. "(The team) knew that we had scored a lot, and obviously we felt that we could come back and tie the game. I thought we came real close." Michigan enjoyed offensive suc- cess throughout the game, but could not make up the deficit after the swing in momentum. Up until the ninth, the Wolverines put on a hitting display spearheaded by two unlikely sources. Michigan second baseman Jordan Cantalamessa, not known for his power, helped get the Wolverines' offense started in the second inning with his first home run of the season. The next inning, Cantalamessa stepped to the plate and belted his sec- ond homer of the day, this time to left- center. Not to be outdone by his team- mate, Michigan catcher Jake Fox, who had been struggling from the plate before this weekend, also blast- ed a pair of home runs yesterday against the Illini. The sophomore catcher had a career-high five RBIs. Fox, who led the Wolverines in hit- ting in Big Ten play last season, found his swing as he drove in seven runs and was 6-for-II in three starts over the weekend. But even those outstanding numbers were not good enough for Fox, the consummate teammate, who values winning more than personal success. "I had a great weekend," Fox said. "But sometimes it doesn't feel like enough. Sometimes you feel down with the way things turned out." What's left... Home games in Bold Date Opponent Time 4/17 Oakland 3 p.m. 4/19 Michigan State 3 p.m. 4/20 Michigan State (DH) 1 p.m. 4/21 Michigan State 1 p.m. 4/26 Penn State 3 p.m. 4/27 Penn State (DH) 1 p.m. 4/28 Penn State 1 p.m. 4/30 Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. LOB - Illinois 5; Michigan 6. DP - Illinois 1 E - Meagher (11) 286- Illinois 0; Michigan 1: Koman (6), HR - Cashman (4) BB - Illinois 0; Michigan 2: Koman, Butler. SB- Illinois 2: Meagher (8), Parenti (11); Michigan 0: SH - Michigan 1: Cantalamessa (1) Michigan 000 000 000 0 4 0 Illinois 000 001 OOX 1 7 1 Illinois Dickinson Michigan Korecky IP HR ERBBSO 9 71 1 0 6 8 40 02 6 Senior Bobby Korecky is one of the many pitchers Steve Merriman has helped since he rejoined the Michigan coaching staff. Korrecting Korecky Senior pitcher Bobby Korecky didn't have much success this year calling his own games. Starting with the Texas-San Antonio series, assistant coach Steve Merriman has called the shots for Korecky. Korecky said hav- ing Merriman call the games "is a relief." It has shown. Since then, the ace has returned to his old form. IP H R ER BB SO BEFORE: at Cal-Riverside 5.0 11 12 8 2 2 at San Diego - 6.0 11 8 8 5 1 AFTER: at Texas-San Antonio 9.0 6 0 0 0 13 at Kansas 8.2 11 9 8 4 3 Iowa 7.0 2 0 0 0 3 at Minnesota 7.0 4 7 0 2 3 at Illinois 8.0 7 1 1 0 6 1 Umpires-"HP: Lenny Brickens, 1: Tim Catton, 28: Scott Inman, 38: Steve Partington At." Illinois Field, Champaign Attendance. 331 Tme. 1:50 BIG TEN STANDINGS Conference Overall Team W L W L Ohio State 9 3 21 8 Indiana 8 4 26 8 Purdue 8 4 16 16 Minnesota 7 4 15 17 Michigan State 6 5 22 8 Michigan 6 6 11 18 Illinois 5- 7 18 9 Penn State 3 8 10 18 Northwestern 3 8 10 18 Iowa 3 9 12 17 Fridav's results:" MICHIGAN STATE 13, Indiana 6 lurNos 1, Michigan 0 Minnesota 7, PENN STATE 2 OHIO STATE 7, Iowa 1 Saturdav's results: Indiana 1. MICHIGAN STATE 0 }, /{. _-. y.-,.{.J '" 55 R:: ":'"" ": i:'1".i1i i "i:.": {.i "''" i i"."::94". I I