Monday, June 2, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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After Putnam and
Fetter,'M' was lost

CLIF REEDER/Daily
Junior Adam Abraham was visibly emotional after the Michigan baseball team was bounced from the NCAA Tournament yesterday.
Blue stuck in Ann Arbor

By JASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team
thought it would be charging onto
the field at Ray Fisher Stadium after
a victory yesterday afternoon. After
all, the Wolverines were hosting the
NCAA regional. They had already
beaten Kentucky a day earlier, so
another win over the Wildcats was
in their grasp.
But the only hugs the Michigan
baseball players gave after a 12-6 loss
to Kentucky were consolatory ones.
"It's over now," junior third base-
man Adam Abraham said. "I don't
have any regrets. We played hard. In
the end we did everything we could,
and it just wasn't quite enough."
The night before, the 16th-ranked
Wolverines (46-14) lost a heartbreak-
ing game against No. 23 Arizona, 4-
3, and were pushed into the loser's
bracket. No. 24 Kentucky (44-18
overall) then eliminated the Wolver-
ines from the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats didn't waste time
tearing apart Michigan. The best
hitting team in the Southeastern
Conference (.319 combined batting
average) scored seven runs in the
first inning.
Michigan coach Rich Maloney

started lefty sophomore Jeff DeCar-
lo on the mound because of a favor-
able matchup against Kentucky's
left-hand-heavy lineup, even though
DeCarlo had pitched just 15 total
innings entering the game.
He still had 15 after the game.
Maloney pulled his starter with
the bases loaded before he ever
recorded an out.
"We thought the matchup, left on
left, was the right matchup," Malo-
ney said. "As it turned out, we didn't
get it done."
Junior Ben Jenzen relieved
DeCarlo and allowed all three run-
ners to score, letting in four of his
own before the inning ended.
"If you really look at our season,
we only lost 14 times, and teams had
to get us in the first inning," Malo-
° ney said. "If they didn't get us in the
first inning, we didn't lose too many
games."
Michigan clawed back when
junior Zach Putnam hit a three-run
home run in the fourth inning, and
fifth-year senior Leif Mahler had
an RBI double in the fifth to pull the
Wolverines within three runs.
"In the dugout, we thought we
had a chance," Abraham said. "They
just came up with some good plays
on us. You need to have breaks in

this tournament, and we definitely
didn't get any breaks."
Michigan had chances to close
the gap even more, putting runners
on base every inning. But the Wol-
verines also left men on base every
inning - 17 in all. The Wolverines
actually out-hit Kentucky 16-12, but
the Wildcats stranded just five run-
ners.
"We just didn't get the timely
hits the way we needed to in order
to win the tournament," Maloney
said. "We just didn't get the hits to
knock in the runs. Sometimes that
happens."
Michigan had arguably its best
season in the program's recent his-
tory. Its Big Tenrecord for most wins
in a season (26) will likely never be
broken because the conference sea-
son will be reduced to 24 games next
year. The Wolverines had their most
wins in a season since 1989. And for
the first time since 1986, Ann Arbor
hosted a regional.
But all its accomplishments were
soured with two losses this week-
end.
"We were flying high to win this
tournament and had a lot of confi-
dence in this team with good rea-
son," Putnam said. "It just knocks
the wind right out of you."

Forget Alan Oak's game-
winning home run or
Derek VanBuskirk's
incredible
warning-
track catch
- the Michi-
gan base-
ball team's
regional
champion-
ship last
season rests ANDY REID
solely on the
shoulders of four players: Zach
Putnam, Mike Wilson, Chris
Fetter and Andrew Hess, the
Wolverines' four starting pitch-
ers. The lack of four distinct
starters this year is the main
reason the Wolverines' season
is now over.
Although warm-weather
teams seemingly get all the
perks - 40-plus home games,
longer seasons and more out-
doors practice time - Michi-
gan, along with everyone else
in the Big Ten, has one huge
advantage over squads in the
Southeastern Conference or the
Pac-10. Series between Big Ten
teams last four games instead
of three, like most other confer-
ences around the nation.
The extra clutch pitcher the
Wolverines had was a huge
reason they were able to upset
No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt
last year.
Maybe Michigan baseball
pundits and fans took for grant-
ed that the Wolverines would
benefit from such inspired
pitching again this season.
After all, Hess was the only
starter lost to graduation - the
other three would be back in
2008 to defend the regional
title.
Putnam and Fetter held up
their end. Both were second-
team All-American selections
and Putnam garnered Big Ten
Pitcher of the Year honors.
Wilson, seemingly the most
confident pitcher in the rota-
tion last year, should have been
a reliable No. 3 this year.
Wilson thrived under pres-
sure last season asa sopho-

more, especially in the NCAA
regional, where he fanned six
batters in 7.1 innings.
"I wanted this game, and I
got it," Wilson told me after his
stellar performance against the
Commodores. "The crowd was
electric. I'm sure there were a
lot of people worried about how
I'd respond, butI feed off it. I
really do."
His confidence was shaken
this year.
I guess that's to be expected
from someone who went from
being a reliable pitcher one
year to one with a 9.00 ERA, a
dismal 2-4 record and a head-
scratching spot on the bench
after getting dropped from the
weekend rotation the next.
Michigan had enough trou-
ble findinga replacement for
Hess, let alone compensating
for Wilson's ungraceful drop
in production. Travis Smith,
Eric Katzman, Kolby Wood and
Tyler Burgoon all started week-
end games for the Wolverines,
and none stood out enough to
decisively grab a routine spot in
the rotation.
"For sure it builds confi-
dence," Fetter said about pitch-
ing every weekend. "Knowing
where your spot in the rotation
is, knowing your role on the
team helps build confidence.
But in order to get there, you
need to perform. You have to
establish yourself. These guys
that haven't started all year, it's
because they haven't preformed
consistently."
Pitching consistency won an
NCAA regional last year - lack
thereof ended the Wolverines'
season this time around.
Next year will be interesting.
Putnam will probably be pitch-
ing professionally, and Fetter,
a redshirt junior, could signa
contract, too.
"A guy like Fetter, right now,
he could be drafted," official
scorekeeper and general Michi-
gan baseball historian Jim Sch-
neider said. "But if he doesn't,
or he doesn't get drafted where
he wants to be, he has the
See REID, Page 14