By Thomas Nelshoppen of The Baseball Zealot
My Illini were knocked out of the Tournament yesterday but I thought I’d stick around and see how things ended up. The Tournament was down to three teams this morning and ever shrinking. The offensive-minded teams of Purdue and Indiana took on each other for the privilege of facing powerhouse and top seed Michigan later in the evening.
Purdue 11 Indiana 7
Purdue rebounded from their loss to Michigan and scored early on Indiana. With leadoff man Brandon Haveman on base (he was 4 for 5), cleanup hitter Dan Black had plenty of runners to drive in. To that end, Mr Black made the most of his opportunity, hitting 3 homeruns for the game.
Losing 10-3 in the top of the eighth, Indiana’s potent lineup showed some signs of life. Michael Earley led off with a homer. After two singles by Evan Crawford and Tyler Cox, Andrew Means grounded home Crawford. Once again, it was Chris Hervey who came through. Hervey singled in another run. Josh Phegley doubled in the fourth run in the inning to bring the Hoosiers within three runs, 10-7.
But that would be all Indiana would score. If the three homeruns weren’t enough, Dan Black hit a deep fly ball to score another from third for his fifth rbi.
Purdue starter Matt Jansen got the win allowing 2 earned runs in six innings.
Michigan 3 Purdue 2
After finishing off Indiana, Purdue then took on Michigan for the second time in the tournament. The Wolverines handed the Boilermakers their only loss so far. Michigan, in the winner’s bracket, was playing for the championship. Purdue was playing for the chance of a rematch on Sunday.
It didn’t take long for the Boilermakers to score. In the second inning, Jon Moore doubled in Alex Jaffee who led the inning off with a walk. One out later, Nick Overmeyer drove Moore with a base hit. A quick Purdue 2-0 lead.
But Michigan pecked away at the lead and it wasn’t pretty for Purdue. Adam Abraham walked with two outs in the fifth inning. Next up, Kevin Cislo doubled and Abraham scored on a ball booted by Purdue leftfielder Jordan Comadena.
In the sixth, Ryan Lamarre led off the inning with a homer tying the game 2-2. Kevin Cislo once again doubled with one out in the seventh. Derek VanBuskirk moved him to third on a ground out. Then the unthinkable happened to Purdue reliever Andy Loomis. He threw a wild pitch scoring Cislo putting the go-ahead run on the board for Michigan.
With Michael Powers on the mound for the Wolverines the last two innings, there wasn’t much Purdue could do. Powers allowed just two hits and one walk and got the save.
Congratulations to the Michigan Wolverines!
The Big Ten has come out with the All-Tournament team:
P – Chris Fetter, Michigan
P – Zach Putnam, Michigan
P – Michael Powers, Michigan
P – Kevin Manson, Illinois
C – Dan Black, Purdue
1B – Jerrud Sabourin, Indiana
2B – Cory Kovanda, Ohio State
3B – Adam Abraham, Michigan
SS – Tyler Cox, Indiana
OF – Chris Hervey, Indiana
OF – Kevin Cislo, Michigan
OF – John Moore, Purdue
DH – Rob Yodice, Penn State / Michael Earley, Indiana
Most Outstanding Player: Michael Powers, Michigan
My initial thought… it’s a shame that there isn’t an extra spot for Indiana catcher Josh Phegley. He had an awesome Tournament.
As for me, I had a great time. It’s a shame my Illini didn’t last longer in the tourney but the Big Ten Tournament is a good way to watch some good college baseball. Check out my extended coverage of the Tournament at The Baseball Zealot.
