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| There was a good crowd for Tuesday night baseball at Ray Fisher Stadium! |
The Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, (33-15) visited Ray Fisher Stadium this week for a two game series against the Michigan Wolverines. It was the first time that the two teams have ever met in Ann Arbor, and each team claimed a victory in the process. The Wolverines (20-29) have stumbled a bit this season, and are currently in second to last place in the The Big Ten'with a 6-12 record against the rest of the conference. The Wolverines roster is littered with youth, including thirteen freshman along with eight Sophomores. As their experience level increases, their leadership should help the Wolverines achieve several victories over the coarse of the next few seasons.
Coastal Carolina lead all of Division 1 in ERA (2.44) coming into the series against the Wolverines, and their pitching was on display as soon as they got off the bus. Ryan Connolly's relief pitching performance was the story of Tuesday nights game. He entered the game in the bottom of the third inning, and never looked back as he often appeared to pull the string on confused Wolverine hitters, who were unable to make good contact against Connolly's stuff. Upon Connolly's arrival the score was 2-1 in favor of the Chanticleers and the Wolverines had the bases loaded. The Wolverines were unable to add anything to the scoreboard and fell 6-1 under the lights in the series opener.
A good combination of offense, and pitching fueled the Wolverines to a 5-2 victory over the Chanticleers on Wednesday night. As the light rain fell upon Ray Fisher Stadium, the Wolverines allowed just 5 hits, while scoring two runs in the first inning, and adding two more runs in the second. Wolverine Senior Bobby Brosnahan lasted three innings allowing just one hit. Wolverine Freshman Matt Ogden pitched five innings in relief and only allowed one hit while earning the win. The game got interesting in the ninth inning, when the Wolverines left the door open for the Chanticleers who scored two quick runs to cut the deficit to 5-2. Sophmore pitcher Alex Lakatos struck out the final two batters to secure the victory for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines must now go on the road for a three game series starting tonight against the #15 nationally ranked Purdue Boilermakers who are currently 37-9 overall and are 14-4 against the rest of 'The Big Ten'. Michigan returns next Thursday to close out the 2012 home schedule with a three game series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska is currently in seventh place in 'The Big Ten' with a 9-9 record against the conference, while posting a 29-19 overall record.
Give both Coastal Carolina, and Michigan lots of credit for scheduling this weeks series in Ann Arbor. The Chanticleers have a well respected program which has reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons. Successful programs from the South rarely come to the Midwest to play non-conference games. Normally teams from the Midwest travel down south early in the season to play away games, or games held at neutral sites. The Chanticleers had already defeated the Wolverines twice in March at Watson Stadium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The scores of those games were 7-3, and 6-2.
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| Action in the bullpen! |
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| Sophmore Michael O'Neill entered the series with a 336 batting average. |
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| The Wolverines earned the win Wednesday night 5-2. Click on the link below. |
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