Ed - Bumped from Fanposts because college football tourism is awesome, and this is awesomely done. 

B2

Pregame @ Darrell K Royal... via photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net

So this last weekend I went to visit my sister, a freshman at UT.  For those of you unaware, Texas played Baylor this weekend in a fairly lopsided affair.  The stadium (Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium) was extremely nice, and for those of you who have never been to Austin, its beautiful.  The pagentry of the pregame, the history, the pride--it was awesome.  The game wasn't much of a let down either.  Baylor brought everything they had.  Robert Griffin will terrorize the Big12 in 2-3 years.  This being his freshman year, he almost set the Big12 record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception.  I covet him.  He would be perfect for our current Michigan team.  The final score ended up much more lopsided than the play would have suggested early.  Texas eventually went on to win 45-21.

But what stood out to me the most is something I see at Michigan all too often, bad fandom. I've considered Texas and Michigan to be very similar programs, especially over the last few years.  The histories, the traditions, the success, Texas has been just a few years behind Michigan in many of its acheivements (such as the 97 M split MNC compared to the 05 UT MNC, wins all time, etc).  The similarities between Mack Brown and Lloyd Carr have always fascinated me.  Even the position of the two schools in respect to rivals has its similarities.  After my trip to Austin, I've found even our fandoms are similarly self righteous and overall, just poor.

Now I will throw out the idea that yes, this game was against Baylor (the Big10 equivalent of Indiana) and the game was played at 11am local time.  I could see this causing a slightly smaller crowd at Michigan Stadium, but what I saw in and around Darrell K. Royal was much worse than any Michigan game I'd been to or seen in the last few years.

Looking at the picture at the very top, you can see some empty seats along the alumni sections.  This is of very little surprise at pregame.  One would think the alumni are just coming in a little slow, perhaps walking the few blocks from the tailgating areas.  The problem was this wasn't the case.  The stadium never filled up.  The stadium was no more than 70% capacity at any time.  (box score says 97,000, i say bull)

via photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net

Late in the 1st half, Baylor was driving down the field down a touchdown (14-7).  I couldnt help but thinking to myself, "Wow, I have found a stadium quieter than Michigan Stadium."  Baylor drove the field to eventually score.  The fans were dumbfounded.  Texas scored on the ensuing possession; this score ended up being the last time Baylor posed a threat.  Griffin threw his second pick of the season, Texas returned it for a touchdown, they were then up 21-14.  This was at the 6:06 mark left in the half.

Over the next few minutes, droves of fans got up, to what I assumed was to beat the half time rush to the concession stands and restrooms.  The game played on, half time started, both bands played.  The shows were meh, but they were still alright.  When it came for the 2nd half to start, I noticed an overwhelming number of empty seats still.

via photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net

Well, the alumni section left.  The rest of the stadium was about as empty.  By the fourth quarter, there couldn't have been 30,000 people still in the stadium. 

Late in the 4th Quarter via photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net

After the game, I went with my sister to return her friends student ID at San Jacinto, the dorms across the street from the stadium.  While waiting for the guy to come downstairs (more on the students in a second), I overheard a lady on her cell phone who appeared to be in her early 30s say,

I stayed longer at this game than any other, I was surprised.  I made it a whole 30 minutes.

It came off as she meant 30 minutes of time, not of game clock.  I was floored.  I coughed up a little bit of my drink and turned around with what must have been a grotesque look of shock.  She noticed me cringed and walked away.  I will admit this may have just been one fair weather fan in a group of die-hards, but between the sudden collapse in attendance, the plethora of soccer moms who look like they'd rather be sipping on their margaritas, and the way a large number of students I met, I have to imagine this isn't a chance occurrence.

So continuing the story, we met up with the kid who's ID and ticket I used.  The average weekend schedule for any non-business major student looks like this: Firday - Drunk of 6th Street, Saturday - Sleep until 3pm regardless of the time of their game, Sunday - Study like a feind.  That summarizes this kid thoroughly.  It also characterized half of the students eating in Jester after the game.  At every table, there were at least two or three kids that had just awoken and had no idea how the game went.  They'd sit next to their buddies and ask "how much did we beat them by?"  I'm not talking about just dorky kids who wouldn't know a football from a hole in the head either.  I'm talking about your average college guy who should love college football.  I've heard plenty of complaints about the fraternity and sorority girls at Michigan, here it's nearly half of the student body.

The more I've thought about it, the more I have to blame on the Texas Athletic Department's outreach to students.  This is the first stadium I've ever been to without a student section.  Students are peppered in with random fans everywhere but bottom of the home side.  Tailgating for students is non-existent near the campus as well.  Those living out on West Campus past the Drag may have some house partying going on, but that would be like partying at Greenwood or the far side of Washtenaw at Michigan.  It's just so far out of the way, its not worth going.  The majority of freshman dorms are only a block away from the stadium.  My sister was totally unaware tailgating even took place. While I acknowledge there are students like this at Michigan as well, it appears to be a much larger percentage of Texas students.

After thinking about the comparisons between Michigan and Texas fans, I've found a whole new appreciation for Michigan fans.  While our older fans continue to suck by demanding the young ones to sit down, they stay and root on our team.  Our undergraduates are plagued with those who are fifteen minutes tardy and drunk, but at least they show up, and most importantly they care.

I do want to specify, I mean nothing negative about UT and their fans with this post.  I am just noting the behavior I observed this weekend.  Good luck to both teams down the stretch.

Go Blue & Hook'em Horns.

Can't get no love for Penn State or the Big10.

The always idiotic Tom Dienhart:

So, please, don't give us Penn State on Jan. 8, 2009, in Dolphin Stadium. Give us life, give us liberty, give us hope for a good game. That means give us Texas, Florida, Alabama, Georgia or USC. Heck, we'll even take Texas Tech and its diabolical offense and kooky coach. They all have been more impressive than – and likely would beat – any Big Ten team.

Even a perfect Penn State.

More with the LA Times being ridiculous:

Big Ten is in a boring State No one wants to see this conference in the BCS title game again, do they?

I went perusing through google books today looking for some old information.  Found six books with limited or unlimited previews available to the online reader. 

I read through the history of the Michigan baseball team.  It was rather interesting.  I found an alumnus of my fraternity happened to be one of the two founders of the Michigan baseball program.

There were 3 baseball books, one track (the story of the quest for the sub four minute mile), one hockey, and one general sports (although its extremely limited in viewing ability). 

Enjoy if you'd like:

http://books.google.com/books?uid=15409566281369290648

If the link doesn't work, let me know in the comments.  I saved them into my google library and I'm not sure how public that is as I'm too lazy to list each book individually.

This had to be bumped to the front page. As always, outstanding work by formerlyanonymous! - MnB Dave

Yesterday Jim Delaney and the Big10 conference announced a deal with the BigEast to create a yearly faceoff of the Big10 and BigEast teams in an early season tournament.  The site for the 2009 challenge is St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida in late February.  I'm not sure of the stadiums they will be playing in, but those two cities are home to the Rays and Phillies respectively.   Mgoblue builds it up this way:

The tournament is scheduled for the same week that major league pitchers and catchers report to spring training, which will add to the buzz surrounding the event. Games will be played in venues in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, including Bright House Field, Knology Park and Progress Energy Park/Al Lang Field, with marquee matchups scheduled as part of nightly doubleheaders. There will be eight inter-conference contests daily, with the two extra Big Ten teams competing against each other in a non-league game.

Only eight or 12  BigEast teams (Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, St. John's, USF, and West Virginia)  will participate despite the Big10 sending all 10 teams.  This will lead to at least one pair of Big10 teams playing each other in a non-conference game.

The schedule is available on the BigEast website:

Day 1 – Friday, February 20
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame
Penn State vs. St. John’s
Illinois vs. Iowa
Michigan State vs. Connecticut
Michigan vs. USF
Northwestern vs. Georgetown
Minnesota vs. Seton Hall
Indiana vs. West Virginia
Purdue vs. Cincinnati

Day 2 – Saturday, February 21
Michigan vs. Cincinnati
Purdue vs. USF
Penn State vs. Northwestern
Ohio State vs. Connecticut
Indiana vs. Georgetown
Illinois vs. Notre Dame
Minnesota vs. West Virginia
Michigan State vs. Seton Hall
Iowa vs. St. John’s

Day 3 – Sunday, February 22
Michigan vs. St. John’s
Ohio State vs. Cincinnati
Minnesota vs. Michigan State
Northwestern vs. Connecticut
Indiana vs. USF
Iowa vs. Georgetown
Purdue vs. Notre Dame
Penn State vs. Seton Hall
Illinois vs. West Virginia

Michigan's faceoff with St. John's tenatively scheduled on Day 3 should be one to watch.  The two programs have recently become the flagship mid-major/northern programs in a sport dominated by the south and west.  If any students happen to be big baseball fans and are spending spring break in Florida, this happens to be the first weekend of spring break.

I know football starts tomorrow, but Volleyball starts today dammit.  As the only Michigan team to probably be in Houston this year, you best believe I'm going to go see my favorite women's  sport and write about it.  Plus the team is actually pretty good.  And attractive women in spandex are much more attractive than attractive women not in spandex.  It's a fact.

--formerlyanonymous

Volleyball started off the season right today with a sweep (3-0) versus Louisiana Lafayette and the Rajun Cajuns at Fox Gymnasium on Rice University's campus. Unfortuantely for yours truly, Rice's athletic facilities are currently under a large amount of construction and Rice, despite all their brilliance, can't post signs directing people to the playing site.  The site itself was a dump of a practice facility.  The tournament is held at the basketball arena which won't be open until basketball season.  I ended up missing the first game and the first handful of points in game 2. Without knowing it, I sat behind the Rice coach who gave me a good run down of the portion I missed. To quote her, "It was 25-10," with the scrunched up type of face that just says, "It was ugly."

Fast forward to a 9-5 lead by Michigan in game 2. When I arrived the 1st Michigan front was already on the court. The primary attack group features outside hitter junior #18 Juliana Paz, senior middleblocker #2 Beth Karpiak, and junior rightside hitter #5 Megan Bower. The Rajun Cajuns appeared to have a gameplan set up to shut down Bower. This opened the door for Karpiak. While rather spotty on nailing her one-sets (a quick set to the middleblocker) during game two, any two-set (more traditional set to the middleblocker) was blasted to the floor. Paz was the main force in keeping the game close throughout the middle of the second game. UL-Lafayette had no chance to block most of her shots as she mixed both the line and cross shots with high velocity and great accuracy. Michigan took this game 25-22, but never trailed after my arrival.

In set three, it was all Michigan, all the time. Karpiak appeared to have much better communication with sophomore setter Lexi Zimmerman. UL-Lafayette appeared well overmatched and fell soundly 25-17.

A couple things were exposed in the first match of the season:

There is a great difference between Michigan's top front row and its secondary front row. Paz, Karpiak, and Bower are leaps and bounds better than Rood (Jr Outside), Bruck (RS Fr. MB/Right side). Rood was couldn't land any kills in the third game and was replaced by freshman outside hitter Alex Hunt. She did not impress much either, but had limited action on the court.

The second thing easily noticeable in this game was Michigan's lack of height. Michigan's top three top out at six foot one. This may hurt when it comes to the Big10 season against the behemouths at #1 Penn State who measure no LESS THAN six foot three, much less #13 Wisconsin or #16 Minnesota. Blocking against UL-Lafayette was less than spectacular due to the lack of height. There were several balls that were missed and many others blocked out of bounds. Michigan defintely had room to improve there.

Another area to keep an eye on this season is the defensive specialist. Currently, true freshman #3 Sloane Donhoff appears to be the frontrunner for the position. Last years specialist Senior Kerry Hance has taken over full time Libero duties and has looked solid in the role.

Grades for the Game (UL-Lafayette is a very mediocre opponent):

• Lexi Zimmerman - A...   played very well
• Juliana Paz - A...  solid back and front row play
  
• Megan Bowers - A-...  couple miscues here, but overall successful
  
• Beth Karpiak - B+... 2nd game was spotty.  I heard the first game might have been very good, but construction kept me from seeing it
  
• Kerry Hance - A...  hardly missed a dig
  
• Sloane Donhoff - A... when you don't write any notes on a DS, that means they did well
• Alex Hunt - B... possibly because I'm comparing her to Bowers/Paz, but no luck blocking or hitting
• Karlee Bruck - A-... blocked very well in her limited time.  at 6'3" she is going to need to step it up before conference play

Team Score:  A-... the 2nd game was an unnecessary struggle against a mediocre/weak team.

The Wolverines next take on University of Texas-San Antonio on Saturday at 11a.m. CDT. I don't think there is any live coverage of the game as CSTV has decided to cut back in everything this school year. I wouldn't expect to hear a radio broadcast either as the coming of Rich Rodriguez and the new football season will be the main media focus. I'll be at home for the UTSA game, but should be making another trip up to Rice for the night cap which features Michigan taking on the host Rice University.

I'm also thinking about doing a short post on which players are worth google image stalking.  My current top picks are #2 Beth Karpiak and #1 Veronica Rood.  There is also one of the girls who had a sling on her arm that looked rather good looking, but I couldn't identify her because she had a jacket over her number. 

My pictures (yes, they suck):  hthttp://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2444386&l=52b47&id=2207293

For mgoblue recap (as they care about minor notes that pertain to volleyball and stats and stuff):    http://mgoblue.com/volleyball/article.aspx?id=144230

For the stats:  http://mgoblue.com/volleyball/article.aspx?id=144234

Michigan came back in this one.  The game started out as a pitcher's duel.  Shaw for Illinois came out impressively.  Over his first 6 2/3 innings, Shaw only gave up 1 run on 4 hits, 4 BB, and 7 Ks.  After that he gave up 2 hits, 2 BB, and 3 runs without recording a single out.  After intentionally walking Recknagel, you would have thought the Illinois coaching staff would have removed him from the game.  At that point Shaw had already thrown 122 pitches.  He then went and walked Putnam on 6 pitches.  Again, why was he not pulled?  Against Abraham the floodgates opened for Michigan.  Abraham hit a 2 RBI single to give Michigan a lead they would never relinquish.  For the first two to three innings I couldn't get my head around the fact Shaw got the start.  He had only mixed success against Michigan early in the season giving up 4 runs in 4 innings.  Recknagel and VanBuskirk were the only Michigan starters not to register a hit against him.  Kudos to Coach Hartleb for making the right call in starter.  Even the picks at relief pitcher made sense despite the radio announcers' lack of understanding.  Sterk and Reeser both had great success against Michigan during the season.  Even Stankiewicz, who had done meh against Michigan had been one of the hotter relievers down the stretch.

For Michigan, Putnam went 7 innings on the mound to secure the win.  He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks and 9 strikeouts.  Powers came in to start the 8th inning, going 2 innings allowing 1 hit with 3 strike outs to earn the save.   The ultimate turning point in the game came from a resilient Putnam to finish off Illinois in the 5th inning.  Down 3-0 in the count, Putnam battled back with 3 straight fouled off pitches to force the count full.  Each of the fouled attempts was accompanied by both base runners going on the pitch.  The fourth time was a charm for Putnam as he struck out Bonadonna and McMurray was caught stealing at third.  Michigan's offense woke up the next inning to score their first run and begin the comeback.

Offensively, the hero has to be Adam Abraham.  The 2 out single to give Michigan the lead and extend the inning was the beginning of the end for Illinois.  Abraham finished the night going 1/3 with 1 run, 2 RBIs, and a walk. 

A couple notes that caught my eye during the game:

• The grass at the Fish plays ground balls slowly.  Normally you see that with a team that bunts often or a team that faces a team that hits a lot of hard grounders.  I'm not sure why Michigan keeps it that way.  Although we bunt a bit, we seem to hit several ground balls through the infield.
• I heard several moans and groans about the home plate umpire's strike zone not only in our game, but in the game before ours as well.  The radio guys were very adamant about how odd the strike zone was.
• The radio guys are fairly decent.  The one who sounds like he might be high during the broadcast doesn't know the difference between a pitcher and a DH though.  He said if VanBuskirk would have touched a foul ball and dropped it, it would be fair and count as a hit.  For those of you who aren't baseball savvy, that is very wrong.  He also went on a rant about Bonadonna not having a homerun all season not 2 seconds after his partner just talked about Bonadonna's homerun last night.  I'll discount their not knowing players names as they didn't call too many games this season.  They did do their homework on stats though.  Most of my notes during the game were flubs by the guy who I still think was stoned. 
  

So now we will face Purdue.  I started researching them some today.  I have no idea who they start against us.  Looking through last season's head to head comparison, the only pitcher I've seen with great success as a starter was Sedlmeyer, who hasn't started a game in weeks.  Their closer Linblom though also had some good numbers.  I'll try to get something out during the day tomorrow.  No promises as its a half day at the office.

Disclaimer:  I haven't really scouted Purdue at all, much less Penn State, as Michigan couldn't face either team in their first game. 

Bischoff should be the starter today for Purdue.  I assume Macy for the Nittany Lions.  Macy has been fairly hot down the stretch, but doesn't generally go past 6 innings.  His last three starts are W@Minnesota (6 innings 0 runs), W vs Iowa (5 innings, 1 run), and L vs MSU (5.1 innings, 4 runs)  He didn't earn a starting job until after the Illinois series (6 starts now).  He never had an appearance against Purdue as he was the midweek starter right after the Purdue series (his first start of the season).

Bischoff was roughed up by PSU in his start.  He went 4 innnings, 6 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), on 4 walks and 5 Ks.  Nakata had 2 BBs and a single, Blackburn had 2 singles and a home run against him.  Other than that there were quite a few errors by Purdue, but Bischoff worked out of most of the trouble.

I almost like to say Penn State could win this one.  Bischoff has been near untouchable as of late though. 

Purdue 4 Penn State 3 (extra innings?)

This one is a little bit longer and should catch you up on our season and our players, as well as the game tomorrow.   No players to watch for as I could just list Michigan's whole team.  Not know what starter is pitching for either team doesn't help my cause either.

Starters

Fetters vs Putnam

The biggest unknown for Michigan fans coming into this game is will Coach Maloney be starting the first or second best pitcher in the Big Ten?  The second biggest question, despite Putnam winning the award, is who is the best starting pitcher on the team?  Michigan is home to the top two starters in the league this year.  Chris Fetter leads the team with an overall ERA of 2.49, while carrying a record of 9-1.  Zach Putnam, voted Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, holds an overall ERA of 2.64 with a record of 7-0.   Both of these pitchers could easily start in the Michigan tournament opener, and here is each of their cases. 

Chris Fetters has been the ace of the Michigan team all season.  He leads all team starters in ERA, wins (9), starts (12), complete games (4, all 7 innings), shut outs (1), innings (79.2), and opponent batting average (.208).  He boasts a 65 to 21 strikeouts to walks ratio, second best on the team.  Fetter’s one loss this season came in a complete game where he gave up one earned run on a walk off single.  The other benefit of starting Fetter is his tendency to induce more groundballs.  With the high-powered offense of Illinois, it will be important to keep the ball in the ballpark.

Putnam, however, is more of a fly ball pitcher.  This is also a positive against Illinois, especially toward the top of their lineup.  Centerfielder Kyle Hudson and second basemen Joe Bonadonna account for 46 of the Illini 98 steals on the year.  Coach Dan Hartleb often employs the hit and run with these two on base to help generate more offense.  By throwing a pitcher with a higher fly ball to groundball ratio, the hit and run will be a higher risk play for the Illini coaching staff.  Along with the fly balls, Putnam also has his fair share of strikeouts.  Putnam leads the team with 9.05 strikeouts per nine innings.  His .215 opponent batting average is almost as good as Fetter’s.

Coming down the stretch, both pitchers have pitched fairly well.  Putnam has gained a victory in his last five starts, including a nine inning complete game against Ohio State.  Fetter comes in off a shaky start against Northwestern receiving a no decision. 

I think the nod in this game goes to Putnam.  Illinois is a team that will hit for more average than power.  Both Fetter and Putnam can go just as deep into games.  There has been some rumbling from some fans that maybe Putnam hasn’t fully healed from his strep throat infection a week ago, but his outing against Northwestern does not signal any concern.  As an added bonus, if Fetter becomes the second starter in the tournament and Michigan wins against Illinois, he would be a better fit going against Purdue as a groundball pitcher. 

Haig vs Martin/Shaw

Going to the hill for the Illini will probably be Phil Haig.  Haig made an appearance out of the bullpen against Michigan giving up 2 hits and one run over 3 innings while recording 5 strikeouts.  That performance led to a position in the starting rotation the following weekend.  After a few rough starts, Haig settled into his rotation spot nicely.  Over his last three starts he has been the Illini’s best pitcher after Manson.  In his last three games he has posted a 2-0 record including a complete game shut out (7 innings) versus Purdue. 

If Haig doesn’t start, it could be a close call between Aaron Martin and Scott Shaw.  Neither did particularly well against Michigan.  Shaw lasted 3 innings giving up 7 runs on 7 hits.  Martin lasted slightly longer, going 4.2 innings allowing 7 hits and 7 runs, 5 of which were earned.  Both starters have struggled down the stretch as well.  Martin has not registered a win since April 7th, a span of 6 starts.  Shaw has not had nearly as many starts recently due to rain, but that is most likely a good thing for Illinois as he holds an 8.15 ERA and .340 opponent batting average. 

Relief Work

The Good:
Michigan will have a fully rested bullpen to open the tournament.  Mike Powers is the lead man out of the pen for the Wolverines and will be the first called upon if ever there is trouble.  In 23 appearances this year, Powers is 6-4 with 4 saves.  He boasts a 2.94 ERA, .280 opponent batting average, and a 50 to 17 strikeout to walk ratio in 52 innings of work.  Against Illinois this year, Powers worked 6 innings allowing 8 hits and two runs while registering 5 strikeouts.  Other pitchers with success against Illinois this year include Matt Miller and Travis Smith.  Smith actually was a starter at the time of the Illinois series.  He had his best start of the season lasting 7 innings while only giving up 3 runs, 2 of which were earned.   

The Bad:
Despite being two of Michigan’s top relievers throughout the season, both Ben Jenzen and Tyler Burgoon both had rough outings versus Illinois this season.  The two combined for 6.1 innings, 7 hits, and 4 runs allowed.  I wouldn’t expect either of these two to enter the game unless Michigan has a comfortable lead.

The Ugly:
Mike Wilson will not see playing time in this game unless absolutely necessary.  Along with holding a team high 8.73 ERA and being tied for the most losses on the team with 4, Wilson had an abysmal outing against the Illini this season.  His start lasted all of .2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks.  He will only make an appearance if it is a lefty-on-lefty match up.

Illinois’s Bullpen

As I mentioned in my Illinois vs OSU preview, the two main guys out of the bullpen for Illinois are Sterk and Reeser. 

If he gets in trouble early, watch for relief pitcher Mike Sterk to enter the game.  Sterk closed out many of Manson’s starts this season already.  Sterk owns a 4.05 ERA, which is the best on the team with at least one full inning pitched.  He also has three saves on the season.  Sterk is not the primary closer, however, as that job has been delegated to Ben Reeser.  Reeser has 5 saves on the season and has the next best ERA on the team after Sterk with 4.24.

Neither pitched in game one, they will be ready in game two.  Expect to see at least one enter this game.  Sterk had one good outing against Michigan shutting out the Wolverines over 2 innings while allowing one hit and one walk.  Reeser had one appearance lasting one inning allowing only one hit.  Outside of those two, Michigan also faced quite a few other relievers during the regular season series.  Wes Braun had the best success out against Michigan.  Braun pitched 2.1 inning, allowing 2 hits back-to-back including a Putnam homerun.  Those were the only runs he allowed while walking only 2 and striking out one. 

Offensive Threats-Illinois:

Illinois’s line up can create plenty of buzz.  The Illini lead the league in hitting this year (including the tournament) with a .338 team batting average.  Everything starts with the leadoff man, centerfielder Kyle Hudson.  Hudson, a unanimous 1st team All Big Ten, is currently batting .402 with a .504 on base percentage, both good for third in the Big Ten.  He also holds the record for steals in a season by an Illini with 40 in 49 attempts.  Batting second for the Illini is Joe Bonadonna.  Bonadonna is batting .372 currently and is also a steal threat.  He has swiped 26 bases in 32 attempts.  Bonadonna has had a bit better success hitting against Putnam (2/3 2 2Bs, R, RBI) than he has Fetter (0/2 SAC FLY, RBI).  Expect several pickoff attempts when either of these two men is on base.  As mentioned in the starting pitching section, both of these players are utilized in hit and runs when the situation presents itself.  Batting third in the Illini lineup is 2nd Team All Big Ten shortstop Brandon Wikoff.  Wikoff leads the team with 60 RBIs on the season.  Wikoff has had slightly better success against Fetter compared to Putnam, registering two singles in three plate appearances.  Behind Wikoff is normally catcher Aaron Johnson, right fielder Daniel Webb, and first basemen Ryan Hastings.  All three are big power bats with at least five home runs apiece.  Webb is equally dangerous as a contact hitter with a .386 batting average.  Webb also had a better game against Fetter going 2/3 with two singles.  Against Putnam, Webb went 0/3 with a RBI.  Rounding out the lineup for the Illini is DH Dominic Altobelli, third basemen John Schlichter, and left fielder Casey McMurray.  Schlicter is the only batter in the starting lineup who has a batting average under .320 for the year.

Offensive Threats-Michigan: 

Michigan is nationally ranked for a reason, and its not just because they play a cream puff schedule.  The offense from Michigan is explosive.  The Wolverines lead the Big Ten in runs scored this season with 434 total runs.  This was 37 more runs than the next closest team.  The lineup features an All Big Ten player at first, second, third, shortstop, and center field, and conferences don’t give you all-conference honors for your defense.  On top of the starting lineup for the Wolverines is shortstop Jason Christian.  Christian ranks fourth on the team in on base percentage (.440) and batting average (.325).  Following Christian is second basemen Leif Mahler.  Mahler started the season as the number nine hitter, but following his .400 batting average, 6 runs, and 4 RBIs against Illinois mid season, he earned a spot in the number two hole.  Following Mahler is Big Ten Player of the Year Nate Recknagel.  Recknagel lead the Big Ten in slugging percentage (.787), home runs (23), and total bases (155).  His .381 batting average, 68 RBIs, and 54 runs lead the Michigan team.  Recknagel is still in the hunting for at least 2 national player of the year awards.  Protecting Recknagel in the lineup is All Big Ten first teamer at designated hitter Zach Putnam (.320 batting average, 46 RBIs), All Big Ten third teamer at third base Adam Abraham (.340 batting average, 50 RBIs), and left fielder Derek VanBuskirk (51 runs scored).  Rounding out the batting order are centerfielder Kevin Cislo (40 runs scored, 17 stolen bases), catcher Chris Berset, and right fielder Ryan LaMarre.  In some games, Recknagel will play catcher and Mike Dufek will enter the game at first base to create more offense.  Dufek on the season holds a .320 average with 25 RBIs.  The first pinch hitter used in most games is outfielder Kenny Fellows.  Fellows is batting .324 in only 34 at bats. 

Predictions

This game could be much closer than what most people would think.  Illinois can score runs in bunches very easily.  They have struggled down the stretch though and in Wednesday’s game versus Ohio State they did not hit very well.  Regardless of who pitches for Michigan, the first few innings should go smoothly for the Wolverines.  Once the starter begins to tire, they will give up 2-3 runs.  On offense, don’t expect Haig to last past the 7th inning.  Michigan’s lineup is too powerful to keep down for too long.

Michigan 12  Illinois 5

Michigan hitters vs. Illinois pitchers this season (stats at top are whole season):

•  
  •  
    • SS Jason Christian (.325 BA, 52 R, 43 RBI, .440 OB%, 13/14 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 1/4 HR, R, RBI, GDP
        • Martin – 2/2 2B, 2R, RBI, 2BB
        • Haig – 0/1 K
        • Shaw – 1/3 2R, 2 RBI
        • Stankiewicz – 1/3 R
        • Chmielewski – 1/1 3B, R, 2RBI
        • Braun – 0/1
        • Barrett – 1/2 R, K
        • Sterk – 0/1
        • Reeser – 0/1
    • 2B Leif Mahler (.309 BA, 49 R, 37 RBI, .388 OB%, 5/5 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 1/3 HR, R, 2RBI
        • Martin – 2/2 2B, 2R, RBI, SacB
        • Haig – 0/2 K
        • Shaw – 2/2 2B, R, RBI
        • Stankiewicz – 1/2 2B
        • Chmielewski – 0/0 R, BB
        • Braun – 0/1
        • Barrett – 0/1 R, BB
        • Sterk – 0/1
        • Reeser – 0/1K
    • 1B/C Nate Recknagel (.381BA, 54R, 23HR, 68RBI, .787SLUG, .471OB%, 4/5SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 2/3 HR, 2R, RBI, HBP, K
        • Martin – 0/2 BB
        • Haig – 0/1
        • Shaw – 0/1 HBP
        • Stankiewicz – 0/2 BB, 2 GDP
        • Chmielewski – 1/1 RBI
        • Barrett – 1/3 RBI
        • Braun – 0/1
        • Sterk – 1/1 2B
    • DH/P Zach Putnam (.320 BA, 43 R, 46 RBI, .404 OB %, 3/3 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 1/4 HR, RBI
        • Martin – 1/3
        • Haig – 1/1
        • Shaw – 0/1 R, BB, K
        • Stankiewicz – 1/3 HR, 2R, 2RBI, K
        • Chmielewski – 1/1 2B, R, RBI
        • Braun – 1/2 HR, R, 2RBI
        • Barrett – 1/3 RBI
        • Sterk – 0/1
    • 3B Adam Abraham (.344 BA, 39 R, 48 RBI, .408 OB%, 1/3 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 0/2 SF, RBI
        • Martin – 0/3 GDP
        • Haig – 0/2
        • Shaw – 1/2 2B, 2RBI
        • Stankiewicz – 1/3  HR, R, 2RBI
        • Chmielewski – 0/1
        • Braun – 0/1 BB
        • Barrett – 0/3 RBI
        • Sterk – 0/0 BB
    • LF Derek VanBuskirk (.293 BA, 51 R, 41 RBI, .381 OB%, 11/12 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 1/3 R
        • Martin – 0/2 R, BB
        • Haig – 0/2 R 2K (reached on K/WP)
        • Shaw – 0/2 K
        • Stankiewicz – 1/3 HR, R, RBI
        • Chmielewski – 0/1
        • Barrett – 1/1 2B, R, 2BB
        • Braun – 0/1
        • Sterk – 0/1
    • CF Kevin Cislo (.359 BA, 40 R, 26 RBI, .474 OB%, 17/25 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 1/3 R, BB
        • Martin – 1/2
        • Haig – 0/0 HBP, CS 2-4
        • Shaw – 1/1 2B, R, RBI, SB
        • Stankiewicz – 2/2 R, BB
        • Chmielewski – 0/1 K
        • Braun – 0/1
        • Barrett – 2/3 R
    • C Chris Berset (.250 BA, 21 R, 17 RBI, .342 OB%, 1/3 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 1/2 R HBP
        • Martin – 0/1 BB, SacB, K
        • Haig – 0/2 RBI K (RBI on E5)
        • Shaw – 1/2 R
        • Stankiewicz – 1/3 2B, R, RBI
        • Chmielewski – 0/0 BB
        • Barrett – 1/2 HR, R, RBI
        • Sterk – 0/1 K
        • Reeser – 0/0 SacB
    • RF Ryan LaMarre (.287 BA, 21 R, 21 RBI, .351 OB%, 8/12 SB)
      •  
        • Martin – 1/2 R, RBI
        • Stankiewicz – R as Pinch Runner
        • Chmielewski – 1/1
        • Barrett – 1/2 2RBI
    • 1B/C Mike Dufek (.315 BA, 20 R, 24 RBI, .355 OB%, 8/12 SB)
      •  
        • Braun – 1/1 R
    • PH/RF Alan Oaks (.260 BA, 18 R, 19 RBI, .329 OB%, 2/2 SB)
      •  
        • Manson – 0/3 K
        • Martin – 0/2 BB, K
        • Haig – 1/1 BB
        • Shaw – 1/2 2B, R, K
        • Stankiewicz – 1/3
        • Barrett – 0/1 K
        • Braun – 0/1 K
        • Reeser – 1/1

Again, the awesome work of FormerlyAnonymous jumps to the frontpage with an OUTSTANDING recap of the OSU Illinois Big Ten Tournament game. We get either Illinois or Indiana. FWIW, Illinois' pitcher threw one hell of a game. Michigan's up tomorrow! - MnB Dave

ILLINOIS TAKES FIRST GAME OF BASEBALL TOURNAMENT FROM OSU

Abbreviated Recap:

Illinois wins Game 1 by a score 3-2. OSU heads to the losers bracket where they will play the loser of the afternoon game. If Penn State wins the late game over Indiana, Michigan will face Illinois tomorrow night at 7pm. If Indiana wins, we face Indiana in the same time slot.

OSU started #3 starter DeLucia, who along with Wolosiansky, have been their hottest pitchers down the stretch. DeLucia gave up 2 runs, 1 earned, in 4 innings. Wolosiansky entered the game in the 5th inning. He went 3 innings, allowing 1 HR to Bonadonna in the 7th. While the choice for DeLucia was great, the choice to use Wolosiansky was questionable. While the Buckeyes did not want to risk entering the loser's bracket, Wolosiansky has been OSU's hottest starter down the stretch. His appearance today was on short rest as well. It remains to be seen how this many appearances will affect his performance down the tournament.

For Illinois, Manson pitched brilliantly. He threw a complete game four hitter, allowing two runs in the second, both unearned. More impressive was his 0 walks and 4 strike outs.

Stars of the game:
Illinois:
Manson: CG, 0ER, 4H, 0BB, 4K
Bonadonna: 1/4 HR, BB
Wikoff: 2/4 R, RBI

OSU:
Burkhart: 1/2 2RBI, SAC
Hurley: 1/3 R
Wolosiansky: 3INN, 5H, 1R, 1BB, 1K

I'll probably have one of these for the late game too, I'm not too concerned about the non-michigan games.  I'm working up a big thing for Michigan later tonight though.  I've spent the last 3 days going through every at-bat Michigan has had against every pitcher on every team minus Penn State (as it was statistically impossible for us to play them).  The one thing I realize is we hardly ever ground out to third base.

Ok, so my prediction of Hale was off.  I really liked the decision to start DeLucia though.  No clue who goes tomorrow.  It's either Shuck or Hale.  I'd imagine Shuck, but it may depend on who OSU draws in the matchup.

Abbreviated Recap:

Illinois wins Game 1 by a score 3-2. OSU heads to the losers bracket where they will play the loser of the afternoon game. If Penn State wins the late game over Indiana, Michigan will face Illinois tomorrow night at 7pm. If Indiana wins, we face Indiana in the same time slot.

OSU started #3 starter DeLucia, who along with Wolosiansky, have been their hottest pitchers down the stretch. DeLucia gave up 2 runs, 1 earned, in 4 innings. Wolosiansky entered the game in the 5th inning. He went 3 innings, allowing 1 HR to Bonadonna in the 7th. While the choice for DeLucia was great, the choice to use Wolosiansky was questionable. While the Buckeyes did not want to risk entering the loser's bracket, Wolosiansky has been OSU's hottest starter down the stretch. His appearance today was on short rest as well. It remains to be seen how this many appearances will affect his performance down the tournament.

For Illinois, Manson pitched brilliantly. He threw a complete game four hitter, allowing two runs in the second, both unearned. More impressive was his 0 walks and 4 strike outs.

Stars of the game:
Illinois:
Manson: CG, 0ER, 4H, 0BB, 4K
Bonadonna: 1/4 HR, BB
Wikoff: 2/4 R, RBI

OSU:
Burkhart: 1/2 2RBI, SAC
Hurley: 1/3 R
Wolosiansky: 3INN, 5H, 1R, 1BB, 1K