Michigan Sits Atop Conference

Michigan 11 Northwestern 3 (Game 1 box)
Michigan 14 Northwestern 7 (Game 2 box)
In the first game, Zach Putnam had three hits and three RBI. Chris Berset had two hits and three RBI. Doug Pickens had two hits, two runs scored and two RBI. NU's Tommy Finn was 3 for 3 and Jake Owens had two hits and scored twice. Michigan's Chris Fetter posted his second win. The All-Big Ten pitcher worked five innings allowing seven hits, two walks and two earned runs.

The Wolverines did all kinds of yardwork in Game Two. Jason Christian, Adam Abraham, Brad Roblin, Alan Oaks and Doug Pickens all homered. Christian and Pickens each had three RBI. NU got homeruns from Antonio Mule, Geoff Deitz and Tony Vercelli. Deitz paced the Wildcats response with three RBI. Michael Powers collected his first triumph of the year.

#29 Ohio State 16 Iowa 7 (box)
Buckeyes' freshman RF Ryan Dew was a perfect 3 for 3 with his first collegiate homerun and four RBI. Dew also walked twice. 3B Tony Kennedy matched Dew with his own four RBI game. Jason Zoeller and Jacob Howell also went yard for OSU. Iowa's Dusty Napoleon and Justin Toole each homered. (It was Toole's first, but the Iowa game recap says its Napoleon's fourth, the boxscores at both sites say it was Dusty's third.)

The win went to Eric Best (2-0). Jake Hale pitched the final 3.1 innings to record his sixth save of the year. (We need to get Hale's name on the Stopper of the Year ballot.)

Michigan State 6 Indiana 1 (box)
MSU's John Dwan twirls seven innings of three hit, one walk, no run baseball to win his second game of the year. Spartans' 2B Steve Gerstenberger went 3 for 5 with a RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. C Kyle Day and LF Chris Roberts each had two hits and a pair of RBI. Indiana pitcher Tyler Tufts made his debut in the outfield and posted an impressive 2 for 3 game. Tufts was the only IU player with more than one hit.

Purdue 11 Illinois 6 (box)
CF Jon Moore and 1B Ryne White each drove in three runs for the Boilermakers. OF Jordan Comadena had three hits, including his fifth homer, drove in two and scored four times. Ryan Snowden and Mike Rohde each had two RBI for the Illini. The win went to Purdue freshman Tony Sedlmeyer (3-2), the loss went to Aaron Martin.

Minnesota @ Penn State (cancelled, rain)
The last game of this series was washed right off the schedule.

Where does this all leave us? Michigan finds itself in first place in the Big Ten at 4-0. Ohio State and Michigan State follow at 3-1. Minnesota is in fourth at 2-1. Purdue and Illinois split their opening weekend series and are tied at 2-2. Penn State is 1-2. Iowa and Indiana are in a 1-3. Northwestern in 0-4.