Semi-Live Friday Blogging

In between watching the Twins/Tigers game and wondering just how badly the Detroit Lions are going to screw up their selections in tomorrow's NFL Draft, I'm watching Game Tracker of the Michigan at Michigan State game this evening.

The Wolverines lead 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth. I also saw on the CSTV crawl that Illinois is up on Minnesota early, 3-0. I think it was the third inning. Zach Putnam, Michigan's starting pitcher, has just doubled in two more runs. It's 7-4, Michigan. It's about 7:34 pm.

7:38 pm The scoreboard crawl also indicates the Penn State has beat Indiana, 6-4. The Nittany Lions appear to be in ready to stay in the conference tournament hunt for the long haul. I'll try to provide a link to today's game.

7:40pm Ohio State won the opener of their series at Purdue, 6-2. A nice road win for the Buckeyes. Cory Luebke pitched a complete game allowing both Boilermaker runs on seven hits, no walks and struck out seven Purdue batters. Matt Angle, Cory Kovanda and Justin Miller had three hits a piece. Jacob Howell drove in two runs. Ryne White had two hits, a run and a RBI for Purdue.

7:46 pm Here's the PSU link to today's game against IU. Scott Kelley homered, drove in two and scored twice to lead Penn State. Jim Leitgeb had a pair of hits, two RBI and scored one. Seth Whitehill notched win number four, Drew O'Neil posted save number six.

7:50pm It's still Michigan, 7-4. The game has moved to the bottom of the fifth.

8:01pm Did I mention that Jon Fixler drove in three of IU's runs vs. PSU? Sorry about that. Keith Haas was two for two, scored twice and walked three times. That's pretty much exactly what you want from your leadoff hitter, isn't it?

8:05pm A quick trip to the Iowa site reveals the Hawkeyes thumped Northwestern, 16-6. Kevin Hoef had three hits, three RBI and scored twice. Travis Sweet had three hits, including a homer, scored four runs, drove in two and walked three times. Obviously, when you score 16, a number of players were productive. Check out the link to see all the big, crooked numbers.

8:12pm Nate Recknagel gets a sac fly, Michigan is up 8-4.

8:15pm Northwestern's Jake Goebbert, a freshman firstbaseman that's moved into the Wildcats' clean-up spot, went 3 for 4 with a run and a RBI. Antonio Mule cranked out his fifth homer of the year. Iowa's Mike Jacobs picked up the win in relief.

8:20pm I love the new GameTracker feature that allows you to view multiple game at once. No, it's not like watching TV, but it's a big step-up from what little coverage college baseball has had over the years.

8:23pm With this new feature, I see Illinois is still leading Minnesota. It's 6-3 heading to the top of the fifth. The Gophers have been charged with three errors thus far. Both sides have six hits.

8:25pm Derek VanBuskirk doubled home Adam Abraham and Michigan has upped it's lead to 9-4.

8:37pm Minnesota has cut Illinois' lead to 6-5. Things are getting interesting in Champaign.

8:42pm Michigan State has plated three in their half of the seventh and it's now 9-7 in East Lansing. Lots of tight games emerging.

8:45pm The Spartans still have only one out in the bottom of seven. There is also a runner on. Ben Jenzen is coming out of Michigan's pen.

9:00pm MSU is down only one, 9-8.

9:10pm Illinois scores four in their half of the sixth and now lead Minnesota, 10-5.

9:25pm Michigan has scored two in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 11-8 over MSU.

9:38pm It appears to be over in East Lansing. (Remember, it is GameTracker. Sometimes it's hard to tell for sure the game is over.) If it has gone final, Michigan prevails, 11-8.

9:42pm They are heading for the top of the ninth in Champaign. The Gophers are down to their last three outs trailing, 10-5.

9:44pm GameTracker indicates the Gophers went 1-2-3 in their last at bat. Illinois wins a big home game over Minnesota.

That's all for tonight's blogging. Thanks for stopping in. It appears the weather may cooperate in Big Ten country for the second weekend in a row. If you can, get out to the ballpark near you.