LOS ANGELES – Khadim Diaw and Sam Biller hit back-to-back homeruns in a five-run fifth inning as the Lions baseball team defeated Michigan 9-1 on Wednesday night at Page Stadium. 

 

Blake Reilly once again dominated on a Wednesday night, this coming a week after a solid outing against USC on February 21. Reilly at one point struck out five straight Wolverines and finished his outing with seven strikeouts.  

 

"Well, I mean what else is there to say about Reilly," said pitching coach Mathew Troupe. "He had the look in his eyes, pounding early, pounding often. Getting chases. Both hits were on the ground, [and] it was tough taking him out because he was executing so well." 

 

Seamus Barrett relieved Reilly in the fourth and came in with the bases loaded. He also left the inning with the bases loaded after striking out both batters he faced.  

 

"Moose came in and gave the most electric performance to this point on the mound in this young season. Left the bases loaded with an exclamation point at the end," continued Troupe. 

 

The rest of the bullpen followed suit. Ryan Mullan left a couple of runners on base; Ryan Baker had the breaking ball working and Jeff Heinrich punched out a pair.  

 

Coach Troupe continued, "Mullan did the same thing [as Barrett] a few innings later leaving runners stranded. Schroeder kept the momentum going, Baker mixed very well and then Heinrich looked like a pro at the end of the game. Defense was lights out tonight, and our offense made our jobs easy consistently putting up runs. Overall, a great game to build from for the boys." 

 

Offensively, the Lions got contributions from the usual suspects.  

 

Brendan Bobo had a clutch, two-out single in the third inning to plate Diaw and Devan Ornelas to open the scoring.  

 

Shortstop Benny Casillas benefitted from a little luck in the fourth to push another run across. Daalen Adderley doubled with one out. Following a groundout, Casillas hit a ground ball to shortstop. The Wolverine defender sailed the ball into the Lions dugout for a couple free bases as Adderley came around to score. 

 

The fireworks really went off in the fifth inning.  

 

The Wolverines brought in a new arm and Diaw greeted him with a 391-foot blast over the blue monster. Diaw has now homered in both home games over the big wall and is batting .390 on the season. 

 

Biller followed up with hitting a no-doubt blast to left field on a 3-1 count. The junior outfielder admired his work before taking his sixth trot around the bases on the season.  

 

Brendan Bobo was feet away from making it three in a row but his towering shot went foul.  

 

Casillas completed the five-run fifth with a sacrifice fly to give LMU a seven-run lead. He would also provide the final run of the game, lining a ball through the middle for an RBI in the bottom of the seventh. 

 

The Lions will look to continue their home success with a series against Villanova running Friday, March 1 to Sunday March 3. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. (PT). 

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