COMSTOCK PARK - James Kirkwood, of the Notre Dame Club of Grand Rapids, predicted a slugfest between Notre Dame and Michigan in the program for the annual baseball matchup between the two teams.

He wasn't kidding.

No.17 Michigan beat the Fighting Irish 15-12 yesterday at Fifth-Third Ballpark in Grand Rapids.

The Wolverines (23-4 Big Ten, 39-11 overall) led throughout and jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the second inning. But Notre Dame (16-7 Big East, 33-16-1) did not go quietly into the night.

Although they never overtook Michigan, the Irish responded and put up nine runs against freshman pitchers Kolby Wood and Travis Smith. In the fourth inning Notre Dame had pushed the score to 10-9.

But Michigan's power was just too much.

Michigan had four home runs on the evening, including junior Kevin Cislo's blast to centerfield in the ninth inning. Unlike the other Wolverine deep balls, Cislo's hit didn't even make it to the fence.

Cislo hit a deep fly straight at the 402-feet marker on the centerfield wall. Notre Dame outfielder David Mills jumped to make an acrobatic catch but fell and landed against the wall. The ball rolled past Mills as he layed in agony next to the fence.

Junior Adam Abraham was held at second waiting to see if Mills had made the grab. By the time Mills slammed against the wall, Cislo was just a step behind Abraham. Cislo then chased Abraham all the way to home plate to record his first homer of the season and gave the Wolverines a 15-10 lead.

"I don't recall anyone hitting an inside the parker," Abraham said. "To his credit he kept running and didn't give up on it. It added two big runs, too. They were putting pressure on, and those runs were huge for us."

Although Cilso provided some entertainment, the star of the night was senior Nate Recknagel who did what he has been doing all season - hit homeruns.

Coming into the game Recknagel said he wouldn't be able to rest until he broke Casey Close's single-season homerun record, which he was tied with at 19.

In his first at bat of the evening, Recknagel smashed one well over the centerfield wall to break the record.

Two at-bats later, he did it again. This time to leftfield, landing a two-run shot on top branches of the trees that sit 50 feet behind the wall.

Recknagel's 21 homeruns puts him at third in the country in the category, and he is just five away from breaking Michigan's career record in just three years as a Wolverine.

"I don't know if there are too many other college players in the country having the kind of season he's having," Abraham said. "Hopefully he keeps hitting the way he is because we're going to need him to hit this way during the postseason."

The win was a huge boost for Michigan's hopes of hosting a regional. The Wolverines have struggled against quality opponents this season, and this was just their second win over a top-100 RPI team. Their other win came in a split at No. 23 Coastal Carolina.

Many experts predict Notre Dame could be paired with Michigan in a regional.

"We went into this game knowing it was a big game for us," Abraham said. "To come out and put up a good win, and show them what we can do offensively and what we have for the tournament, it was nice to do."