MINNEAPOLIS – You got swept.

Coming into this weekend riding a ten-game win streak, Michigan (16-7) couldn’t salvage a single victory from Minnesota in its first series of Big Ten play. It was the first time the Wolverines suffered a four-game sweep since 2000, when they dropped four in a row to Penn State.

After suffering painful defeats of 1-0, 3-2 and 6-3 in the first three games, the Wolverines were routed 13-3 in yesterday’s final contest at the Metrodome.

Michigan coach Rich Maloney has endured sweeps in the past but felt strongly that such a collapse shouldn’t happen to a team of this caliber.

“I told them (after the game) that, my first year of coaching, we got swept on the road,” Maloney said. “But to get swept with this team that has these abilities is very, very disappointing.”

Junior Derek Feldkamp picked up the loss in his worst outing of the season, surrendering eight earned runs in only one and two-thirds innings of work. Prior to the start, Feldkamp was 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA, tops among Wolverine starters.

“It was really strange, and it was bad timing for us,” Maloney said. “We needed a solid effort, and we couldn’t get it today. But Derek has pitched extremely well so far this year, and he can rebound from that. It just wasn’t the best timing.”

The Wolverines jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when junior Chris Getz singled to rightfield, scoring sophomore Eric Rose.

But just like the previous games, the Golden Gophers would not let Michigan enjoy a lead for more than half an inning. Minnesota pounced on Feldkamp early in the first with two well hit singles to rightfield, and Andy Hunter’s sacrifice fly tied the game at one run apiece.

In the second inning, Feldkamp surrendered a lead-off base hit to Jake Elder, which swung the floodgates wide open. Although the 6-foot-4 right-hander was hitting 94 miles per hour on the radar gun, his control was nonexistent. Feldkamp hit the next three Gophers, loading the bases and scoring Elder. The trio of hit batsmen was an aberration, since Feldkamp had hit just one batter heading into the game.

“You know, I got out there, and I was just a little too excited,” Feldkamp said. “I knew this game was being televised and a lot of people back home could watch. And the chance to play in a Major League Baseball stadium for the first time and play Minnesota, the reigning Big Ten champs, got me a little too pumped.”

Feldkamp gave up two more hits, one walk and a wild pitch before he was replaced by sophomore Andrew Hess.

Hess didn’t fare much better, yielding two walks, a single and a balk as he failed to retire a single Gopher hitter. Senior Phil Tognetti came in for Hess and retired the inning.

Michigan was never able to overcome the 8-1 lead that Minnesota piled on in the second inning. The loss capped off a disastrous weekend for the Wolverines, who were 16-3 coming in and ranked No. 19 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball.

After losing three heartbreaking pitching duels, getting blown out in the fourth game was especially disheartening for Michigan.

“To lose the first three games in close fashion is tough,” Maloney said. “And then to have one of our best pitchers give up a seven-run (inning) when they’re not exactly hitting the tar out of the ball — I think it knocked the wind out of us.”