Michigan
Hawaii
U-M Heads to Hawaii for Four-Game Series
3/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After three weeks of road play, the 19th-ranked University of Michigan baseball team (7-3) will head to Hawaii (6-7) on Thursday (March 10) for a four-game series at the University of Hawaii. The Wolverines played six road contests in California during spring break last week, picking up a win over highly ranked California and going 3-3 overall.
Scouting the Rainbow Warriors
Hawaii comes into the series with a 6-7 overall record, hot off a 2-2 weekend home series against West Virginia. The Rainbow Warriors finished up the 2015 season with a 21-32 overall record, good for a fifth-place finish in the Big West Conference. To date, Hawaii is batting at a .299 average through 13 games, while the team's pitching staff has garnered a 4.49 earned-run average. Senior Jacob Sheldon-Collins is a player to watch on the Hawaii squad, boasting a .404 batting average in 13 games played. The infielder also leads the Rainbow Warriors with a .462 slugging average and a .429 on-base percentage.
History against Hawaii
Michigan's first and only meeting with the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors took place on March 1, 2008 at the Arizona State Coca-Cola Classic tournament in Surprise, Ariz. The then-ranked No. 18 Wolverines took the game by an 11-5 score in a season that resulted in a 46-14 overall record, a Big Ten regular season and Tournament Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament. Junior pitcher Chris Fetter earned the victory in the outing over Hawaii, allowing just one earned run in six and two-thirds innings. He struck out three batters, allowed seven hits and issued no walks on the day, while Michigan's offense recorded 11 hits and walked five times.
On the Road... Again
With 10 completed games already in the books for the 2016 campaign, Michigan will play its next seven games of the season on the road, beginning with a four-game series at Hawaii. After returning home for a short week of practice, the Maize and Blue will then trek to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a three-day, three-game series against highly ranked Oklahoma State. The series in Oklahoma will conclude the fifth week of road action for the Wolverines, who were scheduled to play 19-straight games on the road to start their season before inclement weather forced the cancellation of two games against UC Davis. At the end of the long road swing, Michigan will have travelled a total of 18,454 miles in just five short weeks. Here it the breakdown of the team's travel:
Itinerary (Miles)
Ann Arbor to Port St. Lucie, Fla. (1,261)
Port St. Lucie to Ann Arbor (1,261)
Ann Arbor to Santa Clara, Calif. (2,388)
Santa Clara to San Luis Obispo (191)
San Luis Obispo to Santa Clara (191)
Santa Clara to Berkeley (48)
Berkeley to San Jose (46)
San Jose to Davis (64)
Davis to Ann Arbor (2,284)
Ann Arbor to Honolulu, Hawaii (4,388)
Honolulu to Ann Arbor (4,388)
Ann Arbor to Stillwater, Okla. (972)
Stillwater to Ann Arbor (972)
Total (18,454)
Solid in the Rankings
Despite dropping three games over spring break, the Wolverines continue to appear in the top collegiate rankings. Led by fourth-year coach Erik Bakich, Michigan saw a lot of early recognition heading into the 2016 campaign, and continue to receive recognition as the season goes on. Michigan currently sits at No. 19 in the Baseball America Poll, No. 24 in the Perfect Game Poll, and No. 27 in the Collegiate Baseball News Poll, while also receiving votes in the USA Today Poll.
Key Returners
With 10 games in the books, junior Harrison Wenson currently leads the way for Michigan offensively. The catcher has become an everyday starter, boasting a .394 batting average and slugging at a .727 clip. Wenson also leads Michigan with three homers and ten RBI on the short season. Behind him, sophomore Jake Bivens is hitting at a .366 average, while junior Carmen Benedetti leads Michigan starters with a .477 on-base percentage. From the mound, sophomores Ryan Nutof and Oliver Jaskie both have two wins on the year, while Jaskie leads the Wolverine starting pitchers with a perfect 0.00 ERA.
Weekly Awards
In his second start of the season, sophomore lefty Oliver Jaskie tossed 5.1 innings against No. 10 California, striking out six and allowing just three hits, as the Wolverines shut out California by a 5-0 score at the Golden Bears' home field. For his performance, Jaskie was selected as the Big Ten Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week - his second weekly honor in the short season.
Newcomers
Michigan added 13 players to its roster in the off-season, including ten freshmen and three upperclassmen. In total, the group is made up of five pitchers, two outfielders, and six infielders, and players hail from seven states, including California, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Of those newcomers, Michael Brdar, Matt Ramsay, Ako Thomas, and Jonathan Engelmann have worked their way into the starting lineup, while William Tribucher has logged significant innings from the bullpen.
2015 Success
Michigan came into the season hot off its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2008 and a 39-25 record in 2015. The Wolverines returned 19 letterwinners, four position starters, 12 of 16 pitchers total and five of seven starting pitchers. Before the start of the season, the squad was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2016 Big Ten Conference title by a poll of the league's coaches.
History in the Making
In celebrating Michigan's 150 years of athletics, the baseball team is Michigan's oldest team on campus, and the squad continues to make history. A victory in the first game of the series marked Michigan's first season-opening win since 2010, and the team's 5-0 start marked the best program start since 2009. In addition, the second game of the season opening series mark head coach Erik Bakich's 100th win donning the maize and blue.
