No. 18 Michigan to Play Three at Iowa This Weekend
4/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2016
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Hot on a five-game win streak and a 2-1 victory over Toledo on Tuesday (April 20), the No. 18-ranked University of Michigan baseball team (26-9, 6-2 Big Ten) will head to Iowa (17-17, 6-6 Big Ten) for a three-game Big Ten Conference series beginning on Friday (April 22) in Iowa City.
Series History vs. Iowa
All-time record against: 116-52
First meeting: 5/25/1893 -- W, 9-4
Last meeting: 5/3/2015 -- L, 2-0
» Michigan's 26-9 record through the first 35 games is the team's best start since 1987, when the Wolverines won both the regular-season and Big Ten Conference Tournament titles to advance to an NCAA Regional. Led by historic figures like Jim Abbott and Mike Ignasiak, the 1987 squad finished the year with a 52-12 overall record.
» Michigan has gone 5-1 over the last week with victories over Toledo and Eastern Michigan and a three-game sweep of Nebraska. The sweep marked Michigan's fifth of the season and second in Big Ten play, and the Wolverines are currently on a five-game win streak.
» Despite an 11-5 loss at Michigan State last Tuesday, senior Cody Bruder led the Wolverine offense last week recording a .667 average with nine RBI. He went 5-6 in Tuesday's 19-3 victory over Eastern Michigan and 4-4 in a 6-1 win over Nebraska on Sunday. The outfielder also slugged at a .905 clip for the week and scored a team-leading 10 runs with no strikeouts for the week.
» After going 4-1 last week, Michigan broke back into numerous top-25 polls. The Wolverines currently rank the highest in the Baseball America Poll at No. 18 while also earning a No. 21-ranking in the NCBWA Poll, a No. 22-ranking in the Perfect Game Poll and a No. 25-ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll. While Michigan did not earn a selection to the Collegiate Baseball News Top 30, the Wolverines were considered for selection to the prestigious D1Baseball Poll.
» With 6.0 IP and two K's last weekend, junior LHP Brett Adcock has surpassed the 205 career-K mark and now ranks eighth all-time in Michigan history for strikeouts. Senior LHP Evan Hill also ranks 13th in Michigan's all-time history with 191 career strikeouts.
» Through 34 games this season senior Cody Bruder currently leads Michigan's offense with a .386 batting average on the year. The outfielder has 54 hits on the year with 31 RBI in addition to nine doubles and a triple. Junior Harrison Wenson is Michigan's go-to power hitter with a .566 slugging percentage and five homers on the season, including a game-winner on Tuesday (April 20) against Toledo. Junior Carmen Benedetti also ranks third in the Big Ten Conference with team-leading .481 on-base percentage, while Bruder, sophomore Jake Bivens (.374), Wenson (.359) and Benedetti (.317) are also all hitting over .300 for the year. In addition, freshman Ako Thomas is tied for first in the Big Ten Conference with seven sacrifice bunts.
Communications Contact: Katie Gwinn Hewitt
