Michigan
San Diego
U-M Heads West for Spring Break Games in Southern California
2/21/2018 10:40:00 AM | Baseball
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 23 -- at San Diego (San Diego, Calif.), 6 p.m. PST
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Saturday, Feb. 24 -- vs. Arizona (San Diego, Calif.), 1 p.m. PST
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Sunday, Feb. 25 -- vs. Cal Poly (San Diego, Calif.), 10 a.m. PST
Live Stats
Monday, Feb. 26 -- at San Diego State (San Diego, Calif.), 6 p.m. PST
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Following a 2-1 series showing against Army to kick off the 2018 season, the University of Michigan baseball team will continue non-conference play with an eight-game road swing to California. The spring break trip, which is to include eight contests over a 10-day period, will features games in both San Diego, California, and Palo Alto, California, between Feb. 23 and March 4. During that time, Michigan will face off against San Diego, Arizona, Cal Poly, San Diego State and Stanford.
• The first half of the spring break trip will see Michigan play four games in San Diego. The first three games will serve as part of the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament, which is co-hosted annually by San Diego and San Diego State. Michigan will open the tournament at San Diego on Friday (Feb. 23) before facing Arizona on Saturday (Feb. 24) and Cal Poly on Sunday (Feb. 25), with both neutral-site contests played at San Diego State. Following the weekend tournament, Michigan will wrap the first half of its 10-day trip with a game at San Diego State on Monday (Feb. 26).
• Michigan opened the 2018 season with a three-game series against Army in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and returned to Ann Arbor having won two of the three contests. The series marked the third straight year that Michigan opened up its season at Tradition Field, as the Wolverines have played a series at the home of the Mets' High-A affiliate every season since 2007.
• Michigan's starting pitching was the story of the series against Army, as senior Alec Rennard and sophomores Tommy Henry and Karl Kauffmann did not allow a single earned run through a combined 16 innings pitched. The trio surrendered just 11 hits and two walks, and struck out 12.
• A total of 12 Michigan players made their debuts over the weekend, including redshirt freshmen catchers Marcus Chavez and Harrison Salter as well as junior transfers Blake Nelson and Matthew Schmidt. Additionally, freshmen Jack Blomgren (shortstop) and Jesse Franklin (designated hitter) got starting nods on opening day, while Joe Donovan, Danny Zimmerman, Logan Pollack, Jordan Nwogu, Ben Dragani and Blake Beers appeared in either pinch-hit or relief-pitching roles.
• After redshirting during the 2017 season due to a knee injury, senior Hector Gutierrez made a splash in his first game back with the Wolverines in the 2018 season opener. He started at first base and knocked in five runs, thanks in large part to a grand slam in the sixth inning. The homer was the first of his career.
• Despite limited playing time as a freshman, outfielder Christan Bullock was a catalyst for Michigan at the plate in the season-opening series. In addition to leading Michigan with a .600 batting average on the weekend, the sophomore recorded a hit in every game and ended the weekend with a team-leading six hits. He also led Michigan with three stolen bases, scored two runs and picked up two runs batted in.
• Redshirt freshman catcher Harrison Salter made his first career start over the weekend, which included an impressive 3-for-4 outing at the plate. In addition to recording his first career double and knocking in two runs, Salter made a key tag at the plate to prevent Army from scoring in the top of the first inning.
• Despite finishing the 2017 campaign ranked second in the country with a .983 fielding percentage, Michigan's defense was not quite as solid in the 2018 season-opening series. In total, the Wolverines recorded six errors over the three-game stretch, which led to seven unearned runs.
• The Wolverines will begin the 2018 season with contests against seven different teams in three different states, logging 8,732 miles before playing at home for the first time. Here is a complete breakdown of the team's non-conference travel schedule:
Itinerary (Miles)
Ann Arbor to Port St. Lucie, Florida (1,261)
Port St. Lucie to Ann Arbor (1,261)
Ann Arbor to San Diego, California (2,301)
San Diego to Stanford, California (478)
Stanford to Ann Arbor (2,389)
Ann Arbor to Nashville, Tennessee (521)
Nashville to Ann Arbor (521)
Total (8,732)
• After spending the first four weeks on the road and playing 15 contests across Florida, California and Tennessee, the Maize and Blue will face Bowling Green for a three-game series (March 16-18) in its home opener.
