Michigan to Welcome Bowling Green for First Home Series of 2018

THIS WEEK
Friday, March 16 -- vs. Bowling Green (Wilpon Complex), 4 p.m.
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Saturday, March 17 -- vs. Bowling Green (Wilpon Complex), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | WCBN Radio
Sunday, March 18 -- vs. Bowling Green (Wilpon Complex), 1 p.m.
Live Stats | WCBN Radio

• Complete Game Notes
• Coach Bakich on WTKA

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team is set to host its first home series of the 2018 season this weekend (March 16-18) against Bowling Green. The series opener is scheduled for Friday (March 16) at 4 p.m., and Saturday's game (March 17) is set to begin at 2 p.m. The rubber match is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 18). All three games will be played at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium, and admission will be free for youth (age 18 and under).

• This week's home games will mark Michigan's first games played at the Wilpon Complex this season, as the Wolverines played their first 14 games of the 2018 campaign in Florida, California and Tennessee. Michigan is set to play 24 home games this year, which includes seven straight beginning this week and another seven straight through the end of March and early April.

• The weekend rotation has been set for Michigan's first home series, with freshman Ben Dragani expected to make his first collegiate start on Sunday (March 18). The lefty has appeared in relief five times this season and totaled 13 innings with a 2.77 earned run average. Dragani's best performance came at then-No. 8 Stanford (March 4), when he threw four scoreless innings of relief and struck out three while he kept the Cardinal hitless.

• Junior Ako Thomas is back to his ways after he reached base in 38 consecutive games last season. The infielder has reached base safely in all 15 contests this year.

• Senior catcher/infielder Brock Keener leads the Wolverine starters at the plate with a .280 batting average through 11 games played. Keener also boasts a .419 on-base percentage and is ranked tied for second on the team with seven runs scored.

• Sophomore right-handed pitcher Karl Kauffmann ranks fifth in the Big Ten Conference with 25 strikeouts through six starts. The righty began the season as Michigan's Sunday starter, but made his first Saturday start last weekend at Lipscomb (March 10) when the Wolverines changed up their starting rotation.

• Bowling Green enters the weekend with a 3-13 overall record and a six-game losing streak that includes losses at Western Kentucky, Evansville, Campbell and Canisius. Much like the Wolverines' long road streak to start the season, the Falcons have yet to play at home during the 2018 campaign.

• Michigan boats a 45-15 all-time record over Bowling Green, with the teams' most recent meeting occurring in 2016. Led by two homers from Atlanta Braves prospect Drew Lugbauer, the Wolverines won that game, 5-0.

• The Bowling Green Falcons are led offensively by redshirt-junior Ty Suntken, who boasts a .435 batting average to go with a .652 slugging percentage and .480 on-base percentage. Everyday starter Neil Lambert is also a go-to guy at the plate with a .333 batting average along with a team-leading six doubles and 20 hits. From the mound, junior righty Brad Croy has appeared seven times in relief with a 1.69 earned run average and two saves.

• Michigan announced Tuesday (March 13) that its previously scheduled home opener against Oakland was postponed due to weather. When U-M's schedule was originally released in January, the Wolverines were scheduled to open up at home against Bowling Green this weekend (March 16-18), but head coach Erik Bakich added the Oakland and Lawrence Tech games to the schedule last week (March 9).

• The Wolverines are 0-1 at home after dropping an 8-3 decision to Lawrence Tech on Wednesday (March 14) in the team's home opener. Freshman Jesse Franklin totaled a career-high two hits in the effort, and three Wolverines had multi-hit outings. The home-opening loss was Michigan's first since 2013.

• After losing 15 players at the end of the 2017 season, including a program-record 11 to the Major League Baseball Draft, the Maize and Blue added 14 players to its roster in the offseason. The roster additions included 12 freshmen and two junior college transfers that hail from seven different states, and the Wolverine recruiting class was ranked No. 10 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper -- Michigan's highest ranking for a Big Ten recruiting class.