Michigan
The Citadel
Michigan Travels to The Citadel for Three-Game Series with Bulldogs
2/19/2019 2:13:00 PM | Baseball
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 22Â -- at The Citadel (Charleston, S.C.), 5 p.m.
Live Stats  | Watch
Saturday, Feb. 23Â -- at The Citadel (Charleston, S.C.), 4 p.m.
Live Stats  | Watch
Sunday, Feb. 24Â -- at The Citadel (Charleston, S.C.), 1 p.m.
Live Stats  | Watch
• Complete Notes (PDF) | Bakich Q&A on Upcoming Season
• Listen: Coach Bakich on WTKA
• Follow #Team153: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
» After sweeping its opening-weekend series with Binghamton, Michigan takes to the road again this weekend with a three-game set at The Citadel.
» The meeting will mark the first in history between the Wolverines and the Bulldogs.
» The Maize and Blue will spend the first four weeks of the 2019 season on the road before hosting Manhattan in its home-opening series, March 15-17.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After sweeping its opening-weekend series with Binghamton, the University of Michigan baseball team takes to the road again this weekend (Feb. 22-24) with a three-game set at The Citadel. All three games will be carried live on the SoCon Digital Network and will be streamed free of charge.
The meeting between Michigan and The Citadel will mark the first in program history. The Bulldogs have appeared in 13 NCAA tournaments, last appearing in 2010 as champions of the Southern Conference tournament. The Bulldogs' last Big Ten matchup was a series against Nebraska in 2014, in which The Citadel took two out of three.
• Michigan opened up the 2019 season with a three-game series against Binghamton in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the Wolverines picked up a sweep. The series marked the fourth straight year that Michigan began its season at First Data Field, as the Wolverines have played a series at the home of the Mets' High-A affiliate every season since 2007.
• Several players enjoyed impressive Michigan debuts over the weekend. Junior transfer Jordan Brewer demonstrated electric athleticism in playing both right field and first base while batting 4-for-9 (.444) with two doubles and two stolen bases. He was consistently clocked in excess of 100 mph on exit velocity at the plate. Isaiah Paige turned in a three-inning save in his debut on Friday (Feb. 15), allowing one hit. Freshman Willie Weiss, the 2018 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, came out of the bullpen in game two of the series (Feb. 16) and struck out the side around a leadoff single to earn a save in his debut. Freshman Jack Van Remortel earned a sharp single and an RBI in his first collegiate at bat in the series finale (Feb. 17).Â
• Overall, U-M was led by Jack Blomgren who batted 5-for-9 (.556) out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order, including a 4-for-7 (.571) mark with runners on base and five RBI. He also posted a .667 OBP and was perfect defensively at shortstop. Third baseman Blake Nelson posted a .750 OBP as he found his way onto base in six of eight appearances, including a key two-run double in Michigan's 5-4 win in game two against Binghamton. Local Ann Arbor product Jordan Nwogu had two doubles and a triple to lead in slugging percentage. Joe Donovan hit his first career home run, connecting on a two-run shot to left field early in game three.
• Michigan received impressive pitching throughout the opening weekend. Tommy Henry tied a career high with nine strikeouts in six innings of game one, while Karl Kauffmann struck out 10 batters in eight innings on Saturday. On Sunday, Jeff Criswell was consistently throwing 96 mph as he whiffed five batters in five innings. All told, U-M pitchers recorded 32 strikeouts against 19 hits for a .184 batting average against and a 1.00 ERA.
• Michigan is ranked 17th by D1Baseball.com, 20th by Baseball America, 19th by Perfect Game and 21st by the NCBWA.
• The Citadel opened its 2019 season last weekend against Delaware State and took two of three in the series with three solid pitching performances. The Citadel finished the 2018 season with a 19-34 record, falling to Western Carolina in the first game of the Southern Conference Championship.
• Following its series against The Citadel, Michigan will spend another 10 days on the road before its home opener. After spending four weeks on the road and playing 15 contests across Florida, South Carolina and California, the Maize and Blue will host Manhattan for a four-game series (March 15-17) in its first home games at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium.
