Michigan
Creighton
Michigan to Open NCAA Tournament vs. Creighton
5/28/2019 12:05:00 PM | Baseball
» Michigan is the No. 3 seed in the Corvallis, Oregon Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
» Michigan earned its ways into the tournament after it finished second in the Big Ten regular-season race and posted a 3-2 record in the Big Ten Tournament.
» Michigan owns a 2-0 record all-time vs. Creighton.
NEXT GAMES
Fri-Mon., May 31-June 3 -- at NCAA Regional (Corvallis, Ore.)
Bracket | Regional Central
Friday, May 31 -- vs. No. 22 Creighton, 1 p.m. PDT
TV: ESPN3 | Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes (PDF)
Saturday, June 1 -- vs. Cincinnati, 7 p.m. PDT
TV: ESPN3 | Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes (PDF)
Sunday, June 2 -- vs. No. 22 Creighton, 6 p.m. PDT
TV: ESPN3Â | Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes (PDF)
Monday, June 3 --Â vs. No. 22 Creighton, 4 p.m. PDT
TV: ESPN2 | Live Stats | Live Video
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (41-18) will begin play in the NCAA Tournament Corvallis (Oregon) Regional when it faces Creighton (38-11) on Friday (May 31) at 1 p.m. PDT. Host Oregon State will play Cincinnati in Friday's second game at 7 p.m. PDT, with the winners and losers of Friday's games facing off on Saturday (June 1) at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. PDT, respectively, in a double-elimination format.Â
• After compiling 41 wins and finishing second in the Big Ten Conference, Michigan received an at-large berth in the 2019 NCAA Division I Championship on Monday (May 27) when the 64-team NCAA field was announced.
• The Wolverines were assigned to the Corvallis Regional, which will be hosted by Oregon State and played Friday through Monday (May 31-June 3) at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
• The Wolverines will make their third NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Erik Bakich and 24th overall. The at-large selection is Michigan's second since 2017, though the Wolverines advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 by way of winning the Big Ten Tournament, which serves as an automatic qualifier.
• Michigan owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 61-47 (.565), including a 49-33 (.598) mark during regional play. The Wolverines have advanced to the College World Series seven times, most recently in 1984, and won national titles in 1953 and 1962.
• Junior outfielder Jordan Brewer was named the Big Ten Player of the Year on May 21 after he led the Big Ten in batting average (.358), was second in slugging percentage (.637), runs batted in (52), hits (69) and stolen bases (19), while finishing third in runs (51) and doubles (14), fifth in home runs (12) and ninth in on-base-percentage (.415). [ Release ]
• In addition to Brewer, eight other Wolverines earned All-Big Ten awards including first-team honors for sophomore designated hitter Jordan Nwogu and sophomore pitcher Jeff Criswell. Sophomore shortstop Jack Blomgren earned All-Big Ten second team honors while sophomore catcher Joe Donovan, senior first baseman Jimmy Kerr, sophomore outfielder Jesse Franklin and junior pitcher Karl Kauffmann all earned third team honors. Closer Willie Weiss was named to the All-Big Ten freshman team and Kerr was further honored as Michigan's Sportsmanship Award recipient.
• With nine strikeouts through a relief appearance and a start in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, junior lefty Tommy Henry ranks tied for third with Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill for strikeouts by a Michigan pitcher in a single season (104). Henry's strikeouts helped him surpass Steve Howe (92), Brett Adcock (95), Ross Powell (98), Mike Ignasiak (99), Adcock (100) and pitching coach Chris Fetter (103) in the Michigan record book. Henry also ranks ninth in program history with 220 career Ks and is four shy of taking sole possession of eighth place.
• The Wolverines finished just a half-game out of first place in the Big Ten Conference standings this season with a 16-7 league record. Indiana (17-7), which defeated Michigan twice during a three-game set in the second-to-last weekend of the regular season, took home the regular-season conference title. Ohio State, which earned a series win against the Wolverines (April 12-13) won the tournament title to earn the Big Ten's automatic bid. Prior to the season, the Wolverines were picked by the league's coaches to finish second in the Big Ten this year.
• A victory over Illinois in the second game of the Big Ten Tournament (May 23) marked Michigan's 40th win of the season. Prior to the 2019 campaign, U-M had compiled 40 wins just 13 times in modern history. The 40-win mark is the second for Coach Bakich in his head coaching career; the first came during the 2017 season, in which Michigan also advanced to the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid.
• Friday's game will mark the Wolverines' 11th neutral-site contest this season. Michigan is 7-3 when playing in neutral venues so far this year, with its lone regular-season loss coming at the hands of Oklahoma State (March 10) inside Dodger Stadium during the Wolverines' spring break trip to California. Michigan also was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament with two losses at T.D. Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
• Michigan leads Big Ten opponents in batting average (.283), on-base percentage (.384), runs scored (404), hits (566) walks (24), doubles (127), stolen bases (88) and sacrifice flies (34). The Wolverines also rank second in the Big Ten with a .448 team slugging percentage.
• Four Wolverines are hitting above .300, including junior Jordan Brewer (.358), sophomore Jordan Nwogu (.348), senior Blake Nelson (.315) and sophomore Jack Blomgren (.314). Brewer leads the Big Ten in batting average, while Nwogu ranks first in on-base percentage (.465). Sophomore Jesse Franklin also leads the conference with 40 walks.
• The Wolverines' 3.49 earned-run average leads the Big Ten Conference and ranks 14th-best in the nation. The pitching staff also has combined for a conference-best seven shutout victories, which ranks tied for fourth most in the country.
• Sophomore Jack Blomgren snapped a 33-game streak of reaching base safely during Michigan's loss to Ohio State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament (May 22). An All-Big Ten conference second-team selection, Blomgren ranks second on the team with a .419 on-base percentage.
• A loss to Indiana on May 10 snapped a 13-game win streak for Michigan, which ranked longest in the NCAA at the time. The streak included victories over Ohio State, Bowling Green, Michigan State, and Eastern Michigan, as well as series sweeps of Northwestern, Rutgers, and Maryland. The Wolverines made history during the 2018 campaign with an impressive 20-game win streak through March and April, which marked the third-longest win streak in program history.
