Michigan
Connecticut
Wolverines to Look for Revenge Against UConn this Weekend
2/19/2020 2:58:00 PM | Baseball
» Michigan and UConn will square off in a three-game set Friday through Sunday (Feb. 21-23).
» The teams will play at Tradition Field, spring training home of the New York Mets.
» UConn topped Michigan, 7-1, at the MLB4 Collegiate Tournament to give the Wolverines their only loss.
» Michigan is the first Big Ten team to be ranked No. 1 by Baseball America.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 21 -- vs. UConn (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 22 -- vs. UConn (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 23 -- vs. UConn (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), 11 a.m.
Live Stats
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• Listen: Coach Bakich on WTKA | Coach Fetter on WTKA
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan baseball team will continue its 2020 campaign against Connecticut in a three-game series Friday through Sunday (Feb. 21-23) at Tradition Field, spring training home of the New York Mets, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
• The Wolverines achieved status as the nation's top team according to Baseball America. U-M, which started the season ranked No. 8 by BA. Michigan earned its No. 1 ranking by beating former No. 1 Vanderbilt (4-3, Feb. 14) and former No. 3 Arizona State (5-0, Feb. 15). The Maize and Blue is the first school from the Big Ten to earn Baseball America's No. 1 ranking.
• Michigan's lone loss on its trip to the Grand Canyon State was a 7-1 setback at the hands of this weekend's opponent, UConn.
• In that matchup, the Huskies outhit the Wolverines, 9-6, and had four extra-base hits (three doubles, one home run). The lone run scored by Michigan was an unearned run that came in the fourth inning after Jordan Nwogu reached on a single and two failed pickoff attempts advanced him to third. He then scored on a Danny Zimmerman infield single.
• During the Wolverines' non-conference schedule this season, they will take on five teams that played in the 2019 NCAA Postseason: Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Connecticut, Stanford and Cal.
• U-M is scheduled to face 10 teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2019. Additionally, the Maize and Blue will play 25 games at the Wilpon Complex in 2020.
• The rest of the weekend was far more successful for the Wolverines, outhitting each of their first three opponents, 30-18, and outscoring opponents, 17-8.
• Redshirt freshman Steven Hajjar earned a double dose of awards from the Big Ten this week, being named both Pitcher and Freshman of the Week for his performance against No. 9 Arizona State.
• Hajjar twirled a gem, holding the potent Sun Devil offense in check to the tune of no runs on three hits over six innings of work. The southpaw struck out seven and walked just two on the way to picking up his first collegiate victory.
• Junior Jordan Nwogu headlined the offense for Michigan, hitting .500 for the week (8-for-16) and reaching base at a .556 clip out of the leadoff spot. The outfielder also has scored two runs and stolen two bases.
• Joining the fun at the plate was freshman Clark Elliott, who hit .357 (5-for-14) in U-M's four games and had an on-base percentage of .438. The Barrington, Illinois, native scored a team-high four runs and added a triple and two walks to his debut weekend.
• The story on the mound came as the Wolverines' 1-2 Saturday night punch of redshirt freshman Steven Hajjar and sophomore Jack White.
• Left-hander Jack White worked the final three innings against ASU, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out one. White's save was his first.
• Serving as a catalyst for the offense out of the two-hole was junior Jack Blomgren, who hit .353 (6-for-17) on the weekend. The slick-fielding shortstop scored three runs, had a double and stole a base all while playing errorless shortstop in 17 chances.
• Providing the pop at the plate against Arizona State was redshirt sophomore Danny Zimmerman. The outfielder took advantage of his first career start by hitting his first career home run as well as a double. He leads the team in slugging after the first weekend with a .778 mark.
• With a tight game in the ninth inning against Arizona State, senior Dominic Clementi was called upon from the bench with two on and two out. Clementi smoked a double down the right-field line to extend the U-M lead to 5-0. The outfielder hit .300 (3-for-10) and made three starts on the weekend.
• Junior Jeff Criswell took the season opener Friday (Feb. 14), and gutted out a solid performance. After throwing 25 pitches, walking a batter, throwing two wild pitches, and allowing a run in the first inning, the right-hander settled in over the next 5.1 innings. Criswell finished the game allowing just one more hit while walking four total Commodores and surrendering three total runs.
• The opener's biggest moment came with Michigan trailing, 3-2, and the Vanderbilt All-American closer on the mound. After freshman Clark Elliott started a rally with an opposite-field single, redshirt senior Matthew Schmidt stepped to the plate and hit his first career home run to put the Wolverines ahead, 4-3. Schmidt finished the day 2-for-4, also hitting a double in the contest.
• Michigan's bullpen was strong overall on the weekend, picking up three saves and a win. Senior Benjamin Keizer tossed 1.2 innings against Vanderbilt to pick up the victory, while redshirt sophomore Isaiah Paige walked a tight rope in the ninth to earn the save. After a sparkling start from junior Blake Beers against Cal Poly, the trio of Ben Dragani, Angelo Smith and Cameron Weston finished out the game, with Weston earning his first career save.
• Right-hander Blake Beers earned his second career win when he tossed 5.2 innings against Cal Poly, allowing just two unearned runs. The junior struck out five and did not walk a Mustang batter. His performance earned him the role as No. 3 starter in this weekend's series against UConn.
Scouting the Opponent
• Michigan will continue its run of four straight games against the Huskies beginning Friday (Feb. 21) afternoon. The two programs have played one another just four times in program history with the all-time series tied, 2-2, and will play one another more in 2020 than in 153 previous years of Michigan baseball.
• The Huskies' Nick Krauth, who threw 5.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run against the Wolverines last week, was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll for his performance.
• Connecticut had nine hits against Michigan in their first meeting of 2020 (Feb. 16), getting doubles from Christian Fedko, Paul Gozzo and Reggie Crawford, and what turned out to be the go-ahead home run from Ben Maycock.
• UConn is scheduled to start three right-handers in the series: Joe Simeone (Fri.), Colby Dunlop (Sat.), and Krauth (Sun.).
