Michigan to Start 2021 Season in Texas with Four Games Against Iowa

» Michigan and Iowa will play a four-game set March 6-8 in Round Rock, Texas.
» The games will be played at Dell Diamond, home of the minor league Round Rock Express.
» The schools have not met on the diamond since 2018 when Michigan took a 2-1 extra-inning win in a Big Ten Tournament game.
» Michigan is ranked No. 21 by Baseball America.

This Week

Saturday, March 6 -- vs. Iowa (Round Rock, Texas), 6 p.m. CST
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, March 7 -- DH vs. Iowa (Round Rock, Texas), 2 p.m. CST
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Game 1 Video | Game 2 Video
Monday, March 8 -- vs. Iowa (Round Rock, Texas), 11 a.m. CST
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (0-0) will open the 2021 campaign against the University of Iowa in a four-game series as part of the Big Ten Central Texas Challenge at Dell Diamond, home of the Round Rock Express, in Round Rock, Texas. All four games will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus.

Michigan and Iowa play a 6 p.m. CST single game on Saturday (March 6), a 2 p.m. doubleheader -- a seven-inning game by followed by a nine-inning contest -- on Sunday (March 7) and an 11 a.m. single game on Monday (March 8). Nebraska and Purdue also will play a four-game set at the same location, with their series starting Friday, March 5. In accordance with Big Ten Conference guidelines, no fans will be allowed to enter Dell Diamond.

Wolverine Notes

• Michigan enters the season in familiar place as the top-ranked team in both the Midwest Region and Big Ten Conference, as the Wolverines are ranked No. 21 nationally by Baseball America. In last season's shortened campaign, Michigan achieved status as the nation's top team according to Baseball America. U-M, which started the 2020 season ranked No. 8 by BA, earned its No. 1 ranking by beating No. 1 Vanderbilt (4-3, Feb. 14) and No. 3 Arizona State (5-0, Feb. 15). Michigan became the first school from the Big Ten to earn Baseball America's No. 1 ranking.

• The Big Ten announced a 44-game conference-only schedule in 2021 with each school juggling a varied schedule consisting of three- and four-game series and multi-team weekend series featuring games against two schools.

• Michigan leads the all-time series with Iowa, which dates back to 1893, by a count of 120-55. The teams have not met since the 2018 campaign when Michigan defeated the Hawkeyes, 2-1 in 10 innings, in a Big Ten Tournament opener. In that game, current Wolverine Christan Bullock led off the 10th inning with a walk and came around on a sacrifice fly.

• Redshirt sophomore Steven Hajjar enters the season as a consensus preseason All-American with the left-hander projected to be a first-round MLB draft choice. Last season in his collegiate debut, Hajjar threw 6.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts in a victory over the then-No. 3-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils. All told in 2020, Hajjar sported a 3-0 record and a 2.70 earned run average with 24 strikeouts in 20.0 innings of work.

• Hajjar will be supported on the mound by sophomore Cameron Weston (1-0, 0.90 ERA), junior Blake Beers (2-2, 3.13 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) and a deep pitching staff that will be bolstered by the return of 2019 Freshman All-America closer Willie Weiss, who missed the 2020 season to injury.

• Michigan's lineup is bolstered by numerous graduate and junior-college transfers as head coach Erik Bakich capitalized on temporary eligibility rules to lure some of the nation's top talent to Ann Arbor.

Scouting the Opponent

Iowa (10-5 in 2020) is led by its captains: seniors Trace Hoffman, Grant Leonard, Austin Martin and Ben Norman and junior Trenton Wallace. Hoffman, a right-handed pitcher, made five appearances during the shortened 2020 season. He was 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA over four innings. Leonard, a right-handed pitcher, tallied four saves in 2020 and enters his final campaign with 20 career saves, tied for second most in Hawkeye history.

Martin, a catcher, hit .277 with three RBI and nine runs scored in 2020. The backstop hit safely in 10 games with three multi-hit contests. Norman, an outfielder, has started 75 consecutive games dating back to the 2018 season. Last season, Norman hit .295 with 18 runs and six RBI, and he hit safely in 12 of Iowa's 15 games, with three multi-hit contests. Wallace, an outfielder/left-handed pitcher, went 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in five appearances on the mound with 18 strikeouts to two walks over 11 1/3 innings. Offensively, he hit .529 with one home run, three doubles, five RBI and one run scored.