Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Set to Open Home Season vs. Illinois, Michigan State
3/17/2021 12:27:00 PM | Baseball
» Michigan hosts Illinois on Friday and Saturday, then will welcome Michigan Michigan State on Sunday and Monday.
» MSU and Illinois also will play against each other Saturday and Sunday.
» Michigan is ranked No. 22 by D1Baseball.com, No. 20 Baseball America and No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
THIS WEEK
Friday, March 19 -- vs. Illinois (Ray Fisher Stadium), 4 p.m.
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Saturday, March 20 -- vs. Illinois (Ray Fisher Stadium), Noon
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Sunday, March. 21 -- vs. Michigan State (Ray Fisher Stadium), 4 p.m.
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Monday, March. 22 -- vs. Michigan State (Ray Fisher Stadium), 4 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 22-ranked University of Michigan baseball team opens its 2021 home schedule Friday through Monday (March 19-22) when the Wolverines play host to Illinois and Michigan State for two-game sets at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium.
Michigan plays Illinois on Friday (March 19) at 4 p.m. and Saturday (March 20) at noon before hosting Michigan State on Sunday (March 21) and Monday (March 22) at 4 p.m. Illinois and Michigan State will play a two-game series against each other Saturday and Sunday at Ray Fisher Stadium.
In accordance with Big Ten Conference guidelines, no fans will be allowed to enter the stadium. All games will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan is ranked No. 22 in the D1Baseball.com poll after sweeping a four-game series against Purdue last weekend in Greenville, S.C. and posting a 5-0 record during the week. The Wolverines have won six straight games and outscored their opposition 51-12 in that span. The Wolverines are also ranked No. 19 by College Baseball Newspaper and No. 22 by Baseball America.
• Michigan leads, 141-105-3, in the all-time series with Illinois, which dates back to 1892. The teams last met in the Big Ten Tournament in 2019 when a Jordan Nwogu double to left-center scored Christan Bullock to ignite a magical postseason run that ended with the Wolverines advancing to the national title game.
• Michigan leads, 205-106-2, in the all-time series with Michigan State, which dates to 1884. The Wolverines have won nine straight in the series, including all three games in 2019. Five of the last seven games have been decided by at least seven runs.
About Michigan
• Michigan batters have enjoyed a .406 on-base percentage in the early going, led by Griffin Mazur (.516) and Jacob Marti (.500), while Tito Flores (.459), Clark Elliott (.458), Danny Zimmerman (.444), Benjamin Sems (.412) and Christian Molfetta (.400) are all at .400 or better.
The offense has hit seven homers through the first eight games, including grand slams from Griffin Mazur and Jimmy Obertop.
• Michigan received quality starts last weekend from Steven Hajjer (1-0, 2.13 ERA), Ben Dragani (2-0, 0.00 ERA) and Cameron Weston (1-1, 3.48 ERA). U-M also got multiple impressive relief efforts, including graduate student Joe Pace (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 7 K) who worked out of a bases-loaded jam with the first of five consecutive strikeouts against Purdue on Sunday (March 7).
• The Wolverines project to start left-handed pitcher Steven Hajjar on Friday, right-hander Cameron Weston on Saturday, southpaw Jacob Denner on Sunday and righty Blake Beers on Monday.
Scouting Illinois
• Illinois took three of four games at Minnesota last weekend and enters play at 4-4.
• The Illini are led offensively by Justin Janas (.400 batting average) while Ryan Hampe (.367) is a free-swinger who has 11 hits, 10 strikeouts and just one walk on the season in 30 at-bats. Jackson Raper (.345) leads the team with four extra base hits, including one homer, while Cam McDonald (.270) leads the way with eight RBI.
• Illinois projects to start a pair of right-handers against Michigan in Andrew Hoffman and Riley Gowens. Hoffman has not earned a decision in his two starts, while pitching well with 17 strikeouts against just seven hits and two walks and a 1.42 earned-run average in 12.2 innings. Gowens is 1-0 on the season with 11 strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work against eight hits and six walks with a 4.91 ERA
Scouting Michigan State
• MSU started the season hot, winning its first three games against Maryland but enter the weekend having lost four of their last five, including a walk-off setback against Northwestern in Greenville, S.C., last weekend.
• The Spartans are led offensively by Bryce Kelley and Zaid Waker who sport identical 12-fotr-28 marks (.429 batting average). Kelley also has walked five times for a .500 on-base percentage to go along with four stolen bases.
• MSU projects to start RHP Adam Berghorst on Sunday and LHP Nick Powers on Monday. Berghorst is 1-0 on the season, having allowed just four hits in 8.2 innings of work with a 3.12 earned-run average, while Powers is 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA despite striking out 11 batters in 9.1 Innings of work.
Up Next
Fri-Sun., March 26-28 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.)
