Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines to Travel to Minnesota to Battle Gophers
4/13/2021 6:02:00 PM | Baseball
» No. 25 Michigan travels to Minnesota for a three-game set this weekend.
» Minnesota enters play having lost four straight and nine of its last 10
» Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., April 16-18 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Friday, April 16 -- at Minnesota, 3 p.m. CDT
TV: ESPNU | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, April 17 -- at Minnesota, 1 p.m. CDT
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, April 18 -- at Minnesota, 1 p.m. CDT
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan baseball team (15-7, 15-7 Big Ten) returns to action this weekend with a three-game series at Minnesota (4-17, 4-17 Big Ten) starting Friday (April 16) with a 3 p.m. CDT contest that will be broadcast live on ESPNU. That game will be followed by a pair of 1 p.m. CDT games on Saturday and Sunday (April 17-18), both of which will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+.
About the Series
• Michigan leads 95-10 in the all-time series with Minnesota, which dates back to 1888. The teams have only met three times since 2016 with Michigan taking two of three games from the Gophers in 2019.
About U-M
• After a 2-2 week, Michigan is ranked No. 25 in the latest D1Baseball.com poll (April 12) after a 2-1 weekend at Ohio State. The Wolverines also are ranked No. 24 by Baseball America and No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
• Michigan (15-7, 15-7 B1G) posted a 2-1 record last weekend against Ohio State, dropping Friday's (April 9) opener 7-4, before responding with a 7-0 win on Saturday (April 10) and a 17-hit outburst en route to a 16-7 win in the finale on Sunday (April 11)
• Michigan will look to lefty Steven Hajjar (1-0, 2.80 ERA, 35.1 IP, 42 K) on Friday, righty Cameron Weston (4-1, 3.25 ERA, 36.0 IP, 28 K) on Saturday and southpaw Jacob Denner (2-0, 3.81 ERA, 26.0 IP, 26 K) on Sunday.
• Christian Molfetta leads the offense with a .349 batting average and a .446 on-base percentage, while adding 11 extra-base hits -- including a pair of homers last week against the Buckeyes.
Benjamin Sems was named the national shortstop of the week by the College Baseball Hall of Fame following a weekend series that saw him bat .412 while turning in multiple web gems. Sems is second on the team in batting average (.333) and has proven to be an effective bat against both righties and lefties this season. Sophomore Jimmy Obertop leads the team with eight home runs, including two of the team's four grand slams this season, and leads the team with 21 RBI.
• Michigan's bullpen has been solid through the first quarter of the season. Graduate student Joe Pace (2-1, 1.35, 13.1 IP, 9 H, 20 K) has dazzled in various middle- and late-inning situations. Closer Willie Weiss (3-1, 1.69 ERA) continues to rank among the conference leaders in strikeouts per innings pitched with 16 Ks through 10.1 innings of work. Graduate student Will Proctor (0-0, 1.93) has been reliable with nine strikeouts in 9.1 innings of work.
Scouting the Opposition
• Minnesota (4-17, 4-17 B1G) enters the series reeling and badly needing to pick up some wins. The Gophers were swept on the road at Iowa last weekend, losing the three games by a combined score of 31-2, including an 18-0 outcome on Sunday and have lost nine of their last 10 games.
• Minnesota, batting just .239 as a team, is led offensively by veteran Zack Raabe, who leads the team in most categories including batting average (.406), on-base percentage (.500) and extra-base hits (10). Raabe leads the team with four home runs but has driven in just seven runs so far. Jack Wassel (.284), Chase Stanke (.282) and Andrew Whilhite (.270) are the only regulars above the .250 mark. Brett Bateman (.379) has returned to the lineup after missing multiple games and has performed well from the leadoff position. The Gophers have stolen just five bases as a team.
• The weekend pitching rotation will be Sam Ireland (0-3, 3.82, 35.1 IP, 35 K, 16 BB) on Friday night, Jack Liffrig (1-2, 5.13, 33.1 IP, 19 K, 13 BB, 40 H) on Saturday and either Trent Schoebert (0-2, 7.47, 15.2 IP, 16v H, 10 BB, 10 K) or Patrick Frederickson (0-1, 12.46, 8.2 IP, 11 H, 9 BB, 12 K) on Sunday. The back end of Minnesota's rotation has been roughed up in the past three weeks.
Up Next
Fri-Sun., April 23-25 -- vs. Rutgers (Wilpon Complex)
