Michigan
Seton Hall
Wolverines to Begin Spring Break Trip in Miami
2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM | Baseball
» Michigan will play eight games in as many days across two states between Feb. 25 and March 6.
» Michigan starts its trip in Miami, Fla., where it plays Seton Hall on Feb. 25 before two-game series against Florida International and Florida Atlantic.
» U-M then continues onto East Carolina University and the Keith LeClair Classic, March 4-6.
THIS WEEK
Friday, February 25 -- vs. Seton Hall (Miami, Fla.), 1 p.m.
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Saturday, February 26 -- at Florida International (Miami, Fla.), 5 p.m.
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Sunday, February 27 -- at Florida International (Miami, Fla.), 6 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (2-2) begins a nine-day, eight-game road trip this weekend with three games scheduled at the Florida International Baseball Stadium in Miami, Fla. Michigan plays a single game on Friday (Feb. 25) against Seton Hall on FIU's campus before playing on consecutive evenings against the host Panthers (Feb. 26-27).
• Michigan then has a travel day before playing on consecutive days at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Fla. After that series, the Wolverines travel to East Carolina University to take part in the Keith LeClair Classic, March 4-6.
• The Wolverines posted a 2-2 record last weekend with three games in as many days against Big 12 Conference member schools Texas Tech, Kansas State and Oklahoma in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown before traveling to nearby Clay Gould Park on Monday for a game against UT Arlington that was unaffiliated with the tournament.
The Week That Was
• Michigan was 2-2 in the week but it should have been a 3-1 week as the Wolverines gave up a big lead to No. 14-ranked Texas Tech in an eventual 7-6 loss. Michigan overcame significant adversity in the week with travel and challenging game times and turnaround times to contend with.
• Clark Elliott led off the season with a home run against Texas Tech, taking the second pitch of the season over the right field wall. Elliott also homered in the second game of the year with a three-run blast against Kansas State. He batted .412 on the week with a .500 on-base percentage, three extra-base hits and four RBI from the leadoff position.
• Jimmy Obertop batted an identical .412 over the weekend. Jack Van Remortel tied Elliott for the team lead with three extra-base hits (all doubles), while Joe Stewart and Tito Flores both connected for three-run homers in Sunday's win at UT Arlington.
• Jacob Denner had a superb outing in a win over Kansas State, tossing a tournament-high 6.0 innings in which he scattered four hits and struck out five.
About Michigan Baseball
• In the Big Ten Conference preseason coaches poll, Michigan was selected to finish second in the conference behind Nebraska and ahead of Iowa, Maryland, Iowa, Ohio State and Indiana. Ted Burton, Clark Elliott and Cameron Weston were all named to the preseason honors list.
• Michigan enters the season in familiar place as one of the teams to watch in a deep and talented Big Ten Conference. Most baseball media outlets have projected Michigan, Nebraska, Maryland and Iowa as NCAA Tournament teams.
• Michigan enters the campaign following a choppy 2021 season that saw the Wolverines advance to NCAA Regional play despite a decision by the Big Ten Conference to play a conference-only schedule. Michigan finished 27-17 in the regular season, advanced to Regionals and saw three players selected in the MLB Draft, including second rounder Steven Hajjar.
• Michigan has had 12 players drafted in the past four years. The Wolverines led all college programs in players drafted in the opening three rounds in both 2020 and 2019. Additionally, in 2017, Michigan had the most overall draft choices of any college program when a staggering 11 players were selected.
• In 2020, the Maize and Blue become the first school from the Big Ten Conference to earn Baseball America's No. 1 overall ranking, which came in the second week of the season following wins over then-No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 9 Arizona State.
• Michigan advanced to the national championship game in Omaha in 2019, making its eighth overall appearance in the College World Series. The Maize and Blue has two national championships to its credit (1953 and 1962).
Setting the Scene
• After posting a 7-4 record with a 2.81 ERA and leading the Big Ten in innings pitched (83.1) as a draft-eligible sophomore last season, Michigan will lean on ace right-hander Cameron Weston again this season to lead the pitching staff.
• Weston is expected to again be joined in the rotation by Jacob Denner (4-4, 4.35 ERA), a 6-foot-1 lefty who has been compared to former Michigan hurler and MLB prospect Tommy Henry in terms of development and demeanor at a similar stage in their careers.
• Willie Weiss, one of the nation's most dynamic closers from 2019-2021, is capable of starting or closing games. Armed with a live fastball and a wipeout slider, Weiss has averaged nearly 1.5 strikeouts per inning as a Wolverine.
• Michigan boasts an impressive returning and veteran lineup with every projected starter to be at least a junior. Ted Burton (.342 batting /.434 on base /.667 slugging) was among the Big Ten leaders in almost every offensive category in 2021 and is joined in the infield by Matt Frey (.327/.507/.551), a second-year graduate transfer who missed all of 2021 with a lower body injury. Another graduate transfer, Alex Fedje-Johnson, is a career .300 hitter who had 24 extra-base hits, a .450 average and nine stolen bases at Davison last year. Steady veteran Riley Bertram excels in high leverage offensive situations and is a premier defensive playmaker at multiple positions. Finally, there is Jimmy Obertop, who will transition back to catcher this season after a lower body injury put him at first base and designated hitter for all of 2021 where, despite his hobbles, he led Michigan with 11 homers.
• Michigan's outfield is impressive, led by Cape Cod League batting champion Clark Elliott, all-around star Tito Flores and another graduate transfer in Joe Stewart all slated to start. Elliott battled injuries through the spring but still managed a .270 mark, a .403 on-base percentage and eight stolen bases. Flores, a Detroit native, led U-M with 22 extra-base hits and slashed .325/.429./552 in a breakout campaign. Stewart graduated from rival Michigan State where he led the Spartans with 15 extra-base hits.
• Michigan is known as a program that embraces early season scheduling. In week two of the season, Michigan will travel to Miami, Fla. for games against Seton Hall (Feb. 25), Florida International (Feb. 26-27) and Florida Atlantic (March 1-2) before continuing on to East Carolina for the LeClair Classic (March 4-6) and games against ECU, Indiana State and Maryland. Then, Michigan travels to Louisville, Ky. for a three-game series against the Cardinals (March 11-13) before heading home via Nashville, Tenn. and a midweek contest against Vanderbilt (March 15). In early April, the Wolverines will welcome Cal State Fullerton (April 8-10) for a rare home series against a California school in the middle of the season.
Scouting The Opponents
Seton Hall• Seton Hall was swept by North Carolina in a three-game series in Chapel Hill last weekend. The Pirates scored just six runs in the three games while surrendering 40.
• The Pirates are led by sophomore Will Gale who stole 10 of his 16 bases and hit a team-best .381 in conference play while his overall batting average of .317 was the seventh-highest in the conference.
• Michigan is 3-3 all-time against Seton Hall with the teams last meeting in the 2017 season.
Florida International
• FIU is coming into the week at 4-0 following a sweep of newly-minted Division I opponent St. Thomas (Minn.) over the weekend. It wasn't exactly an easy go of things for the Panthers, who won by scores of 4-3, 3-1 and 301 before easing into a 9-3 victory in the finale.
• Matthew Gonzalez batted .500 with a ,.600 OBP over the weekend while Alec Sanchez belted two homers, four extra base hits and drove home six runs to lead the team in all power categories. FIU pitchers boated a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the weekend with relief pitchers walking just five batters in four games.
• FIU hosts Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday (Feb. 22) and will play a single game against Seton Hall before facing off against Michigan on Saturday.
• Michigan and FIU have met just twice previously, splitting a series way back in 1981.
