Michigan
Oklahoma State
Wolverines to Face Strong Competition at College Baseball Series This Weekend
2/20/2024 1:35:00 PM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (2-2) sets its sights on Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, for three games in the Kubota College Baseball Series, from Friday through Sunday (Feb. 23-25). U-M will open the weekend with Oklahoma State on Friday (Feb. 23) at 3 p.m. CST, followed by a contest against No. 7 Oregon State on Saturday (Feb. 24) at 3 p.m. CST. The weekend concludes with a matchup with No. 2 Arkansas on Sunday (Feb. 25) at 1 p.m. CST. All three games will be streamed live on FloSports.
Notes
• U-M split its opening weekend against Western Michigan, dropping two high-scoring games before strong pitching helped the Wolverines claim the last two. The series' first two games saw a combined 47 runs over 21 innings as U-M fell 14-13 and 11-9. In game two of a Saturday (Feb. 17) doubleheader, Jacob Denner pitched a seven-inning complete game with five strikeouts in a 9-4 win. On Sunday (Feb. 18), Chase Allen held the Broncos scoreless for five innings and Ricky Kidd closed the door with four strong innings as Michigan won 6-2.
• Michigan leads the nation in double plays turned with eight, with Gonzaga second (seven) and five teams tied for third with six -- including Friday's opponent Oklahoma State. U-M also had a strong offensive weekend, ranking first in the Big Ten in hits, on-base percentage and hit-by-pitches, and are second in five categories including runs with 37. The Wolverines are in the top 10 nationally in three offensive categories, ranking sixth in hit-by-pitches (11), eighth in sacrifice bunts (fourth) and tenth in hits (43).
• Leading the way at the plate was was sophomore Jonathan Kim, who is batting .529 after four games. He is first in the conference and seventh nationally in hits with nine and fourth in on-base percentage (.636). He also has 13 total bases, good for fourth in the conference. Last season, Kim led the team in batting average (.322).
• Denner is one of just three collegiate pitchers to pitch a complete game on opening weekend with all three being seven-inning outings. In the game, Denner crossed 200 career strikeouts, becoming the 14th Wolverine to reach that milestone. He now sits at 204 and is 18 away from entering the program's top 10 (Connor O'Halloran, 222).
• Over the weekend, the Wolverines used 12 total pitchers. After a tough initial relief outing, Allen pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just seven total baserunners. Junior college transfer Kidd also had a shaky first appearance before relieving Allen and pitched four innings to earn the save. Eamon Horwedel also looked strong with 3.2 scoreless relief innings and four strikeouts to cool a hot Western offense that had scored eight runs at that point.
• Nine freshmen made their collegiate debuts with Collin Priest and Brock Leitgeb leading the way. Priest leads the team in average at .667 with one home run and five RBI. In addition to his four hits, he also had two walks and two hit-by-pitches for an .800 on-base percentage. Leitgeb started the final two games of the series at catcher and is 2-for-8 with three RBIs. On the mound, Dylan Vigue earned the opening-day start and gave up just two earned runs in 4.1 innings and struck out two.
• Priest made appearances in just three of the four games this week, but started the last two. He leads the Big Ten in batting average (.667), on-base percentage (.800) and slugging percentage (1.333) and is top-25 nationally in all three categories, including sixth in on-base percentage. Priest also ranks seventh in the conference tied with Kim in RBI (five).
• This weekend, three transfers started all four games in the infield. Mack Timbrook started at second base, Cole Caruso started at third and Kyle Dernedde started at shortstop. All three played a big role with strong defense. Timbrook and Dernedde were part of five double plays while Caruso helped on two.
Caruso is batting .400, good for third on the team. In the season opener, Timbrook went 3-for-6 and scored twice. Dernedde is tied for the team lead in stolen bases with two and is fifth on the team in batting average.
• Joining the transfers in the infield is Mitch Voit who played first base in all four games also while being the starting pitcher in Saturday's doubleheader opener. Offensively, Voit has five hits, including three doubles which rank third in the Big Ten and 12th nationally.
• U-M opens the College Baseball Series against Oklahoma State which is 1-2 on the season after a series with Sam Houston State. All-time, Michigan is 2-7 against the Cowboys with all nine games coming after 2015. Last season, the two teams faced off in Ann Arbor with Oklahoma State winning both games.
On Saturday, the Wolverines will face off with undefeated No. 7 Oregon State, which is 4-0 after opening the season at the College Baseball Classic. U-M is 0-4 against the Beavers in the all-time series with the last matchups coming in the 2007 NCAA regionals.
The Wolverines will wrap up their weekend with No. 2 Arkansas, which is 3-1 after a series with James Madison. This will be the first time in program history that the two schools have faced one another.
