Michigan
USC
Michigan to Face USC, Loyola Marymount in Spring Break Midweek Action
2/26/2024 11:22:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (2-5) will begin its annual California trip with midweek games on Tuesday (Feb. 27) and Wednesday (Feb. 28). U-M will face USC on Tuesday before heading to Loyola Marymount on Wednesday for its first set of midweek games this season.
Notes
• U-M sits at 2-5 on the season after splitting the opening series against Western Michigan and losing all three games in the Kubota College Baseball Series over the weekend. U-M opened the weekend on Friday (Feb. 23) against Oklahoma State and lost 9-4 after the Cowboys scored five runs in the sixth inning. On Saturday, U-M fell 11-1 to No. 7-ranked Oregon State. The Wolverines ended the weekend just short of upsetting No. 2-ranked Arkansas after scoring two runs in the ninth but losing 4-3.
• Michigan leads the nation in double plays with 13 on the season and is averaging 1.86 double plays per game -- also good for first in the nation.  New Mexico ranks second in double plays turned with 12 having played eight games while 10 teams are tied for third with 10 each.
• Mitch Voit had a strong weekend for the Wolverines and led the team offensively with four hits. He tallied a hit in every game of the tournament and now holds a seven-game on-base streak. On the season, Voit is hitting .300 with three runs and four doubles. On the mound, Voit drew the Friday start and pitched five strong innings, only giving up two earned runs while striking out five.
• Jonathan Kim hit the lone home run for U-M this weekend and did so against seventh-ranked Oregon State. He ranks second on the team in batting average so far, hitting .385 with 10 hits on the season. Last season, he led the team in batting average with a .322 average. Kim and teammate Mack Timbrook rank fifth in the Big Ten Conference in walks drawn with seven on the season.
• Three Wolverines had strong relief appearances this weekend with Will Rogers leading the way. Rogers pitched 3.1 innings and allowed just one run while striking out six Razorbacks on Sunday (Feb. 25). The outing marked Rogers' second relief appearance of the season while he splits catching duties with Brock Leitgeb. Kurt Barr pitched two scoreless innings against the Razorbacks in his second appearance of the season, while Eamon Horwedel pitched one scoreless inning against Oklahoma State (Feb 23) and has tossed 4.2 scoreless innings on the season so far.
• A total of 18 Wolverine batters have appearances at the plate so far this season while 16 pitchers have appeared on the mound. All seven transfers have made an appearance for the Wolverines, while 13 of the 19 freshmen have made their Michigan debuts. Only five players have started every game this season and only Kim and Cole Caruso have started and completed all six games.
• Bradley Navarro made pinch-hit appearances in all three games over the weekend and had an RBI single in two of the three. His RBI single against Oklahoma State (Feb. 23) was the first hit of his career. He also added an RBI single in the eighth inning and reached base on an error in the ninth inning against Arkansas (Feb. 25). Navarro has made four appearances on the year so far and has tallied an RBI in three of his four games -- all of which have come on pitch-hit at-bats.
• Michigan has been led at the plate and defensively by a group of transfer infielders. Caruso is currently third on the team with a .308 average with seven runs on the season, while Kyle Dernedde has four runs and five hits and has started every game at shortstop. Timbrook has four hits on the season and seven walks for a .400 on-base percentage, which is third among qualified hitters. Between the three of them, only three errors have been committed while a nation-leading 13 double plays have been turned.
• USC is 2-5 on the season and is on a two-game winning streak after taking its weekend series against Portland. The Trojans were swept in their opening three games tournament at the MLB Desert Invitiational, which included losses to BYU, Grand Canyon and Ohio State. Currently, USC is 0-1 in midweek games after losing to Loyola Marymount last Wednesday (Feb. 21). All-time,Michigan is 1-3 against USC. The Wolverines won a 4-1 decision in 2017 but lost 4-1 in the most recent matchup in 2019.
•  Loyola Marymount is 4-3 this season and on a one-game losing streak. The Lions won their opening series against Sacramento State and a midweek matchup against USC before going 1-2 in the Tony Gwynn Classic. All time, Michigan is 1-0 against LMU having won the lone matchup 14-2 in 2017.
