Michigan
UCLA
Michigan to Wrap Spring Break Trip with Three Games at Dodgertown Classic
2/29/2024 9:15:00 AM | Baseball
UPDATE (1/29/24 4:30 p.m.): Michigan's game on Friday (March 1) against UCLA, originally scheduled for 5 p.m. PST, will now be played at 4 p.m. PST due to inclement weather forecasted in the Los Angeles area..
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (3-6) will wrap up its spring break trip on the west coast with three games in the Dodgertown Classic, Friday through Sunday (March 1-3). U-M will open the weekend against UCLA on Friday (March 1) at 4 p.m. PST, followed by a contest against UC Irvine on Saturday (March 2) at 1 p.m. PST. The weekend concludes with a matchup with San Diego at Dodger Stadium on Sunday (March 3) at 10:30 a.m. PST. Friday's game will air online on Pac-12 Live while Saturday's will air on ESPN+.
Notes
• U-M sits at 3-6 on the season after splitting its season-opening series against Western Michigan and falling in all three games in the Kubota College Baseball Series before splitting its first two midweek games of the year.
• Michigan won its first midweek game of the season on Tuesday (Feb. 27), defeating USC behind strong pitching from Chase Allen and a grand slam from Will Rogers. The Wolverines were unable to convert scoring chances against LMU on Wednesday (Feb. 28) and fell 9-1. Last weekend at the Kubota College Baseball Series, U-M lost to Oklahoma State 9-4, No. 7 Oregon State on Saturday 11-1, and ended the weekend just short of upsetting No. 2-ranked Arkansas after scoring two runs in the ninth but falling 4-3.
• Michigan leads the nation in double plays with thirteen on the season and is averaging 1.62 double plays per game, good for third in the nation behind Merrimack and Harvard. The next closest Big Ten team is Iowa and Penn State, whose teams are currently averaging one double play a game. The Wolverines have turned a double play in seven of their nine games this season with a game-high of four. Shortstop Kyle Dernedde has turned the most, being a part of 10 of the 13 double plays, while Mitch Voit and Mack Timbrook have participated in eight double plays to rank second on the team.
• Voit has been a bright spot in the Wolverines' lineup this season and is second on the team with a .333 batting average and third on the team with a .564 slugging percentage. He leads the team with six doubles , including two against LMU on Wednesday night (Feb. 28). Coming into the week, Voit was fifth in the conference in doubles with four. Against USC on Tuesday, Voit hit his first home run of the season. He was also the only U-M player to tally a hit in every game of the College Baseball Series and now boasts a nine-game on-base streak. On the mound, Voit has made two starts so far and has eight strikeouts through nine innings. His last start was on Friday against Oklahoma State and he pitched five strong innings, only giving up two earned runs while striking out five.
• Jonathan Kim leads the team in average hitting .375 on the season and hit the lone home run for U-M last weekend, doing so against Oregon State. He is second on the team behind Voit with 13 hits on the season but has drawn nine walks, good for second in the Big Ten. Kim is tied with Cole Caruso for the team lead in runs with eight and leads the team in RBIs with seven. Last season, he led the team with a .322 in batting average.
• After a slow start, Rogers seems to have found his stride in a Michigan uniform. He pitched a career-high 3.1 innings on the mound on Sunday and gave up just one run while striking out a career-high six. From the plate, he hit his first home run as a Wolverine against USC on Tuesday -- a grand slam to left field. On the season, Rogers has three hits with two going for extra bases and only one strikeout.
• Jacob Denner controlled the Broncos in a seven-inning complete game during the opening weekend before a tough outing against Oregon State the following weekend in which he surrendered seven earned runs on ten hits. Denner is currently tenth all-time in career pitching appearances and with an appearance this weekend, he will tie Phil Tognetti with 69 career appearances. He is also closing in on Michigan's top 10 in career strikeouts, having surpassed 200 earlier this season. Denner stands at 208 for his career and is 14 away from tying Connor O'Halloran, who ranks tenth all-time,
• A total of 20 Michigan hitters have appearances at the plate so far this season while 17 pitchers have toed the rubber. All seven transfers have made an appearance for the Wolverines while 13 of the 19 freshmen have made an appearance. Only four players have started every game this season and only Kim and Cole Caruso have started and completed all six games.
•  Michigan has been led at the plate and defensively by a group of transfer infielders. Caruso is currently fourth on the team with a .300 average and eight runs on the season. Kyle Dernedde has four runs on five hits so far and has started every game at shortstop. Timbrook has four hits on the season and eight walks with seven runs, good for second on the team. Between the three of them, only three errors have been committed while 13 double plays have been turned.
• UCLA is currently 5-3 on the season and is on a two-game win streak. The Bruins opened the season with a sweep of Gonzaga, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-10, but were swept last weekend by TCU. In midweek action, UCLA defeated Nevada 5-4 before rallying for a walk-off win against Long Beach State in extra innings. All-time, the Wolverines are 5-4 against the Bruins and 4-3 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. However, the Bruins came out on top last season winning 9-4. Denner earned the start last season and struck out five over three innings and gave up three runs.
•  UC Irvine is undefeated on the season with a 6-0 record. The Anteaters swept North Dakota State in the opening weekend, outscoring the Bison 31-8 before sweeping Tulane last weekend. Michigan holds a 1-1 record against the Anteaters with UC Irvine winning the most recent matchup by a 15-3 score in 2023. The two teams met last season and Voit scored on one hit while Greg Pace Jr. had a triple. Kurt Barr got the start and pitched two scoreless innings and recorded one strikeout.
• San Diego sits at 4-4 on the season and is on a two-game losing streak. The Toreros started the season against No.16-ranked Texas, going 1-2 against the Longhorns before a midweek win against UC San Diego. Last weekend, San Diego took its first two contests against Arizona but had a ninth-inning comeback fall short in the final game of the series. On Tuesday, the Toreros fell to California State Northridge 7-4. All- time, U-M is 4-6 against the Toreros and lost the last matchup in 2018 by a 5-1 score.
