Wolverines to Open '24 Home Slate Against Oakland

Promotion
• Free Admission

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (4-8) will open its 2024 home slate on Wednesday (March 6) at 3 p.m. against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at the Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium, and the game will stream live on Big Ten Plus. The date of March 6 will mark the earliest home game in U-M program history.

Notes

• After 12 away games to open its season, Michigan sits at 4-8 after going 1-2 over the weekend. U-M defeated UCLA to open the weekend behind a complete game performance from Mitch Voit. The Wolverines then fell to UC Irvine and San Diego with both teams scoring five or more runs in an inning which put the game out of reach.

• Voit led the team on both sides of the game over the previous week. He pitched a complete game against the Bruins, giving up just four hits and three runs using just 96 pitches. With his bat, Voit had eight hits which led the team and four extra bases hits over the five-game week. He added four runs and four RBI while slugging .714. Voit is ninth in the conference in hits (17) and fourth in doubles (6), while ranking 28th nationally in doubles.

• Michigan leads the nation in double plays with 15 and is seventh in double plays per game averaging 1.25 per game. After zero in the two midweek contests, Michigan turned one against UC Irvine and San Diego. The Wolverines have turned at least one double play in nine of their 12 games this season with a high of four against Western Michigan. Kyle Dernedde has been involved in 12 double plays leading the team while Voit and Mack Timbrook have been part of 10.

• Dernedde had a strong offensive week and was second on the team with five hits and a .294 average. He had three extra-base hits and scored a run. Dernedde has started every game this season for the Wolverines at shortstop and is hitting .238 on the season, good for fourth on the team.

• Brandon Mann pitched twice over the last week with 0.2 innings against LMU and a career-high three innings against UC Irvine. Mann tallied a strikeout in both outings and allowed no hits in his three innings against the Anteaters. So far this season, Mann has made four appearances and allowed two runs with five strikeouts.

• Bradley Navarro started four out of the five games in California and was the only freshman to start multiple games over the last week. Navarro has four hits and an on-base percentage of .458. At Globe Life Field, Navarro made three pinch-hit appearances and had RBI singles in two of the three.

• Twenty players have had a plate appearance this season with eight freshmen making their debuts at the plate. On the mound, U-M has used 17 pitchers with seven of those being freshmen. Only five Wolverines have appeared in every game, four have started every game, and only one has started and completed every game in Cole Caruso.

• Oakland is 3-7 on the season with wins over Saint Mary's College of California and Eastern Kentucky. The Golden Grizzlies are on a four-game losing streak after dropping a midweek contest at Cincinnati and were swept over the weekend by Miami of Ohio. U-M is 30-6 against the Grizzlies all time but lost three of the last four including a matchup last season. Kurt Barr and Voit both made appearances on the mound -- with Barr striking out four in 4.1 innings while giving up two earned runs. Voit threw 3.2 scoreless innings and struck out three.