Michigan
Iowa
Wolverines to Travel to Iowa for Big Ten Showdown With Hawkeyes
4/3/2024 3:57:00 PM | Baseball
SCHEDULE NOTE (4/4/24): Due to anticipated inclement weather in the Iowa City area, the series finale on Sunday (April 7) will now be played as part of a doubleheader on Saturday (April 6). The first game of the doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. CDT. The series opener on Friday (April 5) at 2 p.m. CDT remains unchanged.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (12-17, 4-2 Big Ten) travels to Iowa City for a three-game series against Iowa (15-11, 4-2 Big Ten). The series will begin on Friday (April 5) at 2 p.m. CDT on the Big Ten Network, a Saturday (April 6) game at 2 p.m. CDT and the series finale on Sunday (April 7) at noon CDT. The final two games will be streamed live on B1G+.
Notes
• The Wolverines are 2-0 in Big Ten series after defeating Penn State and ending Maryland's streak of 23 consecutive conference series wins to sit in a tie for third in the conference with Iowa and Ohio State. U-M dropped the first games in both series before rebounding to take the final two. Against Maryland on Saturday (March 30), Jacob Denner pitched 7.2 innings of one-run baseball while the offense produced an eight-run second inning. In the Sunday (March 31) rubber match, Michigan earned the win after strong days from Mack Timbrook and Mitch Voit. Timbrook continued his success in the midweek win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (April 2), setting a new career high in RBI en route to an 18-6 win.
• Denner earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday (April 1) thanks to his performance against the Terrapins on Saturday. He became the third different Wolverine pitcher to earn the honor this season, with Kurt Barr earning it on March 18 and Mitch Voit on March 4. This is the first time in program history that three different pitchers have earned the award and the 18th time in conference history.
• Against Maryland, Denner went 7.2 innings and allowed just six baserunners -- three hits, two walks and one hit-by-pitch. He struck out six Terrapins and allowed just one run. With the appearance, he now has 76 for his career which ties him with Ali Husain and Mike Ignasiak for fourth all-time in career appearances. He also moved up the career strikeouts list, passing Connor O'Halloran and Oliver Jaskie to sit ninth all-time with 226 and now trails Rich Hill by three.
• Timbrook had seven hits, four runs and four RBI against Maryland and followed it up with another three-hit performance against EMU. He also set a new career high with five RBI, doing so on a three-run double and two-run double. On Sunday, he hit his second home run of the season, a three-run bomb to add insurance runs. Timbrook raised his batting average by 65 points over the last week and is tied for the team lead in stolen bases at six.
• Voit has hit .389 over the last five games with seven runs and nine RBI. He leads the team in batting average, doubles (13), innings pitched (44.1) and strikeouts (29) among other categories. He is second in doubles and eighth in the conference in hits. Voit has five home runs on the season, two of which have come over the last five games. From the mound, he set a new career high with six strikeouts on Sunday against Maryland to bring his season total to 29, already surpassing the 25 Ks he collected all of last season.
• The Wolverines are second in the nation in double plays with 33 after turning one against EMU. U-M trails only Coastal Carolina's 34. Kyle Dernedde has been involved in 24 of the double plays while Timbrook is second on the team at 22. Last season, Michigan turned 39 and is just seven away from surpassing the total.
• Stephen Hrustich homered over the weekend and is tied with Drake Westcott of Illinois for the conference lead at nine. He also ranks third in the Big Ten with 26 walks and is eighth in slugging percentage at .634. Over the last 15 games, Hrustich raised his average by more than 100 points and is third on the team with a .287 batting average. He leads Michigan with 26 runs scored and is slashing .287/.455/.634 this season.
• Over the last four games, Cole Caruso has 10 hits with five doubles. He has slashed .625/.667/.938 over those games and added seven runs and six RBI. After his strong weekend, his average improved by 60 points and is hitting .245 on the season. On the season, he is second on the team in RBI with 24 and in a tie for third in doubles with seven. Caruso had four doubles over the weekend, including three on Saturday.
• Collin Priest has hit .333 in conference games this season with two home runs. He is second on the team in average at .300, home runs (four) and slugging percentage (.620). Priest has played in 25 games with 13 starts and made his first start in the field Sunday, making the start at first base.
• Thirty-five of the 38 players on the roster have seen game action this season with 22 players recording a plate appearance and 18 players seeing action on the mound. Joonsung Park was the most recent to do so and was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance. Five players have done both this season with Voit leading the way among those with six starts on the mound and 106 plate appearances.
• Iowa is 15-11 on the season and tied for third in the Big Ten standings at 4-2. The Hawkeyes have series wins over Minnesota and Purdue in conference play and have won eight of their last 10 games. All-time, U-M is 124-60 against Iowa dating back to 1893. In conference play, the Wolverines are 106-50 and 59-26 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes have taken five of the last seven games, including two games last season in the Big Ten Tournament, the second a 5-0 win that eliminated U-M.
