2016 Season Preview: Baseball
1/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 27, 2016
• Ticket Information
• Social Media: Twitter (@umichbaseball) | Facebook
2016 OUTLOOK
Fourth-year coach Erik Bakich hopes to build off the momentum from last year and make a run at the coveted NCAA College World Series this year. The Maize and Blue finished tied for third place in the Big Ten Conference in 2015, capping off the season with an impressive 39-25 overall record.
Coming off a Big Ten Tournament title and an appearance in the Louisville Regional championship game, the Wolverines return 19 letterwinners and five everyday starters to this year's squad, along with three starting pitchers. Despite losing key players to graduation and the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, the future looks bright for Michigan's oldest athletic program, which celebrates its 150th season this year. In addition to a junior class of nine, senior returners Cody Bruder, Evan Hill, Cam Wysocki and Dominic Jamett all look to contribute heavily this season as leaders both on and off the field. The Wolverine roster also boasts 13 newcomers, made up of 10 freshman, a sophomore, a junior and a senior.
So far this preseason, the Wolverines have earned recognition in multiple preseason polls, and numerous baseball organizations across the nation have predicted Michigan to finish atop the competitive Big Ten Conference. Individually, junior utility/pitcher Carmen Benedetti has also earned multiple preseason honors, including two Pre-Season All-America selections and a selection to Baseball America's Top 100 Draft Picks list.
STUDENT-ATHLETES TO WATCH
Carmen Benedetti -- After strong freshman and sophomore seasons, junior Carmen Benedetti will return to the field for the 2016 season with numerous preseason honors under his belt. The infield/outfield/pitcher earned selections to the All-Big Ten first team and the All-NCAA Louisville Regional team last year after leading the Wolverines and the Big Ten in doubles (25) and runs batted in (71). He also finished second in the conference in batting average (.352), recording 82 hits on the season with 37 runs scored, while slugging at a .541 clip with a .418 on-base percentage. In his first year on the mound, Benedetti finished the 2015 campaign with a 1.84 earned-run average, striking out 23 batters and picking up three saves in just 14.2 innings.
Brett Adcock -- Following a 2015 season in which he led Michigan starting pitchers with a 3.10 earned-run average in 19 appearances, junior LHP Brett Adcock started 17 contests for the Maize and Blue, striking out a team-leading 95 batters in 90 innings pitched. The lefty also led Michigan with 10 wins on the season, allowing just 37 runs and tossing U-M's lone complete game. He capped off the 2015 campaign with selections to the All-Big Ten Tournament team, the All-Big Ten third team and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Mideast Region second team.
Jake Bivens -- Sophomore Jake Bivens joined the Maize and Blue as a true freshman for the 2015 season and immediately became an instrumental part of the team's lineup. Bivens ended the year with five postseason honors, including selections to the Perfect Game Freshman All-America second team, the Baseball America Freshman All-America first team and the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team. Additionally, the infielder was a first team selection for the D1Baseball Freshman All-America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-America teams. In 63 games played, Bivens finished the 2015 slate with a .319 batting average, recording 68 hits and 43 runs. He also led all returners with 34 walks and nine stolen bases.
From left: Jake Bivens, Brett Adcock, Carmen Benedetti
KEY COMPETITION
Fri-Sun., March 18-20 -- at Oklahoma State (Stillwater, Okla.)
Michigan will cap off a 19-game road stand with a three-game series at a ranked Oklahoma State squad in March. So far this preseason, the Cowboys have been ranked in the top 10 in multiple preseason polls and will represent one of Michigan's toughest opponents of the regular season. Oklahoma State is coming off a 38-20 season in which it advanced to an NCAA Regional for the third straight season, hosting a regional tournament for the second straight year as the region's No. 1 seed. Michigan and Oklahoma State met for the first time in history last season, when the Cowboys took home two of three games in the series.
Fri-Sun., April 29-May 1 -- vs. Michigan State (Wilpon Complex)
Michigan State is the only opponent Michigan will face at home this season that finished in the top half of the Big Ten Conference in 2015. Due to the close proximity of these rivals, the teams have a tradition of splitting their three-game series so that each team has an opportunity to play at home, and just one contest will be played in East Lancing this season. These historic foes have not faced each other in a three-game series since the 2013 season when the Wolverines swept the series with three straight victories. Michigan State and Michigan tied for a third-place finish in the Big Ten Conference last year, though the Spartans took home a win in the lone contest between the two teams.
Fri-Sun., May 20-22 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.)
Though Michigan captured its ninth Big Ten Tournament title during the 2015 campaign, it was Illinois that took home the regular-season title with a 50-10-1 overall record and just one loss in 22 conference games. The Fighting Illini also advanced to their first-ever NCAA Super Regional and highlighted their season with a Big Ten record-breaking 27-consecutive wins. Despite their success, Michigan eventually knocked Illinois out of the Big Ten Tournament with a 5-3 victory en route to the Big Ten Tournament championship.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Erik Bakich
On his expectations for the 2016 season ... "My expectations are predicated on growth, not necessarily goals. If we focus on improvement, the goals will take care of themselves, so I'd say that if you ask our players and our coaches, we're going to take more of a mindset on being growth-oriented than goal-oriented. If every day we can be better than the day before, we're going to have a really good season."
On what the team needs to do to keep the momentum going from last year's Big Ten Tournament Title and NCAA Regional appearance ... "We need to keep making positive strides. The program is ascending, and in order for the program to ascend, we have to make daily improvement. We're looking to get the program better than we were last year by being better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we were today."
2014-15 RECAP
U-M finished the 2015 season with a 39-25 overall record and a 14-10 mark in the competitive Big Ten Conference. Throughout the Big Ten Conference portion of the schedule, Michigan clinched series wins over opponents Maryland, Indiana, Penn State, Purdue, Minnesota, and Northwestern. Additionally, the Wolverines defeated Indiana as well as top-ranked opponents Iowa and Illinois to make their first Big Ten Conference Tournament appearance since 2008. In the Big Ten Tournament title contest, Michigan defeated Maryland by a 4-3 score en route to its ninth Big Ten Tournament title and its 22nd NCAA Tournament berth in school history. After advancing to the NCAA Louisville Regional, the Maize and Blue defeated Bradley twice before eventually falling to Louisville in the championship game. Despite the loss and the end of a magical NCAA run, Michigan ended the season atop the Big Ten Conference with a team .296 batting average, while MLB Draft Pick Jacob Cronenworth led the conference in hits (91) and runs (62), and Carmen Benedetti led the Big Ten in RBI (71) and doubles (25).
