Wolverines Travel to Music City for Weekend Series at Lipscomb

THIS WEEK
Friday, March 9 -- at Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), 4 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN3
Saturday, March 10 -- at Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), 2 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN3
Sunday, March 11 -- at Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), 1 p.m. CDT
Live Stats

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team will hit the road again this weekend (March 9-11) for a three-game series at Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee. The Wolverines will play a game each day, with the series opener beginning Friday (March 9) at 4 p.m. CST. The teams will then return to Dugan Fielder on Saturday (March 10) for a 2 p.m. CST game, and wrap the series on Sunday (March 11) with the series finale slated for 1 p.m. CDT.

• This weekend's series at Lipscomb will mark Michigan's fourth straight road series as well as the final non-conference road series of the 2018 season. The Wolverines are set to play 30 road contests this year, including 14 straight to begin the season.

• Michigan is 4-0 all-time against Lipscomb, which includes a three-game sweep at the Bisons' home field in Nashville, Tennessee, last season. Due to weather, the 2017 series was altered to include a doubleheader on Friday and a single contest on Sunday for the series finale. Through the weekend, Michigan outscored Lipscomb, 17-5, and shut out the Bisons on Sunday, 5-0.

• Lipscomb is 6-7 on the season after dropping a game to Tennessee Tech, 17-6, on Tuesday (March 6). The Bisons took an early 5-0 lead in the contest, but surrendered 11 runs over the fourth and fifth innings to allow a defining Golden Eagle lead. Lipscomb is led offensively by junior third baseman Zeke Dodson, who owns a .364 batting average with six extra-base hits and a .636 slugging percentage. Freshman left-handed pitcher Noah Thompson is the team's ace pitcher, with a 1.26 earned-run average and a 2-1 record in three starts.

• Sophomore right-handed pitcher Karl Kauffmann earned his first Big Ten weekly honor after leading the Wolverines to a 5-0 victory over No. 8-ranked Stanford last Saturday (March 3) in the second game of a doubleheader. He threw a career-high 6.2 innings in his third career start and held the Cardinal to just three hits while striking out a career-high 10 batters to earn the victory. The shutout marked Stanford's first loss of the season and snapped a 10-game Cardinal win streak. » Release

• Michigan announced Wednesday (March 7) that the Wolverines would be adding two home games to the 2018 schedule, with both contests occurring next week before the previously scheduled home-opening series against Bowling Green (March 16-18). The Maize and Blue will open up home play on Tuesday, March 13 against Oakland before playing host to Lawrence Tech on Wednesday (March 14). Both games are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and admission will be free for all fans. » Full Schedule

• Last time out: The Wolverines fell into an early hole, but couldn't rally its way out as the Wolverines took a 7-4 loss to Stanford in the series finale on Sunday (March 4). U-M finished with a 1-3 record in the four games against the Cardinal. » Recap

• After going 0-3 in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament and dropping three of four games at Stanford, the Wolverines returned from their annual spring break trip with a 3-8 overall record. Michigan went 1-7 on the trip to California; the lone win came at No. 8-ranked Stanford to hand the Cardinal its first loss of the season and snap a 10-game win streak.

• Despite a tough West Coast swing, Michigan ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 55th in the nation in RPI. To date, five of the Wolverines' contests have come against teams ranked in the Top 25.

• Redshirt junior Miles Lewis led the Wolverines in hitting last weekend at Stanford, when he posted a .571 slugging percentage with a double and a home run. He knocked in three runs with a team-leading four hits and two runs scored.

• In addition to Kauffmann's stellar outing, sophomore pitcher Tommy Henry tossed a gem on Saturday (March 3) in Game 1 of the doubleheader. The lefty threw a career-high seven innings of scoreless work and struck out five Cardinal batters with just five hits allowed. Henry did not record a decision in the outing.

• Sophomore freshman Ben Dragani also shined on the mound last weekend, recording his third career appearance in relief at Stanford on Sunday (March 4). The lefty tossed a career-high four innings and stifled the surging Cardinal offense, and allowed no runs or hits. He also struck out a career-high three in the effort.

• The Wolverines are set to begin the 2018 season with contests against seven different teams in three different states, logging 8,732 miles before playing at home for the first time. Here is a complete breakdown of the team's non-conference travel schedule:

Itinerary (Miles)
Ann Arbor to Port St. Lucie, Fla. (1,261)
Port St. Lucie to Ann Arbor (1,261)

Ann Arbor to San Diego, Calif. (2,301)
San Diego to Stanford, Calif. (478)
Stanford to Ann Arbor (2,389)

Ann Arbor to Nashville, Tenn. (521)
Nashville to Ann Arbor (521)
Total (8,732)

• After they spent the first four weeks of the season on the road and played 15 contests across Florida, California and Tennessee, the Maize and Blue will open up home action on Tuesday, March 13 with a game against Oakland. First pitch at Ray Fisher Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m.