Michigan Heads to Iowa for B1G Road Series

THIS WEEK
Friday, April 27 -- at Iowa (Duane Banks Field), 6:05 p.m. CDT
Live Stats | BTN Plus
Saturday, April 28 -- at Iowa (Duane Banks Field), 2:05 p.m. CDT
Live Stats | BTN Plus
Sunday, April 29 -- at Iowa (Duane Banks Field), 11:05 a.m. CDT
Live Stats | BTN Plus

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Hot off a series sweep of Penn State last weekend, the University of Michigan baseball team (24-11, 11-0 Big Ten) will hit the road this weekend for a three-game Big Ten Conference series at Iowa (23-13, 7-6 B1G). The weekend series is set to begin on Friday (April 27) at 6:05 p.m. CDT and will continue Saturday (April 28) with a game at 2:05 p.m. CDT. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday (April 29) at 11:05 a.m. CDT, and fans can watch all three games live on BTN Plus.

• The Wolverines moved up four spots this week to sit at No. 7 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll. Michigan earned its first ranking of the season prior to the Maryland series as the Wolverines appeared at No. 16 in the poll on April 9. Michigan was ranked 13 out of the 15 weeks of the 2017 regular season.

• This weekend's series at Iowa signals the end of a scheduled six-home homestand for the Wolverines, who were originally scheduled to host 25 games at the Wilpon Complex this season. Other than a midweek game against Eastern Michigan at home next week (May 1) and a three-game home series against Illinois in mid-May, the Wolverines will spend the rest of the 2018 regular season on the road for a total of 12 contests.

• Michigan has now won 20 games in a row, which marks a new record under head coach Erik Bakich and marks the program's longest win streak since 1987, when the Wolverines won 22 straight. The streak is also the third-longest in program history. Through 151 seasons, the longest Michigan win streak came in 1985, when the Wolverines won 24 games in a row to close out the regular season before advancing to the NCAA South Regional.

• The Wolverines' win streak ranks the second-longest to date among NCAA Division I programs this season. Tennessee Tech boasts the nation's longest win streak, as the Golden Eagles have won 25 consecutive games.

• Prior to its 20-game win streak, Michigan was 4-11 on the season with a .219 team batting average and a 4.66 team earned run average. Since a win against Bowling Green on March 16, however, the Wolverines have hit for a .317 team average with a .473 slugging percentage and a 2.24 team ERA.

• A series sweep of Penn State marked Michigan's sixth consecutive sweep and the fifth straight in Big Ten play. The Wolverines sit atop the Big Ten Conference standings as the lone unbeaten team with an 11-0 record, which marks a program best since a 17-0 start in 2008. To date, Michigan is also the only team in a Power 5 conference without a loss in conference play.

• The Maize and Blue ranks second in the Big Ten with a 3.24 ERA and boasts a conference-low .222 opposing batting average. All three of Michigan's starting pitchers also are ranked in the top 10 in the conference for earned run average.

• Junior outfielder Jonathan Engelmann was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week on Monday (April 23) after leading the Wolverines to a weekend sweep of Penn State and their 20th straight win. Engelmann ended the week with a team-leading .545 batting average and a .909 slugging percentage over three games that included six hits, six RBI and six runs. The junior from San Mateo, California, recorded a hit in every game and finished the weekend with two extra-base hits -- a double and a home run.

• Freshman Jesse Franklin earned his third Big Ten recognition on Monday (April 23) as he was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive week. The Seattle, Washington, native helped the Wolverines to their 11th straight Big Ten win with a .385 average and a team-leading .923 slugging percentage that included a double and two homers. The freshman picked up a hit in all three games and finished the weekend with seven RBI and seven runs.

• Iowa represents the sixth and final opponent on Michigan's regular-season schedule that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. The Hawkeyes dropped just one game during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Indiana last season and went on to capture the tournament title and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA postseason tournament. Iowa finished the 2017 season with a 39-22 record and did not advance out of the Houston regional.

• Iowa enters the week with a 23-13 overall record and will host Milwaukee on Wednesday (April 25) before playing host to the Wolverines this weekend (April 27-29). The Hawkeyes sit at No. 7 in the Big Ten standings after taking one of three games at Minnesota last weekend. Iowa's batters have struck out 319 times -- a number that leads the Big Ten. Redshirt junior Nick Allgeyer leads Iowa with a 2.27 ERA through 63.1 innings pitched and 59 strikeouts. At the plate, senior catcher/outfielder Tyler Cropley leads Hawkeye hitters with an impressive .364 batting average to go with a .460 on-base percentage and .591 slugging percentage.

• Michigan's history with Iowa dates all the way back to May 25, 1893, a game in which the Wolverines claimed a 9-4 victory. Overall, the two programs have squared off 171 times, with the Maize and Blue holding a 118-53 series lead against Iowa. It was not until 1925, which marked the 19th meeting in the all-time series, that the Hawkeyes won their first game. Recently, however, the programs have been much more evenly matched, as each team has won three of the six games since 2015.

• After losing 15 players at the end of the 2017 season, including a program-record 11 in the Major League Baseball Draft, the Maize and Blue added 14 players to its roster in the offseason. The roster additions included 12 freshmen and two junior college transfers that hail from seven different states, and the Wolverine recruiting class was ranked No. 10 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, marking the highest ranking for a Big Ten recruiting class.