Michigan to Face No. 8 Texas Tech for Berth in CWS Finals

» Michigan needs one victory to advance to the College World Series finals.
» Michigan won the College World Series in 1953 and 1962.
» In defeating No. 1-ranked UCLA last weekend in the Super Regionals, Michigan became the only team to win both a series and multiple games against the Bruins this season. U-M defeated UCLA three times this year.

NEXT GAMES
Fri-Sat., June 21-22 -- at College World Series (Omaha, Neb.)
CWS Central
Friday, June 21 -- vs. Texas Tech, 1 p.m. CDT
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Saturday, June 22 -- vs. Texas Tech, 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. CDT (if necessary)
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OMAHA, Neb. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (48-20) is 2-0 at the College World Series and will play No. 8-ranked Texas Tech on Friday (June 21) at 1 p.m. CDT inside TD Ameritrade Park. The Wolverines are just one win away from reaching the CWS finals.

• Texas Tech (46-19) has won two elimination games in the World Series -- a 5-4 victory over No. 5-ranked Arkansas and a 4-1 victory over Florida State. The Red Raiders must win two games against Michigan to advance to the CWS finals.

• The CWS finals will pit either Michigan or Texas Tech against the winner of the other half of the bracket, which includes Vanderbilt (2-0), Louisville (1-1) and Mississippi State (1-1). Louisville and Mississippi State will play Thursday (6 p.m. CDT) for the right to play Vanderbilt. The finals will be a best-of-three series format.

• Michigan defeated Florida State on Monday (June 17) to remain in the winners' bracket of the CWS. Junior starting pitcher Tommy Henry pitched a complete-game shutout and scattered just three hits with 10 strikeouts.

• Sophomore Jesse Franklin knocked his 13th homer of the season against Florida State (June 17), a bomb over the right-field wall on just the second pitch of the game. The solo shot marked the 100th home run at TD Ameritrade Park in College World Series history. With 23 career home runs in just his sophomore season, Franklin ranks 15th all-time at Michigan.

• With 10 strikeouts over nine innings in a win over Florida State (June 17), junior lefty Tommy Henry broke Michigan's single-season strikeout record previously owned by Oliver Jaskie (2017) and Jim Burton (1970) -- both of whom had 119. Henry has fanned 127 batters so far this season and ranks sixth in program history with 243 career K's.

• The Wolverines used early offense and solid pitching performances from starter Karl Kauffmann and Jeff Criswell to defeat Texas Tech, 5-3, in the first game of the CWS (June 15). The Red Raiders had two men on base and brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, but Criswell got a strikeout to end the game and helped push Michigan to its first win in Omaha since the 1983 season. The win over TTU also marked the first in Michigan history.

• Michigan chased Texas Tech starter Micah Dallas (7-1) from the game on Saturday (June 15) after three innings and handed the freshman ace his first loss of the year. Despite facing just 15 batters, Dallas surrendered a season-high four runs to the Wolverine offense.

• The Wolverines also faced the Red Raiders earlier this season in a three-game series in Lubbock, Texas, before the start of conference play. Texas Tech swept Michigan during the weekend series and outscored the Wolverine offense by 19 runs.

• Michigan's lineup has shined in the NCAA postseason, as starting pitchers from both No. 1 seed UCLA (Ryan Garcia, 10-1) and No. 8 seed Texas Tech (Micah Dallas, 7-1) suffered their first losses of the season at the hands of the Wolverines.

• Michigan is appearing in the College World Series for the eighth time in program history. Owners of two national championships (1953, 1962), U-M also advanced to Omaha in 1978 (fifth place), 1980 (fifth), 1981 (seventh), 1983 (third) and 1984 (seventh).

• Michigan owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 68-49 (.581), including a 52-34 (.605) mark during regional play, and a 2-3 mark (.400) during Super Regional action. The Wolverines have advanced to the College World Series seven times previously, most recently in 1984, and won national titles in 1953 and 1962.

• The Super Regional berth marked Michigan's second in program history (modern format) and first since 2007. Before the three-game set at UCLA, Michigan was 0-2 all-time in Super Regional games. The Wolverines are now 2-3 all-time.

• Michigan is 12-4 in neutral-site games this year, which includes a 5-2 record when playing at TD Ameritrade Park in the postseason with five games in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverine offense is hitting at a combined .291 clip in neutral-site games, while the pitching staff boasts a 3.41 earned-run average.

• Head coach Erik Bakich was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Coach of the Year on Saturday (June 15) at TD Ameritrade Park. Bakich is in the midst of his seventh season as Michigan's head coach and his 10th year as a head coach overall in Division I.

• The No. 1-ranked Bruins evened the NCAA Super Regional series on June 8 as UCLA upended Michigan, 5-4, in a 12-inning affair. Michigan rebounded to win the winner-take-all contest on June 9 with a 4-2 victory to advance to the College World Series.

• Michigan defeated UCLA, 3-2, in the Super Regional weekend opener on June 7 behind a combined pitching effort from junior Karl Kauffmann and sophomore Jeff Criswell. Sophomore outfielder Jesse Franklin gave Michigan the lead with a two-run single in the third inning, and sophomore designated hitter Jordan Nwogu drove in the eventual game-winning run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

• Prior to the Super Regional, Michigan was one of just nine teams with a win over UCLA this season (March 8), and the Bruins were ranked No. 1 in numerous Division I baseball polls for the majority of the 2019 campaign. After winning the Super Regional over the No. 1-seeded Bruins, Michigan is the only team this season to defeat UCLA more than once. Additionally, the Bruins lost just two games all year to a left-handed starter, and both losses came at the hands of junior Tommy Henry.

• With two appearances at UCLA in the NCAA Super Regional, redshirt junior Benjamin Keizer (33 appearances) broke Michigan's single-season record (previously 31). Keizer owns a 4-1 record with two saves, including one in U-M's win at No. 1-ranked UCLA to advance to the College World Series.

• Between a trip to Kentucky in the last week of the regular season (May 14) and Michigan's trip to the College World Series, the Wolverines spent just five nights at home in Ann Arbor. In that time, Michigan players and staff traveled approximately 8,575 miles, with trips to Lexington, Kentucky; Lincoln, Nebraska; Omaha, Nebraska; Corvallis, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; and back to Omaha.

• The Maize and Blue won the Corvallis Regional with a victory over Creighton in the winner-take-all game (June 2). Michigan stormed back from an early deficit to take the game, 17-6.

• Michigan started the NCAA Tournament with a 6-0 shutout victory over Creighton on May 31, and defeated Cincinnati, 10-4, on (June 1) to remain in the winners' bracket. The Wolverines then lost to Creighton, 11-7, on June 2, but responded June 3 with a resounding 17-6 win over Creighton in the winner-take-all game to clinch a trip to the NCAA Super Regional.

• Senior infielder Jimmy Kerr was named the Corvallis Regional Most Outstanding Player following the Wolverines' victory in the regional championship (June 2). The lefty hitter went 5-for- 16 over the weekend with four home runs for a 1.063 slugging percentage and a .313 batting average. He also led Michigan with seven runs scored.

• Along with Kerr, junior outfielder Christan Bullock and junior right-handed pitcher Karl Kauffmann also were named to the Corvallis Regional all-tournament team. Bullock hit .357 over the four games, while Kauffmann earned a win in the weekend opener with 8.2 scoreless innings pitched.

• Michigan's starting weekend rotation of Kauffmann, sophomore Jeff Criswell, and junior Tommy Henry shined during the Corvallis Regional. Through the first three games, the trio combined to allow just six walks and six earned runs over 23.2 innings for a 2.28 ERA. They also struck out 23 batters.

• The Michigan offense posted a .315 team batting average and scored 41 runs through four games during the Corvallis Regional (May 31-June 3). Wolverine hitters knocked 20 hits for extra bases -- including eight home runs -- for a .575 team slugging percentage and outscored its opponents by 19 runs.