Michigan
Cal Poly
Michigan Aims to Get Back on Track at Cal Poly
2/26/2020 3:50:00 PM | Baseball
» Michigan will start its Spring Break trip with three games at Cal Poly, Friday through Sunday (Feb. 28-March 1).
» Michigan is ranked No. 5 by Baseball America and No. 16 by D1 Baseball.
» The Wolverines and Mustangs have faced each other already this season at the MLB4 Tournament, with U-M winning, 8-5.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 28 -- at Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), 6 p.m. PST
TV: BigWest.TV | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, Feb. 29 -- at Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), 4 p.m. PST
TV: BigWest.TV | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, March 1 -- at Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), 1 p.m. PST
TV: BigWest.TV | Live Stats | Live Video
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• Listen: Coach Bakich on WTKA
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan baseball team will head west for its annual spring-break trip, starting its eight-game stretch with a three-game series against Cal Poly at Baggett Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan and Cal Poly squared off once already this season, having both taken part in the MLB4 Collegiate Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Wolverines came out with an 8-5 win over the Mustangs.
• U-M and Cal Poly have played one another three times in program history, with Cal Poly holding a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. Aside from this season's win, the Maize and Blue fell by scores of 5-1 (2016) and 8-1 (2018). Ten current Wolverines saw action in the 2018 contest, with Benjamin Keizer's scoreless inning of work in the eighth inning serving as the highlight.
• Michigan looks to bounce back after a tough weekend in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where it lost two of three to Connecticut. In the Wolverines' lone victory Saturday (Feb. 22), they had their best offensive output of the season, scoring 14 runs on 14 hits in a 14-2 drubbing of the Huskies.
• Redshirt freshman Steven Hajjar improved to 2-0 on the season, shutting down the UConn offense for five innings, allowing two runs while striking out three and scattering six hits. The southpaw now holds a 1.64 earned-run average on the season and has struck out 10 batters in 11.0 innings of work. Hajjar is also limiting opponents to a meager .225 batting average and has given up just two extra-base hits on the campaign.
• Freshman lefty Jacob Denner picked up his first career save in the Wolverines' win, tossing the final four innings in scoreless fashion. The Closter, New Jersey, native finished the game with a pair of strikeouts and only one walk.
• Senior Dominic Clementi highlighted the Michigan offense in the second week of the season, hitting .444 (4-for-9) with two doubles, two walks and four runs batted in. The designated hitter collected three of his hits in a 3-for-4 performance in the Wolverines' 14-2 victory.
• Freshman Ted Burton knocked his first career home run in Michigan's weekend win. In total, the third baseman hit .273 (3-for-11) in the Wolverines' three games, driving in four runs while scoring one.
• Junior Jordan Nwogu continued his hot start to the season, hitting .333 for the weekend (5-for-15) with a double, a home run, two RBI and a steal. The U-M leadoff man is hitting .419 on the season.
• Redshirt sophomore Danny Zimmerman continued his strong start to the season, hitting .300 (3-for-10) against UConn in Florida while reaching base at a .500 clip. For the season, the left fielder is hitting .316 with three extra-base hits and an on-base percentage of .480.
• Freshman Cameron Weston and senior Benjamin Keizer are tied for the team lead in appearances this season, each having appeared in four games out of the bullpen. Weston holds a 2.70 ERA in 3.1 innings of work, while Keizer, who set the Michigan program record for appearances in a season in 2019, has thrown 5.2 innings and has a 3.18 ERA.
• During the Wolverines' non-conference schedule this season, U-M will take on five teams that played in the 2019 NCAA postseason: Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Connecticut, Stanford and Cal.
• U-M is scheduled to face 10 teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2019. Additionally, the Maize and Blue will play 25 games at the Wilpon Complex in 2020.
Scouting the Opponents
• Michigan once again will face a familiar foe in Cal Poly, having already beaten the Mustangs earlier this season, 8-5, at the MLB4 Collegiate Tournament. The two programs have played one another just three times (Cal Poly leads the series, 2-1) and will play one another more in 2020 than in 153 previous years of Michigan baseball.
• Junior Blake Beers made his 2020 debut against the Mustangs in Arizona, dealing 5.2 innings while striking out five and allowing two runs. It marked the right-hander's first win as a starter (his other career win came in relief at the Corvallis Regional in 2019).
• Cal Poly committed seven errors in the first meeting with Michigan, more than its six games since that meeting combined.
• The Mustangs are scheduled to start two right-handers and a lefty in the series: RHP Taylor Dollard (Friday), LHP Andrew Alvarez (Saturday) and RHP Drew Thorpe (Sunday).
