Michigan
UCLA
Michigan to Open Conference Play with Series at No. 1 UCLA
3/11/2026 11:52:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (9-6, 0-0 Big Ten) will open conference play this weekend with a three-game series against No. 1 UCLA (14-2, 3-0 Big Ten) in Los Angeles. The series begins Friday (March 13) at 6 p.m. PT, continues Saturday (March 14) at 2 p.m. PT and concludes Sunday (March 15) at 1 p.m. PT. All three games will be played at Jackie Robinson Stadium and streamed on B1G+.
Notes
• Michigan enters the weekend at 9-6 following a midweek home-opening victory over Western Michigan. Prior to the 3-2 win on Tuesday (March 10), the Wolverines spent 10 days in California during their spring break trip, playing seven games. U-M went 4-3 during the stretch with series wins over Pepperdine and San Diego while suffering losses to CSUN and one game in each series. This weekend marks the Wolverines' first conference series of the season.
• Brayden Jefferis continued his strong stretch against the Broncos, recording two singles. The sophomore has now produced multiple hits in four straight games, including three with two or more hits. He has five multi-hit performances in his last seven starts, highlighted by a three-hit game against Pepperdine. Jefferis is hitting .304 this season and has raised his average by more than 100 points since the start of the spring break trip. He has scored 11 runs on 17 hits with six RBIs while drawing nine walks.
• Colby Turner leads the Wolverines in total bases with 38, 11 more than the next closest player. Turner has a team-high 21 hits, including nine extra-base hits with five doubles and four home runs. The junior also leads Michigan in runs (14) and RBIs (17) while carrying a .603 slugging percentage. Turner has recorded two or more hits in eight of his last 11 games with only one hitless performance during that stretch.
• Gavin DeVooght picked up his fifth save of the season against Western Michigan, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings. DeVooght holds a 1.20 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP across 15 innings pitched. The senior is tied for the Big Ten lead in saves and ranks second nationally. He is already tied for seventh among Michigan seniors in single-season saves and ranks 27th all-time for a career.
• Noah Miller recorded two hits and two RBIs in the midweek contest against Western Michigan. After a slow start to the season, Miller tallied hits in both of his appearances at Pepperdine, including his first home run of the season on Thursday (March 5). The redshirt sophomore also scored a run in that contest while reaching base on two walks. Miller is hitting .250 this season with three runs on eight hits and six RBIs.
• Evan Haeger hit his first career home run in the series opener against Pepperdine and recorded a hit in each of the following two games of the series. Haeger started in left field against Western Michigan and went 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk. He also drove in the winning run with a suicide squeeze in the sixth inning. The redshirt sophomore currently leads the Wolverines with a .364 batting average.
• Kurt Barr is one of two Wolverines to start games in all four weekends this season. Barr is 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP across 18 innings pitched. He leads Michigan with 21 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .219 batting average. In his most recent start at Pepperdine, Barr allowed two runs on three hits over six innings while striking out five.
• Preseason Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Tate Carey allowed three runs in each of his first two starts for a 5.59 ERA entering the San Diego weekend. Carey responded with six scoreless innings against the Toreros, allowing five hits while striking out seven. He did not pitch during the Pepperdine series. Carey has pitched 15.2 innings this season with 15 strikeouts and holds a 1-1 record with a 3.45 ERA.
• UCLA enters the weekend riding an eight-game winning streak and holds a 14-2 record with a 3-0 mark in conference play. The Bruins' last loss came in a midweek game against San Diego State. Since then, UCLA has recorded three ranked wins, two midweek victories and opened conference play with a sweep of Ohio State.
• Michigan is 6-6 all-time against UCLA and 5-4 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The teams met twice last season, but Friday's contest will mark the first conference game played between the two programs. Michigan and UCLA have met in one postseason series, the 2019 Super Regional, which the Wolverines won in three games while UCLA was ranked No. 1 overall.
