For the first time since 2007, Michigan baseball will be playing in the Super Regional.
The Wolverines are set to face No. 1-ranked UCLA in the Super Regional with the first game Friday at 9 p.m. All three games of the series can be seen on ESPN2.
U-M is one of only nine teams to have a victory over the Bruins this season. The Wolverines defeated UCLA earlier this season 7-5, with junior ace Tommy Henry striking out 10 batters.
U-M advanced to the Super Regional by defeating Creighton Monday night 17-6 to win the Corvallis Regional. Prior to that victory, the Wolverines also defeated Creighton 6-0 last Friday and defeated Cincinnati 10-4 Saturday. The Wolverines lost to Creighton 11-7 on Sunday, but got revenge in the winner-take-all game.
“We expected to put ourselves in this type of position when our staff took this job,” Michigan head coach Erik Bakich said in a Q&A with MGoBlue.com. “At Michigan, we think of excellence, we think of championships. Personally, I thought we'd have been here sooner.
“So, on one hand, it's expected. On another hand, it's very much appreciated and we're very grateful for this opportunity because it's so hard to do. You see a lot of great teams that have magical seasons struggle to get out of their own regional. There's so much parity in college baseball that it's just very hard to win a regional in the Super format, and even harder to go to the World Series.”
The Wolverines will turn to junior Karl Kauffmann, Henry and sophomore Jeff Criswell to start in the series. Both Kauffmann and Henry have nine wins this season and Criswell owns a 2.82 ERA. This trio of pitchers through the first three games of the Corvallis regional, struck out 23 batters, while only allowing six earned runs through 23.2 innings.
“You can put our rotation up with a lot of people in the country and feel pretty good about it,” Bakich said “They're all No. 1-caliber type pitchers. So, whatever the order is, we feel really good about it.”
Henry was recently selected in the MLB Draft, going with the No. 74 pick to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kauffmann went three picks later to the Colorado Rockies.
Junior outfielder Jordan Brewer was taken with the No. 106 pick by the Houston Astros. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year, but has been dealing with a turf toe.
Brewer was able to play in the regional championship.
Bakich loves having him in the lineup.
“It lengthens our lineup and adds an element of speed and power combined,” Bakich said. “He's a catalyst, a hit-maker, he just makes things happen. When he's in there, you just feel you're going to have the best chance to win.”
At the Corvallis Regional, Michigan’s offense was on fire, posting a batting average of .315 and scoring 41 runs. The Wolverines had eight home runs and outscored their opponents by 19 runs.
Freshman Riley Bertram stepped in at shortstop due to injuries and had seven hits in 15 at-bats. Michigan’s offense is also powered by senior infielder Jimmy Kerr, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the Regional. He led the Wolverines with seven runs scored.
“Jimmy Kerr is the epitome of a great teammate, who bleeds maize and blue and is a third-generation Wolverine from a family who bleeds maize and blue,” Bakich said. “His grandfather won a national title here [in 1962] and his father won two Big Ten championships here. Now, Jimmy is solidifying his place in the Michigan baseball history books with a regional championship and the MVP honors he took this past weekend, hitting four home runs in the regional.”
Even though they are facing the No. 1 team, Bakich is confident.
“You have to get the first one,” he said. “And UCLA is the most complete team in the country. They are the No. 1-ranked team and the No. 1 seed nationally for a reason. They're the most consistent team all season. They've never lost a weekend, have a roster filled with great players. They have a great coach and great coaches.”
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