Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern and No. 20 Michigan Clash at Miller Park
3/31/2016 9:35:00 PM | Baseball
| NORTHWESTERN BASEBALL VS MICHIGAN | |||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | RADIO | LIVE STATS | |
| Friday, April 1 | Michigan | 12 p.m. CT | Evanston, Ill. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | |
| Friday, April 1 | Michigan | 3 p.m. CT | Evanston, Ill. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | |
| Sunday, April 3 | Michigan | 1 p.m. CT | Evanston, Ill. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUCatsBaseball and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (nucatsbaseball) | Facebook | |||||||
CONNOR LIND | ZACH JONES INTERVIEW
EVANSTON, Ill. — After opening the new Rocky and Berenice Miller Park with an 11-5 win on Wednesday afternoon, Northwestern will be back at its new digs to take on No. 20 Michigan in a three-game series this weekend.
Due to an unfavorable weather forecast, Saturday's April 2 game has been moved to Friday, April 1. The Wildcats and Wolverines will play a doubleheader on Friday with the first pitch of the series coming at 12 p.m. CT and game two following thirty minutes after the completion of game one.
Sunday, April 3's contest remains scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will now feature the grand opening celebrations for Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.
LAST TIME OUT
Freshman Danny Katz threw 5.0 innings and retired 15 of the 19 batters he faced on Wednesday versus Chicago State to earn the first victory of his collegiate career. Classmate Willie Bourbon went 4-for-4 with two RBIs in the contest and finished just a triple shy of the cycle. Jack Claeys' cleared the bases in the third inning with a grand slam to left field. The home run was the first hit at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park and the first of Claeys' career.
BACK IN THE BIG TEN
The Wildcats went 1-2 in their Big Ten opening series at Ohio State last weekend (March 25-27), claiming a 6-5 win on Friday, before dropping the final two games. OSU's Sunday victory came on a ninth inning walk-off home run.
ON THE BUMP
Northwestern's weekend pitching lineup will be the same for the third consecutive weekend. LHP Reed Mason (2-1, 3.23 ERA) will go in the series opener, before LHP Matt Hopfner (0-2, 3.12 ERA) starts Friday's nightcap and RHP Dan Kubiuk (0-1, 3.00 ERA) gets the ball for Sunday's contest.
THE OPPONENT
Michigan enters the weekend with a 17-5 overall record and ranked No. 20 in Baseball America's latest poll. The Wolverines are in the midst of a six-game winning streak. As a team, Michigan is hitting .303 on the season with 213 knocks. The Woverines are lead at the plate by Harrison Wenson (.400) and Jake Bivens (.362), who have tallied 30 and 34 hits, respectively, in 22 games.
Michigan will start a pair of lefties for Friday's doubleheader in Oliver Jaskie (4-1, 1.91 ERA) and Brett Adock (2-2, 2.10 ERA). Right-hander Ryan Nutof (3-1, 2.03 ERA) gets the nod for the series finale. Both Jaskie and Nutof rank in the top-10 among conference pitchers for ERA.
The series with the Wildcats will be Michigan's Big Ten Conference opener.
OFFENSIVELY GOOD
Northwestern entered the week hitting .282 as a team, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten. The Wildcats' bats have accounted for 247 hits in 24 games, which places them fifth among conference competitors. On 12 occasions this season, Northwestern has tallied 10-or-more hits in a game.
Seven Wildcats already have surpassed the 20-hit mark, including Matt Hopfner (36), Zach Jones (35), Jack Dunn (30), Connor Lind (26), Willie Bourbon (25), Jack Claeys (21) and Joe Hoscheit (20).
CONNOR CAN
Connor Lind has been as steady as they come for Northwestern. The sophomore third baseman has reached base in 23-consecutive games and has totalled a .289 batting average and a .380 on-base percentage.
REED MY LIPS - HE CAN PITCH
Reed Mason has been the rock of the Northwestern pitching staff this season. Northwestern's Friday night starter is credited for two of the Wildcats' victories so far this season. Mason has started six games in 2016 and boasts a 3.23 ERA with a team-best 21 strikeouts. In his last outing (at Ohio State, March 25), Mason went 6.0 innings and struck out a season-high six batters.
WILL TO LIVE
In addition to celebrating the grand opening of Rocky and Berenice Miller Park on Sunday, April 3, Northwestern baseball will recognize the Will To Live Foundation. The Will To Live (WTL) Foundation's mission is to prevent teen suicide by improving the lives and the will to live of teenagers everywhere through education about mental health and encouraging them to recognize the love and hope that exists in each other. All Northwestern players will wear a special 'Will To Live' jersey during pre-game warm-ups. The jerseys will be auctioned off following the contest with all proceeds going to the Will To Live Foundation.
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