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Thursday, June 1, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS

Previewing Michigan’s opponents in the Chapel Hill Regional

JACOB SHAMES

Summer Managing Sports Editor

After its winningest regular 

season since 2008, the Michigan 
baseball team qualified for its 
second 
NCAA 
Tournament 

under coach Erik Bakich, and 
first since 2015.

This 
time, 
though, 
the 

Wolverines had to sweat things 
out. Two years ago, Michigan 
qualified for the tournament 
automatically by virtue of a 
surprise run to the Big Ten 
Tournament 
championship. 

This season, the Wolverines 
dropped both of their games at 
the conference tournament, and 
despite a 42-15 record, they made 
the NCAA Tournament as the 
last team in.

“They say that we’re the last 

team in, but we’re going to be the 
last team standing,” said senior 
right-hander Mac Lozer after 
the selection show aired Monday 
on ESPN2. “That’s the way we’re 
looking at it.”

But 
being 
the 
last 
team 

standing won’t be an easy task, 
as Michigan was placed in the 
Chapel Hill regional, hosted 
by No. 2 national seed North 
Carolina. 
The 
regional 
also 

consists of No. 2-seed Florida 
Gulf Coast of the Atlantic Sun 
and No. 4-seed Davidson of the 

Atlantic 10.

The Wolverines will meet 

the Eagles in their opener at 
1 p.m. Friday, while the Tar 
Heels and Wildcats will square 
off at 6 p.m. later that day. The 
double-elimination 
bracket 
is 

set to continue through Sunday 
and possibly Monday, and the 
winner will advance to the Super 
Regional round next week, where 
they will take on the winner of 
the Houston Regional hosted by 
Houston.

After Michigan dropped an 

extra-inning 
heartbreaker 
to 

Indiana Thursday, Bakich stated 
that the Wolverines will need to 
use their Big Ten Tournament 
performance to feed the chip on 
their shoulder in order to have a 
successful showing in the NCAA 
Tournament.

“We’ve been playing with a 

chip all along. Every step of the 
way there seems to be something 
that just makes that chip a little 
bit bigger and sharpens our edge 
a little bit more,” Bakich said. 
“Not that we need any motivation 
for the NCAA tournament, but 
it certainly provides a little bit 
more because we want to play 
well in tournament baseball.”

The Daily looks at the three 

teams Michigan may face in the 
Chapel Hill Regional:

No. 2 seed North Carolina (47-

12, 23-7 Atlantic Coast)

The Tar Heels are a traditional 

powerhouse, having appeared in 
six College World Series from 
2006 to 2013 under coach Mike 
Fox. But this year marks their 
first NCAA Tournament berth 
since 2014. North Carolina’s 
dominant pitching staff — which 
ranks fifth in the country with a 
2.96 earned-run average — is led 
by right-hander J.B. Bukauskas 
(9-0, 2.02 ERA, 111 strikeouts), 
the ACC Pitcher of the Year who 
is also projected by Baseball 
America as the sixth overall pick 
in this summer’s MLB Draft. 
Right-handers Luca Dalatri (6-3, 
3.50) and Tyler Baum (6-0, 2.65) 
round out the rotation, while 
right-hander Josh Hiatt anchors 
the bullpen with 13 saves and a 
.167 opponent’s batting average.

The Tar Heels also possess a 

deep, well-rounded lineup. Six 
players have hit at least seven 
home runs, while three players 
— shortstop Logan Warmoth, 
outfielder 
Brian 
Miller 
and 

second baseman Ashton McGee 
— bat above .340. Defensively, 
the Tar Heels are just as solid, 
ranking 21st in the country with 
a .979 fielding percentage.

North Carolina is a team with 

almost no weaknesses on the 
mound, at the plate or in the 
field. As a result, the Tar Heels 

are unquestionably one of the 
favorites to advance to Omaha 
— and possibly win the first 
national title in program history.

Florida Gulf Coast (42-18, 13-8 

ASUN)

Only a Division I program 

since 2010, the Eagles are making 
their first NCAA Tournament 
appearance in history. However, 
despite its youth as a program, 
Florida Gulf Coast proved it 
could hang with anyone this 
season — it went 2-0 against 
No. 3 national seed Florida and 
defeated then-No. 1 Florida State 
in March.

When 
they 
meet 
the 

Wolverines Friday, the Eagles 
will likely send Kutter Crawford 
to the mound. The right-hander 
is 7-1 with a 1.58 ERA and 91 
strikeouts in 79.2 innings. Right-
hander Kenton Hering (7-3, 2.04 
ERA, 75 strikeouts) has been 
FGCU’s ace reliever this season.

The Eagles’ lineup is anchored 

by ASUN Player of the Year 
Nick Rivera. After his senior 
season last year was cut short 
due to injury, the first baseman 
received a medical hardship 
waiver. Rivera has made the most 
of it, leading the Eagles with 17 
home runs and .585 slugging 
percentage. He has plenty of 
support from the rest of the 
lineup, which has eight players 

hitting at least .280, including 
shortstop Julio Gonzalez’s .337 
clip.

Davidson 
(32-24, 
13-11 

Atlantic-10)

Florida Gulf Coast isn’t the 

only team that will be making 
its NCAA Tournament debut in 
Chapel Hill. The Wildcats have 
played baseball since 1902, but 
won the most games in program 
history this season on their way 
to a long-awaited postseason 
appearance. Davidson finished 
just sixth in the A-10 regular 
season standings, but defeated 
regular 
season 
champions 

Virginia Commonwealth twice 
Sunday to claim the conference’s 
automatic bid.

For their Cinderella story to 

continue, the Wildcats will rest 
their hopes on two sluggers. 
Outfielder Will Robertson has 
hit 18 home runs on a .335 average 
while slugging .657, while first 
baseman Brian Fortier is just 
behind him with 15 home runs 
and a .318 average.

Davidson’s pitchers, however, 

have combined for a mediocre 
4.54 ERA this season, and just 
four players have an ERA below 
4. The Wildcats will look for a 
strong performance from right-
hander Durin O’Linger (8-3, 2.85 
ERA) to boost their pitching 
staff.

AARON BAKER/Daily

Erik Bakich and the Michigan baseball team are preparing to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, and the second time in Bakich’s time as head coach.

