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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.