Michigan baseball splits with FAU, begins prep for weekend trip to Greenville NC

It’s a busy week for the Michigan Wolverines’ baseball team as they just wrapped up a two game series with FAU and now prep for their weekend trip to Greenville, North Carolina for the three-game Keith LeClair Classic.

Michigan split with the Owls and will stay busy by facing Maryland, East Carolina and Indiana State this weekend.

Here’s what happened against FAU:

Game 1

This definitely felt like one the Wolverines let get away. Michigan jumped out to a 5-1 lead before letting FAU come back and take the lead in the 7th inning.

But the Wolverines immediately got the lead back with three runs in the 8th inning and led 8-7 going into the bottom of the 9th. Walks have been a problem for Michigan pitching so far this season, giving up a little more than seven walks per game, and three walks in the 9th led to FAU scoring two runs in the final frame and winning 9-8.

Ted Burton had a big day at the plate for the Wolverines, going for four hits.

Game 2

If you like offense, this was the game you. After both teams combined for nine runs in the 2nd inning, the Wolverines found themselves on top with a 5-4 lead.

FAU took back the lead, 7-5, going into the 7th inning, and that’s when the scoring really got going. Michigan scored nine straight runs — with four of them coming off a grand slam from first baseman Ted Burton — to take a 14-7 lead.

The Owls quickly responded with six runs of their own to make it a 14-13 ballgame going into the 9th inning. Michigan put the Owls away with six more runs in the 9th, led by a three-run dinger by Matt Frey, and won the game by a Big Ten football score of 20-13.

Burton finished the game with an astounding four hits and seven RBIs.

After the series split, Michigan is now 6-3 on the season. The Wolverines now turn their attention to the three games they have this weekend against three different opponents. Here’s what you need to know:

Game 1: Maryland

The Terps come into this one scorching hot, as they’ve started the season undefeated with an 8-0 record.

Maryland is all around a good club, bottom line. But if there’s one area to pay special attention to, it’s the pitching. Opposing batters have just a .217 average against Terps this season. Michigan has the bats, but will have its hands full against Maryland in Game 1.

Game 2: East Carolina

Unlike Maryland, the East Carolina Pirates have struggled a little bit out the gate, starting the season 3-5.

East Carolina has been an interesting team so far because of the big differences on offense and defense. The Pirates have struggled mightily at the plate, as all but two players have an average below .231. On the other hand, the pitching has been great, as their arms have held opposing batters to a .221 average and have 74 strikeouts in 62 innings.

This game should be among the more low-scoring this weekend.

Game 3: Indiana State

Somehow, this will be the Sycamore’s sixth game against a Big Ten team out of their 10 games. So far, they have beaten Minnesota twice and lost to Ohio State twice — they play Maryland in Game 2 this weekend, so that will be their fifth Big Ten game.

The Sycamores currently sit at 5-2 on the year. The thing to watch for with this team is their bats. They’ve started the year off hot, posting a .323 team average and a .429 on base percentage. Indiana State can flat out rake.