Michigan Baseball: Breaking down Wolverines NCAA Tournament region
Michigan baseball got an at-large berth to the NCAA baseball tournament on Monday as the Wolverines will open up against UConn in the South Bend region.
Selection shows are always a bit nerve-racking and while it seemed very likely that Michigan baseball was going to make the NCAA baseball tournament, it was still a relief when the announcement finally came down on Monday.
Michigan baseball will play in the South Bend region. The Fighting Irish are the No. 10 overall seed and will be the top seed in a region that also features Central Michigan and UConn.
It was a little surprise that Notre Dame was the 10th overall seed after winning the ACC title with ease. The regional tournament will feature two other conference tournament champions as UConn is fresh off the Big East title. Central Michigan earned its berth by winning the MAC.
Congrats to @NDBaseball, @CMUBaseball & @UConnBSB. See you in a few days #GoBlue〽️ https://t.co/DByrR3aNwM
— Michigan Baseball (@umichbaseball) May 31, 2021
Michigan baseball will be the No. 3 seed in the regional and will face second-seeded UConn on Friday at 7 PM EST.
While Michigan baseball was projected to make the field in all the brackets leading up to the tournament, the Wolverines did lose four of their last six and had an RPI of 88 due to the Big Ten not playing non-conference games.
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But the 27-17 Wolverines were announced as part of the field and the good news is they won’t have to travel far for the first round of the 64-team tournament.
Notre Dame will be the favorite to advance after posting a 30-11 record during the regular season. The Irish are ranked seventh in the most recent D1baseball.com top-25 poll.
UConn comes into the regional as the team with the lowest team ERA and the highest batting average but the Big East and ACC are two very different leagues in baseball.
Steven Hajjar and Cameron Weston are two pitchers that will lead the way for the Wolverines. Ted Burton and Tito Flores are two names to watch offensively for Michigan baseball as both are batting over .300 heading into the NCAA tournament.
U-M doesn’t come in with a lot of momentum, but that can all change with some great pitching from Weston and Hajjar. The regional is a true-double elimination tournament and only one team will advance.
The winner goes on to the Super Regional. Notre Dame could have to play the Super Regional on the road as the No. 10 seed. Most of the projections had them in as a top-8 overall seed.