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Michigan Wolverines
Final '07 Rank: 18
42-19

It wasn’t a surprise when the Wolverines posted a 39-16 record in the regular season nor was it a bombshell when they won the Big Ten regular season title with a 21-7 conference mark. However it did raise eyebrows across the country when UM knocked off top-seeded and host Vanderbilt in the Nashville Regional round, scoring the winning run off number one overall draft pick David Price. Michigan was eliminated by eventual national champion Oregon State in a tight Super Regional in Corvallis, however with a solid nucleus of returning players in ’08, the Wolverines could be looking to make their first trip to Omaha since 1984.

Head coach Rich Maloney completed his fifth season at Michigan, leading the Wolverines a second straight Big Ten Conference title, their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and first ever Super Regional appearance. The Maize and Blue finished at 42-19, the third straight year they reached the 40 win plateau. For the team's accomplishments, Maloney was named the 2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year and signed a five-year contract to continue as head coach of the UM baseball team.

Offensively, the greatest losses from the UM off-season were speedy graduating outfielders Eric Rose and Brad Roblin. Rose, a second team All-Big Ten selection, hit .309 and finished his career as Michigan's career stolen base leader with 90. Roblin batted .320 with 22 swipes in senior year. Another void in the Wolverine lineup is the absence of catcher Doug Pickens (.338, 5, 41) who was signed by Cleveland at the August deadline.

A pair of the nation's top two-way players, juniors Zach Putnam and Adam Abraham, will be returning to campus and will factor heavily on the Wolverines’ CWS hopes. Putnam went 8-5 on the mound with a 3.87 earned run average while striking out 87 strikeouts in 102.1 innings of work. In the batter’s box as a DH, Putnam hit .330 with eight homeruns and 59 RBI from the cleanup spot. When playing third base, Abraham batted .320 with 15 doubles and five home runs. In a relief pitcher's role, Abraham labored 33.1 innings, compiling a 5-1 record, 2.97 ERA and a pair of saves.

Another pair of players who can turns wins into losses with a swing of the bat are senior outfielder/DH Derek VanBuskirk and senior first baseman Nate Recknagel. VanBuskirk led the Wolverines in batting with a .384 average in 2007, but his highlight moment of the year came with his mitt not his bat. His leaping grab at the leftfield fence in the 10th inning preserved the win for UM against Vanderbilt in the regional final propelling them to the Super Regional. Recknagel slugged 12 homeruns and drove in 61 runners for the Wolverines while maintaining a handsome .352 average. He was named MVP of Nashville Regional. Also returning to the diamond after missing the 2007 season is fifth-year senior Leif Mahler. Mahler was UM’s starting shortstop from 2004-06, and complied a career .308 batting average. He also brings back a slick fielding glove which earned him the Ted Sizemore Award as Michigan’s top fielder in 2004. Mahler will slide to second base rather than displace highly touted incumbent shortstop, junior Jason Christian (.328, 7, 44). All-Big Ten team second baseman Kevin Cislo (.364, 1, 23) will move to centerfield in an effort to replace the departed Rose’s glove. That will be a tall order to fill as Rose didn’t make a single error his final two seasons in maize and blue.

Back in the rotation will be junior left-handed hurler Mike Wilson and Chris Fetter. Wilson had a remarkable 7-1 record, 3.54 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 71.2 innings. Wilson suffered his only loss of the season in the final game of the year against Oregon State despite four strikeouts in the first inning. Fetter earned All-Big Ten first team honors as a starting pitcher in 2006 after leading Michigan and the Big Ten with a 2.22 overall ERA, but fell back to earth a bit in ’07, finishing at 6-3 with a 4.74 ERA. In the bullpen Ben Jenzen and Michael Powers will both be back after being first and second on the team in both saves (5 and 4 respectively) and appearances (25 and 30).

Teams from the North are always trendy picks to go the distance, but Wolverine’s chances of playing in Rosenblatt are far from being a long shot. Michigan may be at the cusp of another streak of June visits to Omaha, much like they did in the early 80’s when they made it to the CWS five of six years (1978, 1980-1984).