The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - April 12, 2004 - 4B Players of the Ohio State series Players of the Penn State series Kristi DeVries (Ohio State) DeVries pitched a solid game for the Buckeyes on Friday, holding the Wolverines to just three runs on three hits. FRIDAY'S GAME Ohio State 0 LP: K. DeVries (8-7) WP: J.Ritter (13-3) Jessica Merchant (Michigan) Merchant's milestone home run in the last inning of Saturday's game proved to be the deciding factor in Michigan's victory. SATURDAY'S GAME Michc an 1 WP: N. otycka (12-3) Ohio State 0 LP: J. Juarez (10-6) Kate Gentile (Penn State) Making the calls behind the plate, Gen- tile also had the Nittany Lions' sole hit in the second game of the series and crushed Motycka's no-hitter hopes. YESTERDAY, GAME 1 Penn State 0 .@ LP: M. Beseres (7-12) WP: J. Ritter (14-3) Nicole Motycka (Michigan) In the second game of the series, Motycka pitched a perfect game through the fifth inning. She gave up just a single hit in the shutout. YESTERDAY, GAME 2 Michigan 2 WP: N. Motycka (13-3) LP: S. Riggleman (4-1) YESTERDAY'S GAME 2 Michigan 2, Penn State 0 Blue plays musical chairs with lineup Chilly weather can't stop Wolverines' winning streak Michigan (33- Player Haas 2b Doe cf Schock c Olds 1b Merchant ss Motycka p Churchill 3b Betley rf Milian dh Teschler If 6, 8-0) Penn State (16-23, 2-4) AB R H BI Player 4 0 1. 0 Murraycf 3 0 1 1 Wolfer rf 3 0 1 0 Pierce ss 3 0 0 0 Chavez 3b 2 0 0 0 Lucas 2b 4 1 2 0 NealIf 3 1 1 0 Gentile c 3 0 1 1 Francisco pr 2 0 0 0 Chouinard dh 0 0 0 0 Slar3 Violalb Riggleman p 27 2 9 2 Total AB R H BI 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 3 00 0 22010 Total E - Penn State 2: Chavez; Riggleman. DP - none. LOB - Michigan 11; Purdue 2. 25 - none. 35 - none. HR - none. SB- Michigan 1: Merchant; Penn State 1: Chavez. SB - None. CS- Michigan none; Penn State none. Michigan 010 Penn State 000 Michigan IP Motycka W, (13-3) 7.0 Penn State Riggleman L. (4-1) 7.0 100 0- 2 90 000 0- 0 1 2 H R ER BB SO 1 0 0 1 8 9 2 2 1 1 By Anne Uible Daily Sports Writer Change in a squad's lineup is often believed to break a soft- ball team apart. But in the case of the Michigan soft- ball team, change is 0 understood as a strength- X ening strategy, and it is supported by most of the players. With the lack of production coming from the team's batting order, coach Carol Hutchins switched around the lineup for the team's Big Ten homestand this week- end. It was the second time Hutchins changed the lineup this season. In each of the past seven games, the first five hitters in the lineup stayed the same. While the results were encouraging, with the Wolverines hitting .398 in their last five games, and Merchant hitting .545 with a 1.636 slugging percentage, Hutchins did not feel the order brought out the full potential of the team. In yesterday's game against Penn State, Hutchins implemented the new batting order with Haas leading off, followed by Doe in the No. 2 spot and catcher Monica Schock hitting third. "I've been contemplating a switch, because the top of the order wasn't real- ly where I thought it could be," Hutchins said. "I don't think Doe was particularly comfortable in the leadoff spot, and (Schock) has been hitting the ball better and having better at-bats. and so we thought we'd give it a shot." Schock hit fourth at the beginning of the season, before Hutchins moved her to the seventh spot five games ago. But lately, Schock has become one of the Wolverines' biggest assets, hitting .400 with a team-leading three doubles in the past five games. Hutchins believed that she would be more helpful hitting high- er in the batting order. "I'm more comfortable hitting in the fourth spot," Schock said. "It's where I used to be. I wasn't hitting to my poten- tial, and, when (Hutchins) switched me back (to the seventh spot), it was like I had to step it up and get back to what I was doing before." Schock's performance yesterday, two hits and two runs in the first game against Penn State, confirmed Hutchins's confi- dence in the new batting lineup and Schock's importance hitting near the top of the order. "I was happy with Schock's perform- ance today," Hutchins said. "What we need from her is consistent, good at-bats and good, hard-hit balls. And that's what we got. I think we'll keep this order for a while." MAKING A STAND WITH A HOMESTAND: Before earning a 3-0 win over Ohio State on Friday night, the Wolverines were 11-10 all-time in Big Ten openers, surrendering their last two conference homestands to Illinois last season and Penn State in 2002. "I was very happy to get out of the game with a win," Hutchins said. "It's been a while since we've got a Big Ten home-opener win." The Wolverines go on the road next weekend before coming back to Alumni Field to face Minnesota and Wisconsin in two weeks. IT'S GETTING COLD IN HERRE: With a chilly breeze, temperatures below 50 degrees and hot chocolate becoming the spectators' drink of choice, players from both Michigan and Penn State appeared to have a difficult time staying loose throughout the games on Sunday. The ath- letes had to wrap themselves in their large parkas between innings to stay warm before going back onto the field. "Playing in the cold weather is tough," Hutchins said. "You can't let the weather affect you. You can factor it into the game, but there's no excuse on the board because it's cold outside." At2-AlumniField Tme -1:20 Attendance- 503 YESTERDAY'S GAME 1 Michigan 7, Penn State 0 Penn State (16-22,2-3) Player AB R H BI Wolfer rf 3 0 1 0 Lucasr2b 3 0 0 0 Murray cf 3 0 1 0 Pierce ss 3 0 1 0 Francisco pr 0 0 0 0 NealIf 3 0 00 Chavez c 3 0 1 0 Stauffer 3b 3 0 0 0 Chouinard dh 3 0 0 0 Viola1b 3 00 0 Beseres p 0 0 0 0 Hanson p 0 0 0 0 Total 27 0 5 0 Michigan (32-6, 7-0) Player ABR H BI Haas 2b 4 11 1 Doecf 4 0 1 0 Schock c/dh 3 2 2 0 Bercaw pr 0 10 0 Oldsl1b 3 01 0 Prichard pr 0 0 0 0 Merchant ss 4 1 3 3 Motycka dh 3 0 0 0 Holland ph/c 1 0 1 1 Churchill 3b 3 1 0 0 Betley rf 2 1 2 1 Teschler ph/rf 1 0 0 0 Milian If 2 0 0 0 Leutele ph 0 0 0 0 J.Ritter p 0 00 0 Wilson p 0 00 0 Total 307 1.16 Michigan senior Monica Schock went 2-for-3 yesterday and scored two runs. Jbe £ibigau i aiI. Diamond Stars I The Michigan Daily softball writers evaluate the team's performance in the weekend's homestand against Ohio State and Penn State. The categories include defense, pitching and offense. For each category the team will receive a grade between one and five M' logos, with five being the highest. E - Penn State 2: Pierce; Breseres; Michigan 1: Olds. DP - none. LOB - Penn State 6; Michigan 10. 2B - Michigan 1: Schock. 3B - none. HR - none. B - Penn State 0; Michigan 2: Churchill; Leutele. SB - Michigan 3: Motycka; Betley; Milian. CS - none. Penn State Michigan Penn State Beseres tL (7-12) Hanson Michigan J. Ritter W (14-3) Wilson At -Alumni Field Time - 2:00 Attendance- 503 000 000 0 - 0 52 003 031 X - 7111 IP 4.1 1.2 H R ER BB SO 652 0 1 5 2 121 6.0 5 0k 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2 BIG TEN Team Michigan Iowa Illinois Minnesota Northwestern Michigan State Wisconsin Ohio State Penn State Indiana Purdue STANDINGS Conference Overall W L W L 8 0 33 6 7 1 26 16 6 2 28 14 5 3 24 13 3 5 19 13 3 5 21 16 3 5 23 19 2 4 23 14 2 4 15 23 1 5 24 22 0 6 23 17 Defense: Though Ohio State and Penn State had runners in scoring position many times, Michigan's infield crushed these teams' hopes of crossing home plate. The Wolverines QoM- mitted just one error in all of its four games. Pitching: Junior Nicole Motycka pitched two stellar perform- ances, keeping Michigan in each game when the offense wasn't producing. Sophomore Jennie Ritter had a tough time Friday, though she managed to pull out the win. Offense: Though Michigan had nine hits in yesterday's second game, the team scored just two runs. The offense needs to reduce the number of stranded runners. Yesterday's results: ILLINoIS 4, Indiana 1 MICHIGAN 7, Penn State 0 IOWA 6, Purdue 0 Minnesota 2, NORTHWESTERN 1 Michigan State 7, WIScoNSIN 5 Illinois 2, INDIANA 1 MICHIGAN 2, Penn State 0 Iowa 4, PURDUE 0 Northwestern 4, MINNESOTA 0 Wisconsin 11, MICHIGAN STATE 8 Saturday's results: Illinois 7, PURDUE 4 INDIANA 1, Iowa 0 MICHIGAN STATE 5, Minnesota 2 NORTHWESTERN 4, Wisconsin 0 MICHIGAN 1, Ohio State 0 Friday's results: Illinois 3, PURDUE 2 Iowa 6, INDIANA 0 Wisconsin 4, NORTHWESTERN 2 Minnesota 2, MICHIGAN STATE 1 MICHIGAN 3, Ohio State 0 ON DECK: EASTERN MICHIGAN Coming off three losses to Miami (Ohio) this weekend, the Eagles are currently 12-17. The Wolverines will travel to Ypsi- lanti on Wednesday in hopes of repeating last year's rout. 0 9 0 MERCHANT Continued from Page 1B said. "Gentile and Young are some of the greatest hitters who have come here. But I've got more important things to worry about than the home run record, like the Big Ten (championship)." Michigan coach Carol Hutchins echoed Merchant's selfless senti- ments. "I'm not really impressed by records," Hutchins said. "It's most important that (Merchant) does not get caught up in records or home runs. More than anything, the key to beating teams is getting base run- ners on base. She will hit her share (of home runs this year) because she is capable." Though she called sharing the record an "honor," Merchant said she was most pleased that she was able to influence the outcome of an important Big Ten game. "I try to help us win every single day whether it's on defense or offense," Merchant said. "Today (my home run) ended up working out for us" Merchant's hitting was also key in Michigan's 7-0 rout against Penn State in the first game of yester- day's double header. Hitting fifth in the batting order, Merchant was responsible for four of the Wolver- ines' runs. She drove in three runs off of three singles and scored a run herself in the fifth inning. Hutchins explained that she will only worry about records such as Merchant's when she retires. "(Merchant) should be proud that we won and that she was part of it," NITTANY LIONS Continued from Page 1B is the way we want to do it." Motycka had eight strikeouts and walked one in her complete-game shutout. She has pitched four times in the last two weeks after taking time off of the mound to nurse a leg injury. "I felt great," Motycka said. "I am still coming off my injury so I am getting back into it. It's just fun to be out there. "I think we have great confidence right now. Every- one is hitting the ball well. It just didn't happen this game. But we have seen it all weekend." Hutchins said that Motycka has been great this sea- son for the Wolverines. She added that her attitude has played a large part in her getting results. "I go back to the fact that she's enjoying the moment," Hutchins said. "She's out there enjoying her- self. I don't think that it's a coincidence that she's pitching well." Motycka was able to help herself out a little bit, too. She was also 2-for-4 with two singles. She started a rally in the second inning and scored the first run of the game. In the third, with two outs and runners on first and second, the junior hit a hard line drive over third base. But Jessica Merchant was tagged out at third, and Michigan couldn't manufacture any runs. "I thought that in the second game we made some mistakes ... and I think we need to get more runs out of that," Hutchins said. "If you get nine hits, you need to get more than two runs. In general, I still think we are playing good softball." The softball team has won with strong pitching all season, and Motycka wasn't the only pitcher shining for the Wolverines. The Michigan pitchers didn't give up a single run all weekend. "I'm very pleased," Hutchins said. Our pitching is shutting them out. I don't care who you are playing, a shutout is a great performance. And most importantly, our defense is making plays. And it's tough to beat a team when you don't give up very many runs. It makes us tough to beat." The Wolverine haen't lost since Mareh 14 .and thev *