10A - Wednesday, April 4, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Blue pitchers bounce back
By DAN FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
This couldn't have been what
Michigan softball pitcher Lori-
lyn Wilson wanted at all.
The Salem, Ore., native walked
the day's leadoff hitter in the first
game of the Wolverines' double-
header yesterday on four pitches.
Then her walk of the Bron-
cos' cleanup hitter two outs later
prompted a visit to the mound
from pitching coach Jennifer
Brundage.
Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins also had advice for her
starting pitcher.
"I told Lorilyn after her first
two walks, 'Don't accept that.
We don't accept that you're going
to walk two hitters in the first
inning. So why would you?' I
told her to just commit to being
great," Hutchins said. "She's so
close."
How the senior responded is
exactly why Hutchins thinks
Wilson can be great.
Wilson struck out the next six
batters.
She didn't stop there.
Wilson set down the next 12
batters - five by strikeout - to
keep her no-hitter going until
there were two outs in the sev-
enth inning.
But Western Michigan pinch-
hitter Lauren Fuller hit a sharp
bouncer past shortstop Teddi
Ewing.
The crowd waited anxiously
for the scorer's decision. When
a hit was put on the scoreboard,
the call was met by a number of
groans.
Having lost the no-hitter, it
looked like Wilson would take
the loss after she gave up a home
run on the next pitch to give the
Broncos a 2-1 advantage.
But freshman rightfielder
Angela Findlay's grand slam in
the bottom of the seventh gave
Wilson the win.
"I only care about one out-
come, and it's the win," Hutchins
said. "And the game's not over
until it's over. Did she think it
was over? I don't know.
"Had she gotten a no-hitter,
it certainly would've been a nice
thing. But I think she was capa-
ble of getting it also. She let that
opportunity get away."
Wilson still finished with an
impressive line: two earned runs
on two hits, two walks and 13
strikeouts.
But she wasn't the only pitcher
who excelled yesterday.
Freshman Nikki Nemitz start-
ed game two. Like Wilson, she
had problems with the first bat-
ter, giving up a single. But also
like Wilson, she was great the
rest of the way.
Nemitz followed up the hit
with four no-hit innings before
giving way to sophomore Stacey
Delany after four innings.
Nemitz's only blemish after
the leadoff hitter was a one-out
walk in the third.
The southpaw, who entered
the game averaging just fewer
than five strikeouts per seven
innings, struck out nine of the 14
batters she faced, including the
last three.
"It was a boost of confidence,"
Nemitz said. "It was like, 'Wow,
I actually can strike some people
out.'"
Delaney picked up right where
Nemitz left off, striking out her
first four batters.
She finished the game with
eight strikeouts and allowed just
one hit.
Delaney was injured at the
beginning of the season and
didn't make her season debut
until early March. She had just
pitched 3.2 innings this year
before yesterday.
"All I knowis when Staceygets
the innings like she got today, she
needs to show us that she's going
to help us compete," Hutchins
said. "And if she does that, yeah,
I think her innings will go up.
"She showed she stayed very
composed, which is probably
BY THE NUMBERS
Runs Michigan scored in its first six nings
Runs Michigan scored in its final seven
innings
Batters Michigan pitchers struck out
been the one thing she needed to
do."
Hutchins credited Delaney
with keeping her riseball in the
strike zone, noting good teams
won't swing at it when it's high.
Delaney said she also worked
in her new curve ball early in the
count before going to her riseball
for strikeouts.
I
RODRIGO GAYA/Da iy
Sophomore Stacy Delaney struck out eight batters and allowed just one hit in relief work
during the second game of yesterday's doubleheader.
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