8A - Thursday, March 27, 2008
MILLER
From Page 5A
playing multiple roles on the
team, like filling in for first-liner
Max Pacioretty, that 'weren't
showing up on the box score.
But the coachingstaffwondered
if the burden of being an alternate
captain was holding him back.
"Sometimes if you have a letter it
can really weigh onyou a lot," Pear-
son said. "You become so worked
up and worried about everybody
else and you forget about your own
game a little bit. I'm not sayingthat
happened to Tim, but we've seen
that in the past.",
Turnbull could see how upset
the usually-quiet Miller was with
the decision. But according to
Pearson, the junior reacted in a
"very professional" manner and
"handled it extremely well."
At the Great Lakes Invitational
just after the decision, Miller, who
still does not feel comfortable
addressing the issue, struggled
even more. Though the Wolverines
MASTODONS
From Page 5A
ing, to get him two innings that
were clean," Maloney said.
But Michigan's strong pitching
wasn't enough to secure the lead
until late in the game.
In the eighth inning, the score
was knotted at two before senior
Derek VanBuskirk hit an RBI
double to give Michigan its first
lead. Two batters later, sopho-
nore Chris Berset drove in Van-
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Junior Tim Miller was named CCHA Tournament MVP after s
came away with the tournament
title, Miller couldn't convert on his
numerous scoring chances.
But once he tallied two scores
against the Spartans last month,
Miller started to become more
loose and relaxed. Berenson saw it
as "a huge sigh of relief for him."
And that offense reappeared
during the CCHA Tournament.
Miller tallied another pair of goals
and two assists at Joe Louis Arena
Buskirk to give the Wolverines a
two-run advantage.
Freshman Tyler Burgoon
entered the game in the ninth
inning to close out the game.
Although the Wolverines post-
ed two runs in the eighth inning
and 11 hits in the game, they
struggled to drive in runs against
the Mastodons.
"We just didn't get. the big
inning," Maloney said. "(There
are) not too many times you're
going to complain about 11 hits."
But four runs were enough
last weekend, a perfor-mance that
earned him the tourrnament's Most
Valuable Player award.
"Yougottobe happyfortheguy,"
Turnbull said. "lie hasn't had the
season that we thought he'd have,
or he thought he was going to have,
but all that matters is finishing up
the season and making plays down
the stretch and ie's been playing
really well as of late. We need that
out ofhim."
to down IPFW (2-15-1), which
struggled to adjust to Michigai's
rotating pitching staff.
Although freshman Kolby
Wood earned the win with a no-
hit eighth inning in his collegiate
debut, it was the performance
of all eight pitchers that really
earned the victory.
"As a hitter, I knw I don't like
seeing another pither because
it's hard to get in a rhythm," Van-
Buskirk said. "It had to be tough
on them and a lot of guys threw
really well today."
NOTEBOOK
From Page 5A
our first time outside since our last
game, its going to take a little while
to get our rhythm going, but we got
the job done and got the 'W'."
After practicing indoor for near-
ly a week, the Wolverines' base
running was also suspect.
in the fourth inning, with two
outs and the game tied at two, Cislo
tried stealing second base with a
man on third.
Noticing the turmoil on the
other side of the diamond, fresh-
man Ryan LaMarre tried to sneak
home while Cislo retreated back
to first. But the Mastodons noticed
him advancing and threw LaMarre
out at the plate.
"We got 11 hits - you can't say
much about that," Maloney said.
MINNFIELD
From Page 5A
Ashley Jones.
"Basically, I'm physical," Min-
nfield said. "I've been getting beat
up on the court all my life. Just like
last game. I was gettinghassled, get-
ting fouled, (but) I'm used to that.
it's really nothingrto me."
Joked Michigan coach Kevin
Borseth: "She almost looks for
contact, almost looking for a fight.
She's not going to let you push her
around."
But this season, it's not just Min-
nfield's demeanor thathas Michigan
in its first postseason tournament
since 2002. Her improved shooting
has inade the biggest impact.
"We just didn't get the big inning.
There's not too many times you're
going to get 11 hits."
One more delay: Several inches
of snow doesn't just disappear.
And with sunny weather, Malo-
ney didn't want to postpone anoth-
er game.
Both the Michigan players and
groundskeepers cleared off the
remaining snow from the field to
make it playable for yesterday's
game.
"The real story in this game is
how hard we worked on this field,"
Maloney said. "There was snow on
this field until 1 o'clock, and we had
to do everything we possibly could
do to make this happen."
Despite the short timetable, the
field conditions barely hindered
the game.
"There were a few wet spots out
in the outfield," VanBuskirk said.
Minnfield shot a mediocre 35 per-
centfromthe field her freshmanyear
and 29 percent last season. But with
the help of assistant coach Mike Wil-
liams, extra hours in the gym and a
motion offense more conducive to
point guard shooting, the junior has
become an offensive threat.
Minnfield averages 10 points per
game this season, more than double
last year's average of four points per
game.
The Wolverines are 8-1 when she
scores in double figures.
"I can't be an effective point
guard if I can't score and shoot,"
Minnfield said. "I just can't get my
teammates involved, I got to create
something else in my game, too."
This season Minnfield is shoot-
ing 43 percent from the field and 41
percent from behind the arc. Her
"For as much water as there was on
the field and on the trackbefore the
game, they did a really good job of
keeping it dry and getting ready to
play."
A different kind of hit: All sea-
son, Maloney has stressed the
importance of keeping the number
of "freebies" allowed to a mini-
mum.
But yesterday, the Wolverine
pitchers added to the problem.
Freshman pitcher Travis Smith
and junior Ben Jenzen hit two bat-
ters each, Smith in the third and
Jenzen in the fifth,
The pair of pitchers overcame
their mistakes, allowing no runs,
and Smith was able to get out of
a bases-loaded jam by forcing a
groundout.
"You've got to limit the free-
bies," Maloney said. "We want to
do three or under in nine innings."
improved shooting had a big effect
on her game, especially at Illinois
on Feb. 24. The junior torched the
Illini, pouring in 25 points on 8-for-
13 shooting, including 5-for-7 from
behind the arc.
Despite a subpar performance
against VCU (eight points on five
shots), the point guard will need
to be on top of her game tonight to
give Michigan a shot at a potential
Elite Eight matchup with Michigan
State.
Southern Mississippi has the
ability to control the tempo on
both sides of the ball and Minnfield
will need to keep Michigan steady
against the Golden Eagles' intense
pressure, like she has all year.
"Her job is to handle it when we
get pressured," Borseth said. "She's
done a pretty good job at it."
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