The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, April 1, 2008-,9
Rough starts
turn to wins
in Iowa sweep
CLIF REEDER/Daily
Defenseman Chad Langlais helped the Michigan defense block 16 shots during this weekend's NCAA East Regional. Michigan has allowed just two goals in the last three games.
M' defense dminant at egional
By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. - Michigan
goalie Billy Sauer was bored.
In a span over the first two peri-
ods against Niagara Friday, the
junior didn't see a shot for more
than 22 minutes - a stark differ-
ence from the 26 shots Sauer faced
(and seven goals he surrendered)
in last year's opening round of the
NCAA tournament against North
Dakota.
"I was trying to not snooze off
for a while there," Sauer said. "I
really just tried to stay in it, be
vocal and skate around to just keep
myself into it. Those games are
tough when you're not seeing a lot
of shots."
But it's difficult to complain
about the lack of shots, because
it was a reflection of Michigan's
stellar defensive play. The Wol-
verines kept the Purple Eagles to
seven or fewer shots each period,
and Clarkson had no more than
10 in any stanza of Saturday's East
Regional Final.
Michigan wore down both
teams' offenses, blocking 16 shots
on the weekend and closing gaps
quicker than it had all year. Solid
scoring chances came few and far
between for the opponents.
"We had a number of odd-man
rushes where usuallywe'll throw it
on net, maybe have a center drive,
maybe get a rebound chance, but
there-was nothing tonight," Niaga-
ra coach Dave Burkholder said Fri-
day. "Their gaps were unbelievable
... taking away a lot of lanes we're
used to having."
Composed of five underclass-
men and one junior, Michigan's
defensive unit has surprised many
this year, with junior alternate cap-
tain Mark Mitera emerging as one
of the nation's best defensemen
during the first half of the season.
The three first-year starters have a
combined plus-39 plus-minus rat-
ing. And neither Scooter Vaughan's
See DEFENSE, Page 10
Starters get lit up
early, recover in
Big Ten wins
By CHRIS MESZAROS
Daily Sports Writer
If it was only the first few
innings dictated the whole
game, the Michigan baseball
team might have been in trou-
ble this weekend.
But luckily, the offense came
through late to secure a four-
game sweep against Iowa.
Although the Wolverines'
pitching was the main factor in
this weekend's
success, they NOTEBOOK
didn't always
start the games the way they
wanted.
Junior Chris Fetter started
the second game of Saturday's
doubleheader by allowing
three runs in the first three
innings.
But after falling behind, the
junior . pitcher regained his
composure and allowed no hits
for the rest of the seven-inning
game.
"Some guys would have lost
it," Michigan coach Rich Malo-
ney said. "Instead, I thought
he got better and it's really a
testament to him and how he's
matured in his career."
The Wolverines rewarded
Fetter by scoring five runs in
the fifth inning and giving him
enough support for a 5-3 win.
But Fetter wasn'tthe only
pitcher' struggling. Freshman
Travis Smith had a rocky start
in the second leg of Sunday's
doubleheader against the
Hawkeyes, loading the bases
with no outs in the first inning.
Despite allowing two runs,
Smith regained his composure
and held Iowa scoreless for his
final five innings of work.
"For a freshman to be strug-
gling early in that game and to
settle into it the way he did says
a lot about him," Maloney said.
"He's been pitching really well.
He's not pitching like a fresh-
man and it's given the team a
lift."
The offensive players appre-
ciated the pitching staff taking
a load off their shoulders.
"Our pitchers battled the
whole weekend," sophomore
Alan Oaks said. "They filled up
the zone. They threw a lot of
strikes, and I think their stuff
was real nasty."
PLAYING IN THE RAIN: Like
most of the season, Michigan
had to deal with the elements
this weekend. But this time, it
was a little different.
Instead of snow, the Wolver-
ines played in the rain for much
of the second game of Sunday's
doubleheader.
Play was suspended in the
middle of the fifth inning for
about 20 minutes before the
weather settled down enough
to resume the game.
"When the game was
stopped, I was disappointed
only because I'vesplayedin
worse weather," Maloney said,
"I felt it was important that we
try to get the games in."
Michigan has alreidy had
trouble with the weather this
season, missing games against
Oakland and Bowling Green.
Maloney said the number of
wins, rather than winning per-
centage, willbe key to his team's
postseason prospects.
"We want to gather wins,"
he said. "We're already down
two games, weather-wise. Had
you lost these games, you could
have been down five or six, and
that's hard to make up."
BATTLING FROM BELOW:
In a 5-3 comeback win Satur-
day, Michigan found a surpris-
ing spark to its five-run fifth
inning.
Oaks started off the action
with a single, but it was fresh-
man Ryan LaMarre, batting
eighth, and senior Leif Mahler,
batting ninth, who came
through with clutch hits to put
Michigan in scoring position.
LaMarre and Mahler have
.203 and .244 averages this sea-
son, respectively.
"Leif Mahler came up .with
a huge double," Maloney said.
"He, too, has been struggling,
but he battled though it and
gave his team a big lift with
that one. Hitting is contagious
and we got contagious in that
inning."
Dismal outside shooting dooms Blue
By ALEX PROSPERI
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - The rims at
the Breslin Center are regulation-
sized - two basketballs wide and
10 feet above the floor.
But for the Michigan women's
basketball team Sunday, the rims
couldn't have seemed much bigger
than Fisher-Price miniature hoops.
Michigan's 45-40 loss to Michi-
gan State (10-8 Big Ten, 22-13
overall) in the Elite Eight of the
Women's National Invitation Tour-
nament wasn't pretty.
The Wolverines (9-9, 19-14) shot
just 4-for-33 from 3-point range, shots.
their worst shooting percentage RIVALRY RENEWED: For the
from deep all season. past four years, the average margin
"We didn't have good shots," of victory between these intrastate
Michigan coach Kevin Borseth rivals has been 23 points. All of
said. "Did we even get any shots off? those games were Michigan losses.
We're shooting the ball from, good- Michigan went 1-2 against the
ness, 24 feet from the basket just for Spartans this year with each game
the sake of shooting it, as opposed decided by an average of six points.
to getting some type of penetration With the Wolverines finally
and get a kickout." keeping up with their intrastate
Thanks to Michigan State's 2-3 foe, the rivalry seems more than
zone with 6-foot-9 Allyssa DeHaan renewed.
in the center, the Wolverines' best "We're matching up with them a
shot at scoring was from behind lot better this year," junior Jessica
the arc. But Michigan's inability to Minnfield said. "We're working
penetrate forced it to settle for poor harder."
LATE BLOOMER: Before Michi-
gan's Feb. 17 game against Indiana,
junior Ashley Jones had played
just 21 minutes through 23 games,
despite her enthusiasm on the
bench. But after watching Sunday's
game, that seems hard to believe.
Jones was the Wolverines' best
weapon off the bench as a hard-
nosed defender,excellentrebounder
and an inside presence on offense.
Her scoring (3.6 per game) and
rebounding (2.1 per game) have
more than doubled since the game
against the Hoosiers.
"She's come a long way this
See BASKETBALL, Page 10
Despite control issues, Jordan picks up two wins
By IAN KAY Taylor appeared upset about
Daily Sports Writer being pulled from the game, but
Hutchins
WEST LAFAYETTE - Jordan explained
Taylor's control that the
wasn't as sharp NOTEBOOK substitute
as usual this was neces-
weekend. sary with
But you wouldn't know it by Purdue (2-
looking at the box score. 2 Big Ten,
In the second game of Sunday's 23-10 over-
doubleheader against Purdue, a all) threat-
3-0 win, the freshman had diffi- ening
culty using her curveball but still Michigan's
retired the first 15 Boilermakers two-run
she faced. lead.
In the sixth inning, after Taylor "It
surrendered a leadoff double and wasn't an
hit the next batter with a pitch, indication
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins that I don't
removed her from the game in think she
favor of sophomore Nikki Nemitz. can do it," Hi
The move paid off when sloppy do need herl
baserunning by the Boilermakers the plate mo
led to a double play and Nemitz not establish
struck out the next batter to end as much as
the inning. as much as s
Pitcher
THROWS: Right
The freshman
has tallied a
16-1 record this
season. ~
utchins said. "But we
to get both sides of
re established. She's
hing the curveball
we need her to, and
he can, because I've
seen it work." during the contest.
Despite a disappointing end to "If you slow down your body
the outing, Taylor's final stat line speed at all for your changeup, they
showed only one hit and no walks can see the pitch coming," Taylor
in five shutout innings - along said. "The only way the changeup
with a 'W' to improve her season is effective is if the speed of your
record to 16-2. body is the same."
In a game against Indiana the SCORING STYLES: Hutchins
day before (7-23, 0-4), Taylor faced said she believes that scoring con-
a similar situation but with a dif- sistently is the key to a successful
ferent pitch. season for the Wolverines.
She struck out six batters and After tallying 30 runs in four
didn't walk any in a six-inning, games this weekend, the team
complete-game win at Indiana appears to be in good shape.
University Softball Stadium. The But when it comes to how they
Wolverines (4-0, 29-3) defeated scored, the Wolverines were any-
the Hoosiers, 8-0. thing but consistent - which suit-
Despite the strong results, Tay- ed Hutchins just fine.
lor said inconsistencies in her Sophomore Molly Bausher led
pitching mechanics kept her from off the bottom of the first inning
effectively using her changeup See SOFTBALL, Page 10
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