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10A - Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Taylor mows
down 14 in
shutout win
ROB MIGRIN/Daly
Senior Alessandra Giampaolo sprints toward first base during Friday's game against Iowa. Giampaolo has been a catalyst for the offense since moving into the leadoff spot.
Wolverines set tone early
ByRUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Writer
Forty-eight and one-third
innings.
164 at-bats. NOTEBOOK
21 hits.
Zero runs allowed.
In yesterday's game against
Bowling Green, freshman pitch-
er Jordan Taylor showed why
she holds
the nation's
second-best
earned runs
average.
When Tay-
for struck
out Bowling _
Green's Kate- TAYLOR
lynn Boso
to close out
the seventh inning yesterday,
the scoreboard at Alumni Field
read 4-0. Taylor had just fanned
the 14th Falcon batter of the
game and extended her shutout
streak.
"Those numbers give you a
little incentive to keep shutting
them down," Taylor said. "But
like any other day, you want to
heat the hatter."
You have to go back to March
20 against then-No. 19 Fresno
State to find the last time a run-
ner crossed home plate against
Taylor.
The freshman's composure
on the mound remains her best
asset. Though she gave up two
leadoff singles and a leadoff walk
in the middle innings against
Bowling Green, she kept her
focus. Taylor said composure has
always been one of her strengths,
but she has developed more con-
fidence pitching well against col-
lege hitters.
"She works on making her
next pitch," Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins said. "And when
she doesn't make her pitch, and
they get away from her some-
times, she just stays with it. She's
a hardworking kid who doesn't
allow herself to get outside of her
game."
Taylor has kept batters off-
balance all season with her
dominant changeup and a solid
curveball. She has retired 14
batters in each of her last three
starts.
But even when she gives up
hits, she relies on a defense that
has an impressive .967 fielding
percentage.
"It makes our job a lot easier
as an infield when she gets soft
ground balls, and when she does 6
her job out there," sophomore
third baseman Maggie Viefhaus
said. "She's a great pitcher, and
she's only going to get better if
she keeps working hard."
HEAVY HITTING: When Vief-
haus's fifth-inning hit soared
high over the rightfield bleach-
ers her hot streak appeared reig-
nited.
After starting off the season
batting .357 through the first
eight games, Viefhaus has gone
through hot and cold spells, but
continues to give the Wolver-
ines big hits. Her two home runs
in the last four games may be an
indication of an upswing.
"We just need Maggie to not
try to do too much," Hutchins
said. "She just needs to allow
herself to play and allow herself
to swing, because she's got one of
the best swings in college soft-
ball."
Viefhaus contrihuted strong
play this past weekend against
Illinois and remains solid at the
No. 5 spot. She has collected 35
hits this season, third on the
team.
BAUSHER TO THE FENCE:
The Michigan defense looks alot
different than it did last season,
particularly the outfield. Sopho-
more Molly Bausher's speed has
added a new dimension.
Moving from second base to
the outfield, Bausher has dis-
played her athleticism with div-
ing catches and blazing speed to
the warning track.
"Molly is one of our very
best athletes," Hutchins said.
"When we called upon her to do
it, we asked her to change posi-
tions from what was probably
her favorite position, but she's
learned to embrace it."
Bausher made one of her daz-
zling catches last night, snagging
a shot to deep centerhyBowling
Green's Dawnjene Delong's with
an outstretched arm over her
shoulder.
"I'm a lot more comfortable
there now,'' Bausher said. "At the
beginningtIwas a little shaky, but
now I feel really good out there"
Mic
ndi
in W
Lead
against
Alessan
2-2 pitcl
right fo.
She c
batter's
After
al minu
into the
er Hayl
rippedt
terfield.
center f
off the
plate. G
and ba
double.
Just
ter, she
higan solid at bat Michigan put at least one runner
on base in each inning and went on
in pitching circle to defeat Bowling Green 4-0.
When the Wolverines were in
in over Falcons the field, it was freshman pitcher
Jordan Taylor who set the tone.
By IAN KAY She struck out two Falcon batters
Daily Sports Writer in the first inning and never looked
---- back, finishing the game with 14
ing off the first inning strikeouts.
Bowling Green, leftfielder Pacing the Wolverines is hard-
dra Giampaolo swung at a ly a new role for either Taylor or
h and fouled the ball off her Giampaolo.
ot. Giampaolo led off for Michi-
ollapsed to her knees in the gan nearly all of last season before
box. moving to the two-hole this year.
rwrithing in pain for sever- Sophomore centerfielder Molly
tes, the senior stepped back Bausher batted first in most of
box against Falcon pitch- Michigan's games this season, but
ley Wiemer and promptly coach Carol Hutchins swapped
the next pitch to deep cen- the two batters in Tuesday's game
. The ball sailed over the against Central Michigan and
ielder's head and bounced again yesterday.
wall 222 feet from home The move created an instant
iampaolo cruised into sec- spark at the top of the lineup.
se with an easy stand-up "Alessandra has been much
hotter than Molly," Hutchins
like any good leadoff hit- said. "We're trying to give Molly
set the tone for the game. a chance to get it going, because
your leadoff hitter's job is to get on
base."
After moving up in the order,
Giampaolo was right in the middle
of each Michigan rally.
She singled to lead off the third
inning, and after Bausher singled to
move her to second, senior Saman-
tha Findlay doubled both runners
home to give Michigan a 2-0 lead.
An inning later, junior short-
stop Teddi Ewing reached base on
a fielder's choice and Giampaolo
smashed an RBI double of her own,
one-hopping the ball off the Penn
State sign in the leftfield gap.
Giampaolo said she's most com-
fortable hitting first, but didn't
credit the move up in the order for
her solid day in the batter's box.
She attributed her performance
to improved confidence and more
success seeing pitches on the way
to the plate.
The confidence has led to results
- Giampaolo has hit safely in 10 of
her last 17 at bats to raise her aver-
age to .355, the second-highest on
the team.
Michigan scored just one run
against Bowling Green without her
help.
Sophomore Maggie Viefhaus
capped the Wolverines' scoring
with a towering fifth-inning home-
run, her fifth of the year. The blast
landed among the construction
equipment beyond Alumni Field's
rightfield bleachers.
The four runs were more than
enough, as Michigan received
another dominant outing from
Taylor. The freshman went the
distance, recording her third com-
plete-game shutout in as many
starts and improving her season
record to 19-2.
In nearly every inning, Taylor
worked ahead in the count with
high fastballs before putting hit-
ters away with her offspeed pitches
on the outside part of the plate.
"We're working on her up and
down game," Hutchins said "Her
riseball and dropball can continue
to get better. She knows that, she's
working on it and we had a chance
to throw a lot in the game today."
Freshmen shine, keep streak alive at 11
By GJON JUNCAJ point, and the Spartans knew that a
Daily Sports Writer hot start wouldbe critical in slowing
down a streaking Michigan team.
TheNo.26Michiganwomen'sten- But freshman Denise Muresan and
nis team went on the road last night junior captainLindsey Howard won
carrying a bullseye on their back. easily (8-1) in the opening match
The Wolverines' opponent, Michi- at No. 3 doubles, and the blowout
gan State, was coming off two began. Junior Chisako Sugiyama
straight wins against ranked com- and sophomore Tania Mahtani
petitionand was enjoyingits highest racked up their ninth consecu-
ranking in a decade. The Spartans tive victory in the ensuing match,
had home-court advantage and securing the Wolverines' 11th-con-
ample opportunity to notch another secutive doubles point and a lead
upset and snap their six-match los- Michigan never relinquished.
ing streak against Michigan. "It shows you how important the
But what the Spartans got was a doubles are," Michigan coach Ron-
reality check. nie Bernsteinsaid. "Even though it's
The Wolverines (6-1 Big Ten, 13- just one point, it gives you a lot of
4 overall) cruised to a 6-1 victory, momentum."
winning four of their five singles Sugiyama continued her solid
matches in straight sets and leav- play. The 46th-ranked junior domi-
ing East Lansing with their winning nated her No. 1 singles match from
streak, now at 11 meets, intact. start to finish, racing to a 6-1, 6-1
Enteringlastnight,MichiganState straight set victory. Sugiyama is the
was 12-1 when scoring the doubles only Wolverine undefeated in Big
Ten singles and doubles play.
Three freshmen continued to give
the Spartans fits throughout the
evening. Rika Tatsuno dispatched
Ana Milosavljevic 6-2, 6-3 for her
11th straight win. After going down
quietly, 3-6, in the first set at No. 2
singles,WhitneyTaneybattledback
to a tiebreaker before suffering her
first loss since Feb. 17. The defeat
came justhours aftershewas named
the Big Ten Conference Women's
Tennis Player of the Week. Taney
is the second Wolverine to receive
the honor this season. Sugiyama has
earned the distinction twice.
Michigan had already clinched
the dual with an insurmountable 5-
1 lead, thanks to Mahtani's comfort-
able, straight-set victory. But the
freshmen didn't let up.
The third freshman, Muresan,
kept her own singles winning streak
intact. She stormed back from a dis-
couraging first set to tally her 12th
win a row, defeating Manon Noe in
the tiebreaker, 2-6, 6-2,1-0.
Michigan's youth was a point of
concern when the Wolverines sput-
tered to a 2-4 start in dual meet play
at the beginning of the year. The
three freshmen combined to go 5-13
in singles action during that start.
But Tatsuno, Muresan and Taney
have adjusted quickly to collegiate
competition. Since Feb. 17, the three
have revived their inaugural cam-
paigns with a combined 31-1 record.
"I think they're relaxed now, and
feeling a lot more comfortable with
what they're doing," Bernstein said
of her freshmen. "They've finally
settled down."
Once Michigan's question marks,
the freshmen have provided all the
answers lately, and that should have
the remaining opponents worried.
With the Big Ten championship
coming up on April 24, Michigan is
peaking at the perfect time.
6
0
Freshman Denise Muresan was one of a trio of first-year players who help
Wolverines defeat their intra-state rival.
j,
BASEBALL
From page 8A
the Penn State series. Michigan has
only averaged 3.6 runs per game over
its last 10 games, more than two runs
below the team's season average.
Lucky for the Wolverines, the pitch-
ing has been stellar, carrying them to
eight victories over that stretch.
"It's about time for our team," Cislo
said. "Its about time that we had that
breakout game, because we haven't
been backing our pitchers lately, and
have been scoring just two or three
runs, which isn't been helping our-
selves."
Yesterday's big game could give
the team confidence heading into this
weekend'sseriesagainstIllinois,which
is tied for second in the Big Ten.
"Games like this definitely could
give us momentum in Big Ten play
this .weekend," Recknagle said. "We
hope it continues. We hope the ball
keeps rolling for our hitting."
FROZEN FOUR
From page 8A
make it hard for opposing teams
to find scoring chances, let alone
goals.
To combat the defensive pres-
sure, freshman Carl Hagelin said
the Wolverines will work on get-
ting the puck deep and keeping it
in the Irish zone for as long as pos-
sible. If Michigan can wear down
the Notre Dame blueliners, scor-
ing chances will come easier.
But even if the Wolverines can
successfully outplay the Irish
defense, junior Jordan Pearce has
been solid in net all year long.
"We've got to keep our compo-
sure," Caporusso said. "I mean,
their goalie's hot right now. You
never know - you can run into a
hot goalie in the first period. You
just have to stay persistent and
stay patient and persevere."
While everyone on the team
agrees Michigan will have a tough
time inside the Notre Dame zone,
there are differing opinions about
whether playing a familiar oppo-
nent is advantageous or not.
Berenson said both teams will
come in knowing what to expect,
so neither the Wolverines nor the
Irish have an extra edge. Some of
the players think differently.
"I preferably would like to play a
teamthat I've playedhbefore,"Capo-
russosaid. "Youknowwhatthey're
about. You know what they look
like. You can visualize better what
you're going to see on the ice."
Hagelin said he didn't think the
familiarity would make such a dif-
ference.
"It doesn't matter for me," he
said. "Going up against a certain
defenseman, you might know he's
a bad backwards skater or some-
thing like that. Otherwise, it's
the playoffs, man. It's a new game
every time."
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