4B - Monday, April 14, 2008
0
Big bats allow
Top of lineup sets
tone, leads attack in
weekend sweep
By ANTHONY OLIVEIRA
Daily Sports Writer
Freshman pitcher Jordan
Taylor had a 48.1 inning shutout
streak entering the weekend.
But in the opening inning
of her first appearance against
Wisconsin on Friday, it snapped,
and it seemed that Taylor was
going through freshman growing
pains.
She gave up the lead once, after
Michigan held a 2-0 advantage in
the first. She gave it away a second
time. And then, she was pulled
from the game at the end of the
fourth.
Even though the Michigan
softball team won that game, 12-
4, with sophomore Nikki Nemitz
in the circle, one had to wonder
how Taylor would respond in her
next start.
As it turns out, she was fine.
Facing Minnesota in the sec-
ond game of a doubleheader Sun-
day at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium,
Taylor gave up just one hit in a 3-0
shutout.
Striking out 10 Golden Gophers,
Taylor capped a 4-0 weekend for
No. 6 Michigan, taking two each
from Wisconsin, 7-2 and 12-4, and
Minnesota, 5-0 and 3-0.
And Taylor started another
scoreless inning streak, which
now sits at seven.
"(Taylor) was back to her old
self," Nemitz said. "She was con-
fident on the mound. She had
control of her pitches and was
attacking better. She did her job."
With the weekend sweep and
a Northwestern loss, Michigan
reclaimed the top position in the
Big Ten.
In each of those contests, the
Wolverines (11-1 Big Ten, 38-'
overall) scored early and often
Scoring at least one run in thei
opening inning in each contest
they outscored their opponents
combined 12-2 in the first three
innings of each game.
"We want to score as early a
we can and set the tone early it
the game," Angela Findlay said
"But we also need to work on con
tinuing on scoring runs through
out the game."
Much of that can be accreditei
to the first four spots in the order
led by Alessandra Giampaolo. Th
senior co-captain went 8-for-1
from the leadoff spot and talliec
four RBI on the weekend.
In Sunday's second gam
against Minnesota (4-4, 21-12)
she brought in two runs, one on
rightfield solo shot in the sixth t,
ensure victory.
But her most dominant per
formance came in game two o
Friday's doubleheader against th
Badgers (2-10, 12-32), when sh.
reached base safely in all five at
bats.
While she didn'tbring anybod
home, she set up those who fol
lowed.
During Taylor's troublesom
game against the Badgers, Giam
paolo loaded the bags with a wall
with the score knotted in th
sixth.
The next two batters, freshmar
Marley Powers and sophomor(
Angela Findlay, combined t
clear the bases with a single an(
a double, respectively. And it al
culminated with a three-run sho
by Samantha Findlay at Goodma
Diamond.
The Wolverines piled on thre
more in the seventh courtesy o
Michigan to take Big
an Angela Findlay homerun for
the decisive win.
e For the weekend, the top four
4 in the order brought in 21 of
. Michigan's 27 runs.
r Getting early support from the
, offense, Michigan pitchers repaid
a the favor, especially sophomore
e Nikki Nemitz.
After struggling last week,
s Nemitz returned to her normal
n form, notching three victories
. for the weekend to improve her
- record to 18-2. In her 17 innings
- of work, Nemitz let up just one
earned run and six hits.
d "I didn't have (that hesitance)
, this weekend," Nemitz said. "I
e just trusted (the ball). If they
3 hit it, they hit it. It's softball. It's
d going to happen."
Strong outings by Nemitz and
e Taylor were essential in Michi-
gan's sweep in the Twin Cities. _
a With the offense unable to pro-
o vide the same explosion as it did
in Madison, the pitchers kept
- Minnesota's bats at bay. The duo
f prevented the Wolverines from
e falling behind the entire week-
e end.
- But even with its lead in the
conference, Hutchins emphasizes
y that it doesn't mean much.
- "Our kids just need to keep
in front of them that they really
e haven't accomplished anything
- yet," Hutchins said.
k Notes: While it didn't affect
e Michigan in the win column, the
weather dictated how the Wol-
n verines played their games this
e ' weekend.
o Anticipating inclement weath-'f
d er on Saturday, the two games
11 spread out over two days turned
t into a Friday doubleheader. ..
n Sophomore Molly Bausher saw
limited action Friday, playing just
e four innings in each game of the senior Samantha Findlay Michigan's cleanup hitter, awaits a pitch in a game
f doubleheader. gan's lineup were key to its success in a sweep of Minnesota and Wisconsin,
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Ten lead
I
U
I
4
R05 MIGRIN/Deily
e against Iowa last week. The top four hitters in Michi-
on the weekend.
b., .. ,....r .... .. .,.y ... .....,.,,,....... .. .,....,.r .,, ., ......,.....,,..... .,., .. ..
10
Blue takes early edge against Fighting Irish
Maravic comes up
big on Senior Day in
Michigan's 6-1win
By GJON JUNCAJ
Daily Sports Writer
Few times in his illustrious ten-
nis career has senior Matko Mara-
vic felt as overwhelmed as he did
Saturday.
Beforethe No.15 Michiganmen's
tennis team's 6-1 win over No. 33
Notre Dame on Senior Day, the
native of Zagreb, Croatia received a
pleasant surprise when he entered
the locker room.
He found his teammates wearing
white shirts with his homeland's
flag on the front and "Maravic"
on the back. The Wolverines (17-3)
then honored their lone senior by
playing Croatia's national anthem
before the match.
Playing in a home dual meet for
the final time, Maravic listened
as the announcer rattled off his
lengthy list of career achieve-
ments.
As in every match, Maravic
didn't hide his emotions.
"When they announced every-
thingI did, I kind ofstarted crying,"
Maravic said. "I kind of reflected
back on how many matches I've
played here and what I've done. It
was sad to leave."
But after warm-ups ended,
Maravic removed his honorary
white shirt and left it, along with
the nostalgia, on the bench.
Maravic teamed up with junior
Andrew Mazlin for the first time all
season at No.1 doubles and notched
an 8-5 victory, earning Michigan's
first doubles point in three dual
meets.
The early 1-0 advantage helped
the Wolverines to their firstvictory
I don't move as well, I get negative,
and I don't get comfortable with
that. Ijust tryto doitcone wayevery
single time."
Helgeson's frustration proved
contagious, spilling over onto the
No. 3 singles court during Mazlin's
match with Notre Dame freshman
Steven Havens. Mazlin had never
won a singles match against the
Irish, losing both times to Helge-
son. And his new opponent wasn't
makingthings easier.
Despite the straight set victory,
Mazlin grew frustrated with him-
self as the match progressed. After
hittingshots out of bounds and into
the net, he often threw his arms up
in the air and screamed at himself.
Assistantcoach Sean Maymi had to
sit downwith Mazlinduringbreaks
to settle the Wolverines' star.
"Andrew's quietly very, very
competitive," Berque said. "And
he's very tough on himself."
Mazlin said his frustration
stemmed from several poor returns
on Haven's serves, but he chan-
neled his anger to grind out his
team-best 12th consecutive win
and had enough time to watch the
end of what he called an "amazing"
match by Maravic.
As evidenced by the pregame
pageantry, Michigan's 11th win in
12 duals was dedicated to its outgo-
ing captain. And Maravic had one
more surprise in store for him.
His father, Thomas, made an
unexpected visit to Ann Arbor a
few days before to watch his son
compete for just the fourth time
in Maravic's collegiate career. But
even with the surprise guest in
attendance, Maravic refused to
stay stuck in the moment once play
began.
"I think I would've played exact-
ly the same whether he was here or
not," Maravic said. "Everything
was under my control."
Harris runs to
personal best in
Tennessee meet
Wolverines qualify
four for NCAA
Mideast Regionals
By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Writer
Even in vind and rain, Adam
Harris continues to shatter his
own personal records.
On Saturday at the non-scor-
ing Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville,
Tenn., damp conditions held some
runners back"- but not Harris.
The junior braved the elements
at the Tom Black Track and set
a new personal best in the 100-
and 200-meter dashes (10.24 and
20.81, respectively). His 100-meter
blaze is the second fastest time in
Michigan history.
Harris's performances were
two of several strong showings in
the Michigan men's track and field
team's appearance at the invita-
tional. Four Wolverines recorded
NCAA Mideast regional qualify-
ing times.
"He's got the physical ability,"
Michigan coach Ron Warhurst
said of Harris. "There's no doubt
about it. He's got the genetic tools,
the genetic make-up - he's a great
sprinter."
Even though Harris set a new
personal best in the 100-meters,
he faced steep competition. His
Mideast Regional qualifying time
earned him eighth place in the
event, while Tennessee's Rubin
Williams finished first (9.96).
"When he starts racing people
that he's read about and he beats
them, there's - more .confidence
there," Warhurst said. "He's going
to run faster in the 200 and the
100. As the competition gets bet-
ter, he'll get better."
Sophomore Sean Pruitt emulat-
ed Harris's record-setting ways in
the hammer throw. For the third
week in a row, Pruitt broke his own
school record and set a regional
qualifying mark (197-6).
Pruitt's toss earned him first
place and was the Wolverines' lone
top finish of the weekend.
Redshirt freshman Nicho-
las McCampbell and junior Dan
Harmsen earned regional qualify-
ing times inthe hurdles. McCamp-
bell finished 11th in the 110-meter
hurdles and Harmsen took third in
the 400-meter hurdles.
Other Wolverines hit the wet
track closer to home. At the non-
scoring Spartan Invitational in
East Lansing Saturday, Michigan
joined local teams like Michigan
State, Notre Dame and Oakland at
the Ralph Young Track.
Junior Rob Fiorillo led the Wol-
verines with his first-place finish
in the 110-meter hurdles. He ran
his second-best time of the season
(14.88) in the win.
Michigan will return to Washt-
enaw County next weekend, when
it competes at the Apr. 19 Eastern
Michigan Invitational.
A
Senior Matko Maravic returns the ball in a match at the Varsity Tennis Center. He
was honored Saturday with the playing of the Croatian national anthem.
over the Fighting Irish (11-10) in six
years.
After a subpar doubles perfor-
mance last weekend, Michigan
coach Bruce Berque shuffled his
lineup, pairing freshman Chris
Madden and sophomore George
Navas for the first time this sea-
son. Berque cited the Wolverines'
recent, complacency as reason for
the re-tooled lineup.
"It was getting stale," Berque
said. "Whether it was caused by the
lineup change or wantingto do well
for Matko's last match, we got back
to ... playing with a lot of energy, a
lot of fight and a lot of discipline."
Discipline was in short supply
for Maravic's singles opponent,
Notre Dame junior Brett Helge-
son. Maravic forced Helgeson into
several errors in a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 vic-
tory. And as Maravic celebrated his
points with howls and fist pumps,
Helgeson muttered expletives and
showed his frustration.
For Maravic, that flamboyance
doubled as gamesmanship.
"That's how I'm used to playing,"
Maravic said. "(When I don't do it),
14
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