The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
March 9,2009- 3B
Cislo unable to spark Blue 'M'finds hythm
By FELIX CARREON
Daily Sports Writer aft earl loss
The Michigan baseball team
took a break from its busy col-
legiate schedule to play the New
York Mets in an exhibition game
yesterday afternoon at the Tradi-
tion Field Complex in Port Saint
Lucie, Fla.
After sweeping Siena in a three-
game series, the Wolverines found
themselves on the other side of the
ball.
The Wolverines were blown out
18-7 by the Mets in a stark depar-
ture from last year's game.
Last February, the Wolver-
ines battled to a 4-4 tie with the
Mets and received attention from
national media outlets for all the
wrong reasons.
Then-junior second baseman
Kevin Cislo attempted a bunt in the
fourth inning, trying to advance a
runner on second with just one out.
The play drew the ire of then-Mets'
closer Billy Wagner.
"If he got that bunt down, I
would have drilled the next guy,"
Wagner said after the game. "Play
to win against Villanova."
This time the Mets exploded
for seven runs in the bottom of the
second for an early 8-0 lead.
But Michigan quickly respond-
ed, turning to no other than
Cislo, now a tri-captain, to pro-
vide the offense. And this time,
the senior wasn't looking to bunt.
Cislo knocked in a single down the
middle to lead the attack. Junior
first baseman Mike Dufek sent a
ball over right field for a two-run
homer, triggering a five-run inning
to cut the lead to three.
But that would be as close as
it got. The Wolverines' pitching
was no match for the big bats of
the major leaguers, and the Mets
scored seven more runs in the next
two innings.
"Everyone was looking forward
to the game," Cislo said. "It was a
fun game last year and a fun game
. i v
Senior Kevin Cislo was the source of controversy in last season's exhibition against the New York Mets after bunting in a 4-4 tie.
this year."
But all was not lost for the Wol-
verines on the weekend, with a
sweep of Siena (1-11) in Port St.
Lucie, Fla.
Senior pitcher Chris Fetter col-
lected his 200th career strikeout
with an 11-strikeout performance
on Friday in the first game against
the Saints. Michigan's defensive
play stifled the Siena offense,
allowing just three runs off eight
hits.
"It shows that I've been able to
pitch quite a bit in these last four
years," Fetter said of the milestone.
"I credit my teammates around
me and the teams I've been on
that have allowed me to pitch that
much."
Despite strong pitching by Fet-
ter in the first game of the series,
the Wolverines found themselves
down 1-0 to the Saints after the
first inning.
A two-run homer in the sec-
ond inning by freshman shortstop
John Lorenz sparked the offensive
attack and gave Michigan a one-
run lead. Junior second baseman
Nick Urban continued the offen-
sive production with a three-run
homer in the fifth inning, and
another three-run performance in
the eighth-inning sealed the 11-3
victory over Siena.
The strong defensive play in
the first game against the Saints
was a sign of things to come. Last
weekend, Michigan was plagued
by inconsistent pitching and poor
defense. But in this series, the Wol-
verines' defense stepped up when
pitching wasn't there.
Michigan gave up a total of 12
hits to Siena in the second game,
the first in Saturday's doublehead-
er, but it allowed the Saints offense
just three runs.
The Wolverines' offensive out-
put came from an unexpected
source. Freshman Coley Crank
earned his first collegiate RBI to
put Michigan on the scoreboard
first.
And he wasn't done for the
Michigan earns two provision
Tauro Taylor :
excel in final tuneup s
before NCAA Indoor U w
night. Crank went 3-for-3 with two
RBI in the winning effort.
"He was making good contact
and was able to find holes," Michi-
gan coach Rich Maloney said. "I
think he's a really good hitter and
he has a chance tobe a good really
player for us. He gave our team a
good lift."
The second game of Saturday's
doubleheader and the last game of
the series was more of the same.
The Wolverines lit up the score-
board with 19 runs to overpower
the Saints.
This time, the offense came
from sophomore outfielder Ryan
LaMarre, who pulled in a three-
run homer to extend his hitting
streak to eight.
And again, Crank went 3-for-3
with an RBI single to help Michi-
gan in its 19-6 win over Siena.
"We're trying to win and gain
experience at the same time, which
isn't easy to do," Maloney said.
"But so far, the kids have been able
to do it."
al marks
guaranteed spots in the champion-
ships.
Senior co-captain Tiffany Ofili
has the nation's best time in the
60-meter hurdles, and seniors
Geena Gall (800-meter run) and
Bettie Wade (pentathlon) are sec-
ond in the nation in their respective
events.
If Tauro and Taylor don't get
in, the highest the Wolverines can
score at the championships is 30
points. And if Ofili, Wade and Gall
turn in performances consistent
with their current national rank-
ings, the three will pick up 26points
for Michigan.
Last year, the Wolverines sent
four athletes to the championships
and came in third place with 39
points, the highest score in Michi-
gan history in the NCAA Indoor
Championships. Arizona State won
the with 51 points.'
"We have three athletes in a
position to win individual national
titles," McGuire said. "So maybe all
three of them will win and maybe
none of them will win. We recog-
nize they're ina position to win, but
there are other outstanding athletes
in their events and that was why it's
the national championships. Obvi-
ously, you can't score without bod-
ies in there."
By AMY SCARANO
Daily Sports Writer
Somewhere between the Michi-
gan softball team's first game of the
weekend and its last, things started
to click.
The Wolverines started this
weekend's tournament with an
extra-inning, 3-2 loss to Louisville
and ended with a a 13-0, five-inning,
mercy-rule shutout of Tennessee
Tech.
"A team that plays with confi-
dence plays twice as good as asteam
without confidence," Michigan
coach Carol Hutchins said. "In the
Tennessee Tech game, they played
like they practice. It was very pleas-
ing to watch."
Michigan finished 3-1 at the two-
day University of Louisville Tourna-
ment in Louisville, Ky. After a close
loss Saturday morning to Louisville,
the Wolverines finished the day by
pulling out a 3-0 shutout with acom-
plete-team effort against Bradley.
Not only did junior pitcher Nikki
Nemitz strike out 11 against the
Braves, but the entire defensive field
played with increased confidence.
Nemitz's performance boosted her
to fifth place for career strikeouts at
Michigan.
After an 11-hour, two-game day,
with the Wolverines arrived at their
hotel with just enough time for a
good night's sleep before Sunday's
back-to-back games.
While playing four games in a
BIG TENS
From page 1B
through and that is what I ended up
doing."
But Russell almost didn't make it
to the finals. It took him two over-
times to beat third-ranked Alex
Tsirtsis from Iowa.
Luke also defended his title by
beating Penn State freshman Quen-
ton Wright. The final score read
12-, but Luke willingly gave up
many of those points only to score
more takedowns.
"That's the second time I wres-
tled the Penn State kid," Luke said.
"So I knew his style and knew what
he liked. He liked the under-hook to
the single, and I just made sure to
stay low and keep good position."
Luke has spent the entire season
at No. 1 in the 174-pound weight
class. He extended his undefeated
streak to 27 matches Sunday.
"I was real proud of the way he
wrestled," Michigan coach Joe
McFarland said of Luke. "I can hon-
estly say that is probably one of the
best performances I've ever seen.
To win his third Big Ten title the
way he did it, it was nonstop attack,
it was really fun to watch and it was
fun to be in the corner."
Despite all of his successes, Luke
still has something to prove at the
NCAA tournament. He lost by just
two points in last year's champion-
ship final.
Luke's co-captain counterpart,
fifth-year senior Tyrel Todd, took
home the 197-pound Big Ten Cham-
pionship in his first season at the
+LAT
weekend is both physically and
mentally taxing, it is useful for the
team to prepare for the demanding
tournament schedules.
"It's what we were trained to do,"
Hutchins said. "It is as hard as they
make it. They are all very capable.
We often play five games in a week-
end, so these kids need to get a lot
of credit for the amount of time they
put into the sport."
On Sunday, the Wolverines'
confidence continued to build and
Hutchins said the players began to
trust themselves and their team-
mates.
Michigan won the day's first
game 3-2 against Ohio, and scored a
season-high 13 run against Tennes-
see Tech.
Sophomore pitcher Jordan Taylor
threw her second-career no-hitter
against Tennessee Tech, a result of
a shared team effort.
Junior right fielder Angela Find-
lay had a season-high three hits and
junior centerfielder Molly Bausher
had three RBL
"We needed our confidence and
demeanor to get better, and I think
it did," Hutchins said.
"Their attitude and their
approach to the game - how they
approach each pitch. We are look-
ing to be a team that approaches
each pitch with confidence, and we
got a little better at being confident.
There is a certain air and swagger
by the team that trusts that they can
do that."
weight class.
After tearing his ACL in the
beginning of the year, he put off sur-
gery until after this season to put
himself in the best position for suc-
cess. He didn't disappoint.
"It's really been a blessing that
I'm able to compete and that my
knee's been strong enough to really
to be able to wrestle my best, Todd
said. "I feel like I'm really on top of
my game right now."
Todd won 5-4, in his Big Ten
swan song against Wisconsin's Dal-
las Herbst. He controlled the pace of
the match throughout until he gave
up a last-second takedown, making
the final score appear a lot closer
than the match indicated.
"I didn't feel threatened by his
offense at any point in the match,"
Todd said. "Being able to ride him
and control the tempo on my feet
was really key."
The three champions were not
the only ones scoring points for the
Wolverines. Michigan has at least
six wrestlers who have qualified
for the NCAA Tournament, and the
young team may pick up more when
wildcard selections are announced
Wednesday.
"We hope we can get at least one
more, ifnot two more guys," McFar-
land said. "How realistic is that? I
don't know."
But the celebrations won't last
long with the NCAA Tournament
just two weeks away.
"Our main focus is going to be to
put this behind us," McFarland said.
"We're going to celebrate, and then
tomorrow we'll start focusing on
the NCAAs."
Championships
By AMY SCARANO
Daily Sports Writer
one hundred and fifty meters
before the finish line of her mile
race, sophomore Danielle Tauro
realized her last chance to capture
an indoor NCAA automatic quali-
fying time this year was quickly
slipping away.
Tauro had started the race strong
but lost momentum on her fourth of
five laps at Saturday's Alex Wilson
Invitational, in which six Wolver-
ines participated in an attempt to
get NCAA qualifying times before
the Indoor Championships Mar. 13.
Then, 1,450 meters into the race,
Tauro saw Michigan assistant
coach Mike McGuire on the upcom-
ing curve. He was pointing to a girl
far ahead of her and shouting, "This
is 4:39 right here! Go get her!"
When she heard her coach yell-
ing, the sophomore realized that
she might be able to finish with an
automatic time and, with her sec-
ond wind, passed five girls in the
last lap to finish fifth (4.38.7). The
time was a personal best for Tauro,
beating her Mar. 1 Big Ten Cham-
pionships, time (4:44.47) by nearly
seven seconds.
But the provisional qualify-
ing time she turned in was seven
tenths of a second slower than the
automatic qualifying time for the
NCAA Indoor Championships.
That means Tauro's spot is con-
tingent on how many mile runners
nationwide have an automatic qual-
ifying time. Each event is capped at
a certain number of participants.
Once all the automatic qualifiers
have a spot, the nextfastestrunners
get spots in the championships.
co Is DZOMBAK/Daily
Sophomore Danielle Tauro ran a personal-best 4:38.7 in the mile Saturday.
Last year, her 4:38.7 would have
been fast enough to snag a spot in
the championship meet. But the
field of participants is deeper and
the mile has become much more
competitive.
once the results from the rest of
the country's final meets come in
this week, Tauro will know if she
will be running in her first NCAA
Indoor Championships.
"I am biting my fingers waiting
for the results of the other meets to
come out," Tauro said. "But either
way, it's exciting to start running
these times and knowing that I am
in the field now that I can compete
with the best in the nation."
Tauro isn't the only Wolverine
hoping for a little bit of luck. Senior
Casey Taylor jumped 13.07 feet in
the triple jump to notch an NCAA
provisional mark and win the event
at the same meet. The automatic
qualifying mark for the event is
13.30 feet.
"Casey has been tremendously
consistent all year," McGuire said.
"Jumping two centimeters behind
her best jump coming off emotions
from the conference meet last week
was really impressive. It wouldn't
surprise me if she got a bigger mark
next week."
While Tauro and Taylor await
the results that determine if they'll
be competing this upcoming week-
end, three Wolverines already have
University of Michigan Institute forrComplexAdaptiveMatter
and Orety of WoM0or iPhysics
Public Lecture
High - Temperature Superconductivity:
From Broken Symmetries to The Power Grid.
Laura H. Greene
Swanlund Professor of Physics
University of Illinois
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
340 West Hall
1085 S University Ave
An Arbor Ml 48109
4:00PM - 5:0PM
Refreshments prier to the lecture
Po oeinfomatonvsit:
hpV/ssumitheda!
ne Uepartment of
Communication Studies
and The Howard R. Marsh Center
present a lecture by
FARA WARNER
2008-2009 Howard R. Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism
THE BLOGOSPHERE.
THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Reception 5:00 pm - Lecture 6:00 pmn
H ussey Room in the Michigan League
911 North University AVenue /Anrn Arbor, MI 48109-1265
Please see http://owow.unich.edt/-league/mnsps for directions
Contact the Department of Communication Studies
(734-764-0423) for more information.