4 8A - Wednesday, April 7, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 LaMarre needs to provide spark ARIEL BOND/Daly Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez talks with his trio of quarterbacks during spring practice. All three are expected to compete for the starting job. Rodriguez says Forcierand Robinson are splitting snaps At this point in the year, much of the Michigan baseball season has seen the Wolverines simply going through the motions. Yes, they have managed CAITLIN to compete SMITH with a moder- ately difficult On Baseball schedule. And Michigan (2-1 Big Ten, 15-10 overall) is cur- rently tied for first in the Big Ten after its opening weekend against Indiana. But those good numbers have disguised a mediocre overall per- formance. Michigan fans have been forced to hear the same old excuse: pitching and batting weren't working in unison. The Wolverines have had their moments - sweeping Indiana- Purdue Fort Wayne and holding off a late comeback run from Eastern Michigan - but the toughest competition is yet to come. Against Indiana this past weekend, Michigan batters knocked around the Hoosiers' pitchers to win the first two games. But when looking for the cru- cial, final game sweep on Sunday, the Wolverines gave up 26 sloppy runs - the most allowed by a Michigan team since a loss to Minnesota in 2001. And on top of that, an 11-run Indiana rally in the fourth inning marked the most runs tallied in one inning against the Wolverines since 1984. After a game like that, the Wolverines are in need of a mid- season spark. And hopefully junior out- fielder Ryan LaMarre, who was injured in late February against Texas Tech, can provide exactly that. In the 2009 season, LaMarre started in 53 games, leading the team with a.344 batting average, 55 runs scored and 62 RBIs. He was also second team All-Big Ten Outfielder, third team All-American to Baseball America and the NCBWA. He has the ability to give new life to a lethargic offense and provide the team with needed in-game leadership. LaMarre has missed 18 games this season due to a broken thumb. His long-awaited return to game action came last Friday against Indiana as a pinch run- ner, when LaMarre stole a base and scored Michigan's 10th run of the game. Michigan fans are hoping that he will fully return into the line- up this weekend against Purdue. He has the talent to impact games in many ways, with his speed, defense and hitting in the top of the lineup. While fans shouldn't expect to simply see the "Ryan LaMarre Show," they might witness an overall boost in team perfor- mance. Since Michigan has endured more than a month's worth of play without LaMarre, it has become a stronger team. Team- mates like senior second base- men Mike Kittle and redshirt sophomore first baseman Garrett Stephens have stepped it up to fill his cleats, soto speak. With a reliable swing and solid fielding skills, LaMarre should be able to fill in the gaps where con- sistency between pitching and hitting has been lagging. This will give the rest of the team the opportunity to support him on the field and improve their play as well. Only time will tell if LaMarre can return rejuvenated after his injury. His presence is much needed but the beginning of his return might not be just another walk in the park. 4 4 By TIM ROHAN higher level of play out of Forcier in Daily Sports Writer his second season. "I've had a couple of conver- The person with a headstart sations with Tate in particular usually wins the race, right? because he plays that high-profile Through four weeks of spring quarterback position and how we practice, Michigan coach Rich expect him, even though he had Rodriguez maintains that the some success early as a freshman, quarterback position is still up for how we expect him to continue to grabs among sophomores Tate progress and get better each and Forcier and Denard Robinson and every year," Rodriguez said. "And early-enrollee Devin Gardner. Tate's a very, very competitive guy. Forcier was an early enrollee And I think he's a guy that likes himself this time last year, and the challenges. The last couple of prac- Wolverineswere facing a much dic- tices, he's responded with that." ier quarterback competition. A year Rodriguez left the door open to a later, Forcier finds himself in camp, setup similar to last season's, with having started every game in 2009, Forcier starting games and Robin- splitting snaps with Robinson in a son coming in as a change-of-pace classic position battle. quarterback. Rodriguez has said "There's no question they're ina repeatedly that he will play what- battle for it," Rodriguez said Tues- ever number or combination of day at a press conference. "Tate quarterbacks they "feel (they) can knows that, and Denard knows win with." that. They've probably split equal "We're not necessarily wanting reps with the first group, not that one guy to clearly establish himself we have a first team, but with the as much as we want to improve, first group out there. And we'll constant improvement from all continue to do that throughout the those guys," Rodriguez said. spring and see if somebody sepa- With his freshman season under rates themselves or if they both his belt and a whole year of learn- continue to get better." ing in the process, Robinson could Forcier had an extra spring and be more prepared at this point to all of last summer to get acquaint- challenge Forcier for the start- ed with Rodriguez's complicated ing spot. And taking reps with the offense, which helped him win last first group gives Robinson a more year's competition. consistent chance to show his stuff As a true freshman, he orches- than the 2009 season allowed, trated the offense and produced especially as a passer. Forcier nearly 200 yards per game through threw 250 more passes than Robin- the air and on the ground com- son in 2009. bind. The offense was statistically This time around, though, one of the best in the Big Ten. Rodriguez sees differences in Rob- Rodriguez and his staff expect a inson's mental grasp of the posi- tion. "More than anything, under- standing the offense, particularly things in the passing game and where he should look for the ball, reading defenses," Rodriguez said of Robinson's development. "I think he understands our concepts pretty well. ... We really worked hard on his fundamentals, and he still has a ways to go. But he's a tal- ented, talented guy and he loves to play. He's one of those guys that's very explosive. You got to have an opportunity for him to touch the ball, and obviously if you're quar- terback, you're going to touch it every snap." Whoever plays quarterback next season will be charged with tak- ing better care of the ball. Michi- gan had 29 fumbles as a team last year and lost 13 of those to the other team. In Rodriguez's offense, which features a quarterback who is able to run the ball, limiting fum- bles is key. Normally at this time in the spring, Rodriguez has his quar- terbacks wearing a different color jersey to avoid contact. But to make sure that his quarterbacks avoid costly turnovers when running with the ball, Rodriguez has the quarterbacks in full-contact drills. "It was a major issue for us last year, all year, and particularly at that position," Rodriguez said of the fumbles. "We've got to make sure that they know how to take care of the football in traffic and they can have the proper ball secu- rity. And the only way to do that is to get tackled. If the only time you get tackled is in a game, then you worry about do they truly grasp it." Takinga couple of extra hits now may also help someone like Gard- ner learn quickly how important it is to hold onto the ball. "He carries it out there a little bit like he's running along in the sand- lot," Rodriguez said, extending his right arm out to mimic carrying the ball away from his body. "Some- times when you're a young guy and you're in the open field, you feel the freedom to carry the ball out there. Whenyou get to this level, the guys chasing you are a little bit faster." Gardner is still behind the other two sophomore quarterbacks, due in large part to a lack of experience. But as of now, Rodriguez assures that the race is wide open. Gardner has progressed during the first eight practices this spring in Rodriguez's eyes. But Rodri- guez is careful to point out that it is unfair to put too high of expec- tations on Gardner too early in his career as a Wolverine. Rodriguez is certainly lookingto improve upon the 15 interceptions the quarterbacks threw as a group last season as well as the fumbling problem. "We can't beat ourselves, I know I said that plenty of times last year, but I think we'll have a better football team," Rodriguez said. "But we're not going to have a good enough team to beat our- selves with turnovers and negative yardage play. So that's been a huge emphasis for us this spring limiting turnovers and as many negatively yardage plays as possible." Triple-threat Nemitz proves her versatility UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SUSTAINABI.f Y By CASANDRA PAGNI Daily Sports Writer A softball team that fires on all cylinders - offense, defense and pitching - will always be tough to beat. But senior Nikki Nemitz, a hit- ting pitcher for the Wolverines, is showing that she can dominate all three phases on her own. Nemitz was named this week's Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after throwing a one-hitter on Sunday against Wisconsin. And while the senior was dominant on the mound, her 3-for-5 weekend performance at the plate earned some recognition as well. "(Michigan coach Carol Hutchins) always says hitting is contagious," Nemitz said. "If you have momentum, if you're feeling good on one side of the ball, then you're absolutely feeling good on the other side of the ball. "I don't think pitchers have it any different. Anyone can have that same feeling, because if you're fielding really well or pitching really well, you're going to translate that to the plate." As a hitting pitcher, Nemitz has seen action from the bat- ter's box in 26 games this season, while starting 13 games from the mound. Boasting a .294 batting average and a 1.85 ERA, Nemitz has helped her team in countless ways already this year. "That's why I love softball," Nemitz said after the Wolverines' trip to Louisville in mid-March. "I love being a hitting pitcher. I get to help myself and contribute to the team on both ends of the game." The lefty has settled in nicely to the newly renovated Alumni Field during Michigan's recent four- game home stand, going .545 at the plate while logging two wins on the mound during that stretch. In the Wolverines' home open- er against Bowling Green, Nemitz was both the starting pitcher and the offensive spark, as she mus- cled out a grand slam in the bot- tom of the fifth inning to propel Michigan to a 10-2 victory. "Every hit is awesome," Nemitz said after the game. "I got my pitch, and it felt perfect off the bat. I was seeing it well, andI was confident. It's always a nice feel- ing to hit it hard and hit it over the fence anyway. That time, there just happened to be three of my teammates on base. I can't really hit a grand slam without my team." A St. Claire Shores native, Nemitz was recruited primar- ily as a pitcher. Hutchins knew there was pop in her bat as well and gave Nemitz an opportunity to hit during her freshman and sophomore seasons. But the focus remained on consistently improv- ing her pitching game. "I chose to be a pitcher because I couldn't handle not being in con- trol of the game," Nemitz said. "I like that. Pitchers like to be in control of situations, otherwise we wouldn't pitch. I mean, we're the ones that touch the ball the most on the field. I like the feeling of being able to help myself. When I hit the ball, I obviously help my own cause and that's fun. But I also realize that I'm one of nine hitters." With pitching as her priority, Nemitz has posted stellar num- bers on the mound over her three- plus years as a Wolverine. Last season, as a junior, Nemitz was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and an National Fastpitch Coaches Association All Ameri- can pitcher. Last season she went 28-7 with a 1.07 ERA while setting career highs in wins, strikeouts, and opponent averages. But Nemitz also brought her offensive game to a new level last season, as she averaged .294 with eight home runs and 37 RBI from the batter's box-all career highs. While her numbers last year will be tough to beat, as a senior, Nemitz is stating her case for the Big Ten and All American awards once again. As a three-time All Big Ten first team selection-as a pitcher in 2007 and 2009 and as a utility player in 2008- Nemitz is intent on staying on top of her game. If she continues to find success in all three phases, Nemitz can certainly end her Michigan career with a bang. O SUBMIT IDEAS: How do you think U-M could improve sustainability efforts on campus? Please submit your ideas at www.graham.umich.edu. ATTEND MEETING: Come learn and give input about the Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment project to analyze and boost sustainability efforts in seven core areas at U-M. Campus Sustainability Town H al Meeting #2 Monday, April 12, 2010 Rackham 4th Floor Amphitheatre 4 - 5:30 pm Register at www.graham.umich.edu Hosted by the Graham Environmental Sustalnabillty Institute and the Office of Campus Sustainability