0 8 - Friday, April 9, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com CFOOTBALL oaches anticipate 0-line improvement 0 Re ke, s ARIEL BOND/Daily Senior catcher Chris Berset wil likely return to the lineup this weekend after injuring his leg with a foul ball. 'M' faces Purdue in weekend series for first Big Ten matchups at the Fish turn of Molk is of the 1 Michigo y to Michigan's Eastern returne uccess in the later.B Molk's trenches Penn St And By TIM ROHAN guez ha Daily Sports Writer ers fron Though By BEN ESTES Wednesday. Daily Sports Writer But a couple facets of Michigan's game have been worrisome during The confines of Ray Fisher Sta- those games. The team's defense, dium at the Wilpon Complex have which had been its most consistent been more than friendly to the attribute this season, has lapsed of Michigan baseball team so far in late. 2010. The Wolverines had a combined 11 After playing on the road for the errors in Bloomington and then gave first five weeks up two more against the Chippewas. of the season, the The team's pitching has also been Wolverines (2-1 shaky recently, allowing a whop- Big Ten, 16-10 Michigan ping 47runs in those last four games, overall) have Matchup: including a 26-6 drubbing at the played five of the Purdue 14-12; hands of the Hoosiers last Sunday. their last eight Michigan 16-10 The only consistent Wolverine at home, putting When: Friday pitchers recently have been red- together a spot- at 7 p.m., shirt freshman Bobby Brosnahan as less 5-0 record at Saturday at 1 the No. 2 starter and junior starter/ the Fish. p.m., Sunday reliever Tyler Burgoon. Butthatperfect at noon "Obviously, we need to get bet- mark will be in Where: Ray ter pitching," senior first baseman jeopardy as Mich- Fisher Stadium Mike Dufek said after Sunday's loss. igan continues Big TV: Big Ten "But the fielders have to help out the Ten play, starting Network pitchers, as well." with the confer- The Boilermakers (1-2,. 14-12) ence home opener come into Ann Arbor with a medio- tonight against Purdue. cre record and low expectations,but "(It's) conference play, so we boast a strong rotation that could obviously got to win the series," give the home team fits. junior outfielder Ryan LaMarre Friday's starter Matt Bischoff said. "We're definitely looking for- (3-1, 2.06) was named Big Ten Pitch- ward to the series and taking it one er of the Week for his nine-inning, game at a time." two-run, 10-strikeout performance The Wolverines come in on aroll, against Minnesota. Purdue's No. having won 10 of their last 11 games. 3 starter Matt Morgan also is very Michigan beat Indiana twice in a solid, with a 2-0 record and 3.23 three-game series last weekend ERA this year. in the Wolverines' first confer- "(Their quality) just tightens ence play of the season and won up our focus," LaMarre said. "We 13-7 against Central Michigan on know that (Alan) Oaks is going to ROCK 'N' ROLL FANS OF EVERY GENDER AND GENERATION WILLIENIFY WITH THiS" -A.. Scott,THE NEW Y7RK TIMES "THISIS AN ANTHEM TO THOSE YOUNG WOMEN WHO WOULDN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. -Thelma Adams, S WEEKLY "STEWART AND FANNING HAVE NEVER BEEN STRONGER" -Michael Phillips, CHICAGO TRIBUNE "'THE RUNAWAYS' GETS EVERYTHING RIGHT -Mick LaSalleSAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE pitch a great game, Bobby's going to pitch a great game, and then whoev- er throws Sunday is going to throw a great game. As hitters, we know that we can't give up opportunities to get runs, so we'll all be up there, (with) tight focus, and reallyplaying for each other." Butthe Boilermakers don'thave a deep rotation. The bullpen has just one pitcher with an ERA below four, and seven with ERA's above seven. In the team's most recent loss to Minnesota, the bullpen blew a 5-2 lead and Purdue ended up losing 9-7. Michigan's hitters will be looking to take advantage. They'll receive a boost with LaMarre's return from a broken thumb. The Jackson native started inleftfield againstCentral and went 1-for-3 with an RBI single in his first batting action since February. While he says he still isn't 100 per- cent, his presence should still be a boost to the Wolverines' lineup. And after LaMarre's return, the team appeared to dodge a bullet concerning senior catcher Chris Berset. The co-captain - who leads Michigan with a.389 average and is tied for the team lead with ten dou- bles - exited the game Wednesday after fouling a ball off his leg, but appears to be fine and will likely still start against the Boilermakers. His and the rest of the Wolver- ines' production will be needed against Purdue's strong starters if the team is to achieve its goal and complete its first Big Ten sweep. Rich Rodriguez's spread offense may be predicated on speed, but as any coach will tell you, football games are won and lost in the trenches. An overlooked transition with Rodriguez's arrival is the effect on the offensive linemen within the offense. Instead of blocking for a power run game and pro-style offense, the Wolverines had to adjust to a quicker offense based. on spreading defenses out and effectively using team speed - a far cry from the three yards and a cloud of dust days of the past. Entering the third year under Rodriguez, Michigan's offensive line is now getting comfortable within the system's philosophy. "We're hoping and expecting them to be improved, because it's year three," Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee said. "We've got some returning guys who have been through a lot of game plays, a lot of game plays, a lot of practice times. And the more you do something, the more com- fortable and better you get with it. But we're very pleased with those guys. "And I think (they're) playing the best that I've seen this spring, since we've been here. It's fun to see all of those guys feel confident about it." In the middle of the offensive line's success is redshirt junior center David Molk. Last season, the Wolverines learned the hard way just how important Molk is to stability dream,t say abo offensiv Mich someth "I ti pla3 th ti entering With shirt ju Perry sophom gained' Andn Tim Mc all grad redshir in their Taylo Schofiel bookend for thet Lewan, pounds, Schofiel pounds, spring. "We when t team,"n be fun ing in o they'rei ine. He broke his foot in to learn, but they're competitive. an's third game against "Those guys are bigger than Michigan last season and they look, because strength and d to action just five weeks conditioning coach Mike (Bar- lut just four plays into wis) does a good job of putting the first game back against weight on them. And they're pow- ate, he tore his right ACL. erful right now. The good thing is with the injury, Rodri- they have another summerto keep ad to shuffle around play- improving." m one position to another. Rodriguez said last month that versatility is a coach's the duo, along with injured red- there is still something to shirt freshman Quinton Washing- ut consistency within an ton had made significant strides 'e line. in the spring, especially in the igan coaches hope that's weight room. ing the team has gained "I think we're a strong team," Rodriguez said. "We need to get bigger.... We needed to be a bigger ye football team." There is still time this spring ying the best for the big guys up front to bulk up to compete against the physical at I've seen defensive lines and linebackers around the Big Ten. Last year, the his spring." Wolverines gave up 27 sacks and an average of more than six and a half yards lost per sack. And it might be the miscues g the 2010 season. that don't show up on the stat Molk out last year, red- sheet proving how strong the line nior Mark Huyge, senior is. With several experienced play- Dorrestein and redshirt ers returning, a certain comfort ore Patrick Omameh level may come with lining up valuable experience. next to each other and knowing now with David Moosman, what exactly to do. cAvoy and Mark Ortmann Including Molk, Michigan has uating, a pair of capable five offensive linemen who will t freshmen look to step up have been in Ann Arbor for at absence. least three full years this fall. And )r Lewan and Michael that includes two-plus years of Id are the two towering studying up and working within ds that are making names Rodriguez's offense. nselves in spring practice. The depth and understanding * listed at 6-foot-8 and 283 may be the best since Rodriguez is playing left tackle and has taken over, and Molk may be id, listed at 6-foot-7 281 the glue for the whole operation. is playing right tackle this "We think David could be one of the best centers in the Big Ten," saw the talent last year Rodriguez said. "(He) was play- hey were on the scout ing as such until he got hurt last Magee said. "It's going to year. And he'll be back. David is to watch them compet- a tremendous football player and 'ur offense. For freshmen, he'll be the leader of our guys up immature, they've got alot front." 0 ARIEL BOND/Daily Sophomore centerfielder Bree Evans went 3-for-4 with five RBIl in the second game of Michigan's doubleheader against Indiana. The Wolverines won the game 14-1. Blue sweeps Hoosiers in doubleheader, By CASANDRA PAGNI Daily Sports Writer To the No. 2 Michigan soft- ball team, a doubleheader means a chance to play 14 innings of 'Michi- gan Soft- INDIANA 2 ball.' MICHIGAN 8 But Michigan INDIANA 1 (5-0 Big MICHIGAN 14 Ten, 28-5 overall) needed just 12 innings on Thursday, beating Indiana 8-2 in game one before run-ruling them 14-1 after five innings in game two. "Playing a doubleheader, you know what you were messing up in the first game," sophomore cen- terfielder Bree Evans said after the game. "You're really driven to do better in that'second game. If you have a doubleheader, your energy is up and you're more focused right after, so it helps you succeed. You know what the pitchers look like and what they were throwing, so you didn't lose anything by tak- ing a break." The Wolverines - who have won seven straight games - had the Hoosiers' number on Thurs- day. In both games, Michigan scored two runs in the top of the first inning, sparking the offense for the rest of the game. Game one featured three multi- run home runs by seniors Roya St. Clair and Maggie Viefhaus and junior Dorian Shaw. In game two, the Wolverines scored 14 runs on 13 hits, most runs manufactured. Regardless of how the team crossed the plate, Michigan man- aged to hit the ball well against Indiana and translate hits into runs. "Scoring first sets the tone in the top of the inning when we're not the home team," St. Clair said, "to get some runs across the board for our pitchers to give them some run support so they go out there and know that the offense is help- ing." Taking the mound with the lead in both games, the pitching duo of junior Jordan Taylor and senior Nikki Nemitz kept the Hoosiers from mounting come- backs. Even freshman pitcher Stephanie Speierman saw one inning of action in the second game as Michigan had a comfort- able 13-run lead. Controlling the tempo from the get-go, the Wolverines combined for 24 hits over both games in a sustained offensive attack. "We have a number of kids who are capable, when they get a good cut at the ball that are capable of hitting it over the fence," Michi- gan coach Carol Hutchins said. "We are very capable of hitting it out. We had a few occasions where we got really good looks at the ball. "In the second game we were a little scrappier but we still found a lot of ways to score and we hit the ball well. I like that we can hit for average and hit for power, to me it's a great combination." The leadoff hitter, Evans, found pop in her bat in the second game against Indiana, going 3-for-4 from the plate with five RBI. At the top of the order, Evans needed to find ways to get on base for the rest of the lineup to drive her in. In the second game on Thursday, the two, three, and four hitters followed Evans' lead, each tally- ing at least one RBL "We're a good hitting team," Hutchins said. "We do a lot of things every time we play. Some- times we score early, sometimes we score late, but the most impor- tant aspect is that we score." The offense lifted Michigan to success on Thursday and the team looks to keep the bats hot as it travels to Minnesota this week- end. With just 12 hours at home before heading to St. Paul, the Wolverines don't have long to pre- pare for the weekend series. "Right now we're going to have to be in game mode," Hutchins said. "We talked a lot about not being complacent, and playing hard and playing Michigan soft- ball. I'm certain there are going to be games that are closer. This team has been through that, they're tested. "They've played a lot of great teams already. Our goal is to not let games be close. This team is pretty talented and pretty senior led, and I think that's how this team works and that they should be able to respond when there are challenges in front of them."