2B -- A pril 19, 2010

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Memories to
take beyond The
Michigan Daily

Wolverines score in every
inning, mercy-rule Wildcats

0

There's a dusty wooden
jewelry box on a nonde-
script table in the base-
ment of my home in Muskegon.
I haven't opened it in more than
four years, but hardly a day goes
by that I don't think about its
contents.
Without
a particular -
small nick-
nack in there,
I don't know
if I'd be here
right now, .
writing this
column and
graduating ANDY
from the best REID
damn uni-
versity in the
country.
When I was in middle school,
my grandpa - the man who
introduced me, at a very young
age, to Michigan football, and
was consequently my hero - had
a stroke. The articulate, well-
read and always interesting man
was never quite the same after
that, but he'd
have moments
where his eyes
would light up "The D
and grandpa was
back. always
On one such
occasion - one of me ... eV
the last I had with
him before he of
took a turn for the
worse - we were
lounging around,
watching TV, when he sprang up
and hurried down to his bedroom
to grab something.
"I want you to have this," he
said, holding out his hand to
reveal his class ring from the Uni-
versity of Michigan.
When I got into the school, my
grandma cried. It almost felt like
fate - to follow in his footsteps.
But that's where I diverged from
the path he set for me.
Mom, dad, grandmas, grandpa:
Thanks for helping me out so
much the last few years; there's
no way I could ever repay you for
what you've given me. ButI have a
confession to make:
In the last four years, I've
worked upwards of 60 to 80 hours
a week putting out a newspaper
for college students. As you can
probably imagine, that doesn't
leave the time one would like
to be able to allot for studying.
I've stayed up until four in the
morning sometimes, desperately
playing Tetris with InDesign and
newsprint to put outa paper that
inevitably ended up soaking wet
on the floor of the UGLi bath-
room.
I've driven the equivalent of
the earth's circumference in
University-owned mini vans,
rocketing through Pennsylvania
in the middle of the night to make
it back in time to host the weekly
story meetings.
I've screamed at some of my
best friends I've made in col-
lege, and broken friendships over

seemingly petty happenstances
(well, for those who never worked
at the paper). And I can't tell you
how many times I've questioned
whether all this bullshit was real-
ly worth the terrible things I had
to put my body and mind through,
just so bored students had a Sudo-
ku puzzle in Biology 118.
I'm not exaggerating, and I
thought it was probably time to let
you in on this little secret of mine.
ButI promise, I wouldn't have
made such a sacrifice if I didn't
look back at my work at the Daily
as one of the best things I have
ever done - and probably will
ever do.
The friends I've made, I'll have
forever. The people I love, I'll
never forget.
And the people who have been
affected by the words I've writ-
ten for the Daily (both positively,
like the teacher who called to
tell me she used my story to give
her inner-city students hope,
and negatively, like the Maize
Ragers who deemed me the Bum
of the Game, twice, and focused
their unwieldy
heckling talents
at me), are all the
lally will proof I need that
sports writing is
e with my passion, and I
hope to do it for a
rery step long time.n
It's h ard not
y lfe, to be corny in
a column like
this. So I'll just
come out and say
it: Courtney, Mike, Scott (and
Brody), Nicole, Ruth, Clif, Gare-
bear, Peej, Felds, Jason, Meisner,
Jake, Chanel and everyone else
I've worked with - I fucking love
you. You probably don't all feel
the same, especially now that
your life doesn't involve "Chair
Monkey" anymore, butI fucking
love you.
Pyzik, Alex and all the other
eager sports youngsters - don't
you dare quit, even though I
promise there will be times you'll
want to.
And the reason I say that will
become painfully clear when
you're all standing in a circle with
your fellow seniors after the last
nightside, taking straight pulls of
Johnny Walker and crying and
reminiscing.
I still can't retrace all the steps
that led from my grandpa's ring
to The Michigan Daily managing
sports editor. It doesn't seem to
flow, but I know it does.
All I know is this: just short
of tattooing an English-style 'D'
on my buttcheek, the Daily will
always be with me, and it will
affect every step of my life, both
professionally and personally.
And I don't care if you enjoy the
Daily or you wipe your ass with
it. Thanks for picking it up day-in
and day-out.
- Reid already misses taking naps
on the photo couch and booking
a room at The Ritz. He can be
reached at andyreid@umich.edu

By CASANDRA PAGNI
Daily Sports Writer
The No. 2 Michigan softball
team welcomed conference rival
Northwestern this past weekend,
in what fans anticipated to be
two com-
petitive, NORTHWESTERN 7
down-to- MICHIGAN 11
the-wire
contests. NORTHWESTERN 0
Then, MICHIGAN 15
the Wol-
verines came up to bat.
Michigan (9-0 Big Ten, 33-5
overall) racked up 26 hits and as
many runs over two games to send
the Wildcats on their way in a
series sweep.
Saturday's 11-7 win over
unranked Northwestern marked
the first time the Wolverines gave
up more than two runs in confer-
ence play this season. Starting the
first night game at Alumni Field
this season, junior Jordan Taylor
pitched a rollercoaster of a game
for Michigan.
Taylor was called for an illegal
pitch on the first pitch of the ball-
game - the umpires said her back
foot came off the mound - and
struggled most of the evening, giv-
ing up three earned runs and walk-
ing six. But Taylor was aggressive
when she needed to be and man-
aged to pitch herself out of jams -
striking out14 Wildcat batters.
"I thought (Taylor) hung in
there and her offense picked her
up tonight," Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins said. "That's what their
job is. In all, I thought ourteam did
a very nice job of hanging on and
playing for the win. We kept com-
ing back.
"Even when we gave up runs,
we turned around and came back.
That's what good teams do. You
don't always have your 'A' game. I

didn't think Jordan had hers, but
she persevered through the game."
While Taylor didn't have her
best stuff on the mound Saturday,
the rest of the Wolverines stepped
up defensivelyto pick their pitcher.
Senior catcher Roya St. Clair threw
out three Wildcat base runners to
stifle Northwestern (4-5, 18-18) on
the base paths.
"The scouting report on (North-
western) is they like to steal," St.
Clair said. "We were expecting
that. We just got good tags by our
shortstop and second baseman,
and there were some good throws
there. It was nice to help (Taylor)
out and get some outs for the team."
All nine Wolverine starters got
at least one hit on Saturday, though
the Michigan bats were quieted
in the middle of the game. Junior
Dorian Shaw went 2-for-3 in game
one, with a rocket home run to
center field in the bottom of the
sixth inning while senior captain
Maggie Viefhaus continued to
swing a hot bat in conference play,
going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in the
night game.
"You can go through our order,"
Hutchins said. "We've always got
someone to look forward to. (Vief-
haus) is a great leader out there
from both sides of the ball. (Shaw)
continues to impress me with her
one-pitch focus."
The offensive parade- car-
ried over to Sunday, as Michigan
mercy-ruled the Wildcats 15-0.
Three home runs - a grand slam
from senior starting pitcher Nikki
Nemitz, a two-run shot by senior
Angela Findlay and a solo blast by
Viefhaus - helped the Wolverines
score in every inning en route to
the win.
Nemitz's shot to right center
field was her second grand slam of
the season and third of her career.
The slam was part of a five-run

Senior Maggie Viefhaus hit a solo home run against Northwestern on Sunday in
Michigan's 15-0 win.

first inning that helped the Wol-
verines get on the board early and
they never turned back.
"I was feeling good so I was
excited to hit," Nemitz said. "I
actually got down in the count and
I was just like 'just base hit, I just
need a base hit.' I actually swung
at a really bad pitch but it felt good
off the bat and I just watched it as
it kept going. I got excited and got
lucky that I actually hit a decent
part of it."
The senior also carried her offen-
sive successes overto the mound, as
she struck out eight Wildcat batters
and walked just one.
"(Nemitz is) such a great play-
er," Viefhaus said. "All around,
she's a great pitcher, she's a great
defender, she can make any play. At

the same time she's a great hitter.
It (was) fun to see that grand slam
go over the fence and just watch
her perform as she can."
Michigan hosts Penn State in
a doubleheader on Wednesday to
close out its three-series homes-
tand. Atop the Big Ten and defend-
ing a current 27-game home win
streak, the Wolverines are playing
their best ball of the season.
"It's tough for the pitcher to
face our lineup," Hutchins said.
"They can't pitch around us. I'm
really pleased with my kids bring-
ing their game and making them
throw it in the middle of the plate.
We've done a nice job of laying
off bad pitches and that is a great
quality. It makes you very tough to
pitch to."

Ritter compares team to '05 champions

By LUKE PASCH has actually become the norm for
Daily Sports Writer Michigan lately, rather than the
exception. The team has done it
It seems somewhat smug - eight times in its last 11 games.
cocky even - to ask for more Such an unprecedented level of
excitement. dominance has the team drawing
But could anyone blame Michi- comparisons to the 2005 squad
gan softball fans if they did? that brought home the program's
Since Big Ten play started three first NCAA championship trophy.
weeks ago, there's been a routine: And Ritter, whose single-season
a conference foe visits Ann Arbor, program record 38 wins in 2005
it gets swept in a pair of blowouts undoubtedly played an integral
at the hands of the second-ranked role in the team's championship
Wolverines (9-0 Big Ten, 33-5 run, sees a 2010 lineup that could
overall) and the team boards the return the Wolverines to glory.
bus home, heads hanging. She's noticed the productivity
Even the unusually competitive at the bottom three batters of the
games don't really show the story order, who have struck nearly as
on the scoreboard. much fear in pitchers this season
In Saturday's matchup against as the top six. Through 38 games,
a visiting Northwestern, Big Ten they're batting a combined .307
broadcaster and former All-Amer- with 50 runs driven in.
ican Wolverine pitcher Jennie Rit- "That was the story of our 2005
ter lauded Michigan for staying season," Ritter said, "when (Steph-
competitive and winning in an anie) Bercaw and (Rebekah) Mil-
unusually "scrappy" fashion. Tian showed up at the bottom of the
But the Wildcats still lost by lineup. And the lineup this year is
four runs - hardly a close game. incredible. I mean, the seventh hit-
Maybe scrappy means actu- ter is batting over .300.
ally playing a full seven innings, "To me, it's so exciting to see
as opposed to mercy-ruling the that there is a possibility to have
opponent in five. The mercy rule them go back and try for that

World Series."
And the lineup is only one part
of Michigan's depth.
While it's tough to compare
this year's pitching duo - junior
Jordan Taylor and senior Nikki
Nemitz - to the hurler that set all-
time Michigan records in nearly
every major pitching category,
they're still performing among the
best of the NCAA.
Through the first 51 innings of
conference play, they've given up
just 11 runs and tallied 74 strike-
outs.
The mere fact that there are two
of them could be advantageous in
the long-term. Ritter took on the
bulk of the work in the 2005 run,
getting the start in 15 of the 16
postseason contests. This season,
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
distributes the work more evenly,
as both Taylor and Nemitz have
tossed more than 100 innings
through the first 37 regular season
games.
"What's great about it is, num-
ber one, it promotes a sense of
competition between the two, so
you have the ability to want to step
it up a little bit more," Ritter said.

"But at the same time, you know
that if you're having an off day,
there's someone there to pick you
up. And all pitchers have off days."
But there's still only one fac-
tor that could decide whether this
team can go the distance - moti-
vation.
When a team as balanced as
Michigan is in a weak conference
like the Big Ten, it can uninten-
tionally lull itself to sleep as it
sweeps inferior teams in a lengthy
season.
Just like the fans, the players
wish they could speed ahead to
face the field in Oklahoma City.
"They have every single chance
to win it," Ritter said. "But some-
body's got to push them. Some-
body's got to give them a tough
game. Try their patience. Test
them out. Give them a chance to
understand what it takes to get to
that World Series."
Time will tell if there is any
team that can challenge the 2010
squad before the postseason starts
on May 21.
Until then, the team, the fans
and Ritter will just have to wait
patiently.

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Advertising Design
Department is hiring
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Applicants should have a knack for
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Begin this summer and work
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E-mail mahakiaj@umich.edu
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