0 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, March 30,2011 - 7A
Softball Preview 2011
Unsung heroes will contribute to No. 3 Michigan's success
By EMILY BONCHI
Daily Sports Writer
When the No. 3 Michigan
softball team is mentioned,
there are typically two seniors
who come to mind: shutout
pitcher Jordan Taylor and slug-
ger Dorian Shaw.
The two captains have led the
Wolverines over their past four
years, both at the plate and on
the dirt.
But these two seniors are
not alone in leading this year's
squad. There are several unsung
heroes who have stepped up in
2011.
They range in position, age
and responsibility, but these
players all have one thing in
common - they have saved the
day more than once this season.
In May last season, the
Wolverines were matched
up against Tennessee for the
NCAA Super Regional game.
Shaw was up to bat and hit
a wicked line drive foul, right
into the Michigan dugout, mak-
ing contact with then-sopho-
more center fielder Bree Evans's
right arm.
Evans should be called the
"comeback kid."
The junior centerfielder has
had her fair share of obstacles
during her tenure at Michigan.
After being sidelined for the
winter by a collision at home
plate during an exhibition game
in Oct. 2009 against Michigan
State, Evans shocked everyone
by not only getting back to the
field by spring, but also by earn-
ing All-Big Ten, Conference first,
team honors.
She missed only one game her
entire sophomore stint - the
Tennessee game.
times this season in which
she has thrown runners out at
home, launching the ball from
center field into the glove of an
unlikely starter.
This
injury
traded
plays,
averag
"Yot
top of
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It's,
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it coun
The
s season, which has been Freshman Caitlin Blanchard
free so far, Evans has was not supposed to be a starter.
in her bad luck for big She wasn't supposed to be vying
as she holds a .398 batting for the same position as veteran
e and 17 RBI. junior Amanda Chidester.
u need that person at the And Blanchard wasn't sup-
the lineup to get on base, posed to earn the starting posi-
e inning going and give tion behind the plate for every
ody in the lineup confi- game this season.
Shaw said. "Bree does But she did.
"Caitlin Blanchard has been
the most pleasant surprise,"
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
said.
ou need that "She has really come in and
been consistent and solid and
erson at the played like an upperclassmen.
She's cool, confident and gets
of the lineup better every week."
get on The Petersburg, Mich. native
gei on vase, has played catcher her entire
life - and it shows.
The rookie has made just
three errors in the first 33
ns showed her defen- games of her collegiate career,
ills last weekend against and has successfully adjusted
western, snatching away to the pitching by Taylor and
extra-base hit with an Stephanie Speierman, whose
he-shoulder grab in the pitches have a lot of movement
o keep the game dead- around the plate.
before the eventual Wol- With an inexperienced
win. infield in front of her - Shaw
obvious that nothing can and Taylor are the only return-
Evans from playing her ing infielders - Blanchard has
or making big plays when had to stand up, physically and
its. vocally, to an advanced level.
re have been multiple "She's a freshman and she's
young and sh
things to lear
nitely come a
said.
"She's going
ly good at the e
us."
The pitcher:
the coaches w
she's learning:
rience from all
Blanchard is
new to the hi1
the collegiate
Taylor can't p
so sophomore
man has had to
a spark on the I
Speierman h
stant successc
may seem like
lives in the sh
ognized pitch
but despite Tay
on the moun
currently 14-0
every batter sI
season.
e's got a lot of paraiso during Michigan's
n, but she's defi- spring-break trip at the
long way," Shaw beginning of March.
"I think she's
to be really, real- exceeding our expec-
nd of this year for tations, extremely," Tay-
lor said. "It's a huge
s work with her, transition from
ork with her, so just pitching
and getting expe- one or two°
angles." games to
not the only one split-
gh stress level of ting
softball game. time.
itch every game, I
Stephanie Speier- think
step up to create she's been doing
hill. really well."
She still has a
*** lot to learn, but for
a team that lost
as become a con- one of its all-time
on the mound. It greatest pitch
the sophomore ers in Nemitz,
adow of her rec- Speierman is
ing counterpart, definitely not a
lor's big presence disappointing Tay
.d, Speierman is replacement.
,battling against "She has
he has faced this got tre-
men-
man is no longer
standing in the
shadow of Taylor
and Nemitz, but
is building her
own legacy in the
Michigan softball
program.
With Shaw and
lor leading the way,
these three
unsung
heroes have
stepped up
immensely so
far this sea-
son.
Whether it's
plate, on the mound
utfield grass, Shaw
don't have to worry
g an off day - these
es can help lead this
eam to what could
successful season in
hind the scenes may
's biggest strength.
She made just 12 appearances
as a freshman, as All-Americans
Taylor and Nikki Nemitz secured
the mound for most of the 2010 dous velocity
season. But Speierman has cap- and tremendous
tained the mound for almost movement and the
half this season's games, key is being able to
tossing 75 strikeouts throw pitch to pitch,"
in 82 innings. She Hutchins said after prac-
also tossed tice on Tuesday.
two nine- "Her last game out was
strikeout against Notre Dame and she was
performances great."
against North Florida and Val- With consistency, Speier-
behind theI
or in the o
and Taylorc
about havin
unsung hero
Wolverine t
be its most:
years.
Those bet
be Michigan
Big Ten Preview: Who's a
legitimate threat to 'M'?
Senior pitcherJordan Taylor may be one of the best pitchers in the country.
Blue poised for a deep playoff run
By MATT RUDNITSKY
Daily Sports Writer
The No. 4 Michigan softball
team is off to a scorching start,
including recent triumphs over
No. 6 Arizona State and No. 7 Ari-
zona. .
And as the cold-weather, Big
Ten teams are finally returning
home for spring and the start of
conference play, Michigan (2-0
Big Ten, 31-2 overall) is the only
team with more than 19 wins.
The Wolverines have won the
Big Ten title in 13 of the past 19
years - including the past three -
and having lost only eight confer-
ence games inthe pastthree years,
are heavy favorites once again.
Here's the softball beat's Big
Ten preview, giving you the low-
down for each conference team.
THE CREAM OF THE CROP
No. 4 Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines are the only
ranked team in the Big Ten and
started off the conference season
with a sweep of Northwestern last
weekend.
Led by two preseason, first-
team All-Americans in senior
pitcher Jordan Taylor and senior
first baseman Dorian Shaw, Mich-
igan is not only a threat to win the
conference, but a national title,
too.
sport that has seen just nine other
champions (and none east of Texas
A&M), that's quite an accomplish-
ment. And this team won't be sat-
isfied with anything less.
"Our expectations don't change
based on what year it is," Shaw
said before the season."We always
want to win the Big Ten Champi-
onship and go to the World Series.
"We want to play in the Nation-
al Championship game, and while
it will obviously take a little bit of
luck here and there, we have the
talent to get there."
THE LEGITIMATE THREATS
Illinois Fightinglllini
The Illini struggled early but
started off their Big Ten season by
sweepingaMichigan State.
Illinois is coming off of an
appearance in the NCAA tourna-
ment and was ranked No. 24 in the
preseason.
Player to watch: Junior first
baseman Meredith Hackett
Hackett (418 batting average,
16 home runs, 56 RBI) was a First
Team All-American lastyear.
Opponents have attempted to
pitch around herthis year (17 BB, 2
HBP), but that still hasn't stopped
her from smacking five home runs
and tallying 22 RBI.
If the rest of the Illini's lineup
can turn things around and give
her some protection, Illinois will
Penn State Nittany Lions
Boasting two pitchers with
sub-two ERAs, the Nittany Lions
are goingto be in just about every
game this year.
They've recorded impressive
wins over No. 9 Oklahoma and
Fresno State (which beat Michi-
gan), but a team that averages just
over two runs per game is going to
find it hard to stringtogether alot
of wins.
Players to watch: Junior pitcher
Lisa Akamine and redshirt senior
pitcher Jackie Hill
As long Akamine (6-5, 1.22
ERA) and Hill (9-6, 1.87 ERA) are
on the mound, Penn State will be
tough to score on.
Northwestern Wildcats
The Wildcats held leads in both
games against Michigan in their
season-opening series but were
edged 2-1 and 7-4.
Just hanging with Michigan
shows how dangerous Northwest-
ern can be tothe rest ofthe league.
Players to watch: Sophomore
shortstop Emily Allard, junior
first baseman Adrienne Monka
and sophomore pitcher Megan
Lamberth
The Wildcats have a solid
offense led by Allard (.500 avg, 23
SB) and Monka (.463 batting aver-
age, .667 on-base percentage, 7
home runs, 25 RBI).
Their pitchingstaff (2.98 team-
ERA) is highlighted by Lamberth
(7-0, 2.58 ERA).
By MATT SLOVIN
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan softball team is
a perennial powerhouse - reload-
ing constantly with no such thing
as a rebuilding year. After all, the
program hasn't had a losing sea-
son in its 33-year existence.
This year is no different. The
tools are there for a postseason
run, but before that can happen,
Michigan must overcome a treach-
erous Big Ten schedule filled with
teams foaming at the mouth to get
a shot at the Wolverines.
"Just being Michigan, there is
always a target on your back no
matter where you go," senior hurl-
er Jordan Taylor said. "There's
definitely a target during Big
Tens."
Even with a very talented ros-
ter, a lot will need to go right
for Michigan (2-0 Big Ten, 31-2
overall) to win its fourth straight
conference crown. Here's a break-
down of Michigan's star hitters
and pitchers, both of which are
needed to be outstanding in order
to contend for a national title.
THE BATS: Michigan knows
how to manufacture runs. And
though Big Ten pitchers may not
allow the Wolverines to score at
will like they did against non-con-
ference foes, Michigan has the hit-
ting to keep up every game.
It starts with senior first base-
man Dorian Shaw. Shaw reaches
base roughly 60 percent of the
time, touching them all frequent-
ly. She also leads the team with 11
home runs and is in hot pursuit
of the all-time Michigan record,
a total held by Samantha Findlay.
She has enjoyed a tremendous
career as a Wolverine, winning
a Big Ten title in each of her sea-
sons. There have also been plenti-
ful individual accolades for Shaw
- she has been a member of all-
conference teams and was an All-
American last year.
With such a bigbat in the heart
of the Michigan order, the option
of issuing Shaw a free pass cer-
tainly weighs on the mind of
opposing coaches. But after seeing
who stands in the on-deck circle,
this thought is usually erased.
Junior utility player Amanda
Chidester slugs at a rate not far
from Shaw and is also a home-run
threat. Hitting in the cleanup spot,
Chidester has provided a spark for
the Wolverines at the most oppor-
tune times. Last weekend in Evan-
ston, her grand slam triggered a
comeback win over Northwest-
ern. This clutch hitting is exactly
the type of hitting that could lead
Michigan to some late-game hero-
ics and a magical season.
THE ARMS: The Michigan
pitching staff is anchored by Tay-
lor who is, arguably, the best in
the country. But the other half of
the starting pitchingtandem plays
just as crucial a role in the Wolver-
Ines' success.
When the season ends, Tay-
lor will be passing the ace title to
sophomore Stephanie Speierman
who, like her predecessor, has
been brilliant so far this season.
And it bodes well for Michigan
that Speierman has been there
to share the load. Keeping Tay-
lor in early-season form come the
postseason has been a priority for
coach Carol Hutchins.
"We want Taylor as fresh as she
can be when it's May," Hutchins
said. "(Speierman) continues to
get better."
But in last weekend's sweep of
the Wildcats, Speierman didn't
make an appearance. Rather, Tay-
lor shouldered the weight, setting
a perfect example for Speierman
who is expected to be called upon
frequently during Big Ten games.
"I chatted with Speierman
(Tuesday)," Hutchins said. "I said,
'That's not going to be the norm.
It's not goingto be Taylor pitching
every Big Ten game."'
Both hurlers seem extremely
confident, averaging slightly more
than one run surrendered per
game. Hits have been tough to
come by against the pair, but that
doesn't mean they feel triumphant
yet.
"We haven't quite dominated
like this before, so everybody's
gunning for us but we're always
ready for it," Taylor said. "We
don't take any opponent for grant-
ed."
The Wolverines have only one be tough to beat.
National Championship, but in a
STAFF PICKS
The Daily softball beat makes
its predictions for the season
These writers guess whether
Michigan can win it all
and who may step up this
season for the Wolverines.
Emily Matt Matt
Bonchi Rudnitsky Slovin
Michigan overal record st-4 s-s4 sos
Michganig Ten record 18-2 18-2 17-3
Michigan MVP Jordan Taylor Taylor Taylor
Michigan Offensive Player of the Year AmandaChidester Dorian Shaw Shaw
Michigan Freshman of the Year Caitlin Blanchard Nicole Sappingfield Sappingfield
BigTenRegularSeasonChampion Michigan Michigan Michigan
Big Ten Regular Season Runner-Up Illinois Northwestern Illinois
Big Ten MVP Taylor Taylor Taylor
sig Ten Surprise Team Indiana Iowa Penn State
Michigan's Season Ends Here NCAA Super Regional NCAA Super Regional WCWS Semifinals