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 get th everyb dence, that." "Y top to Eva sive sk North' a sure over-ti fifth t locked verine It's, stop E game 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