8A - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Hoke and Mattison have D' improving this spring There were a lot of ques- tions to be answered that Monday afternoon, and the Michigan defense's unofficial spokesman was clearly baffled by the truth himself. Ryan Van Bergen stood in the hallway at the Junge Champions Center, hav- ing already withstood more than five minutes TIM of inquiry. ROHAN And he had to keep talking about it - Michigan's 48-28 loss against Wisconsin. What was it like during that second half when the Badgers called one pass play during the final 30 minutes of the game? How could Wisconsin - already missing John Clay - rush for 357 yards? What happened? As a student of the game, Van Bergen had already watched the tape - he was just disgusted with what he saw. Van Bergen and his team- mates knew what Wisconsin was going to do. The Wolverines had practiced against the play the entire week. That Saturday, Wisconsin kept running it. The same damn play. They bullied the Michigan defense until it said uncle. Watch the film for yourself. The guard on the backside of the play pulls to the strong side and the entire line pushes downfield - it has many names, but Brady Hoke and Al Borges call it the "power" play. Ironically, that's going to be an important part of the Michi- gan offense this season. As for the defense, this spring has Van Bergen and the rest of. the unit ready to make some big changes - starting with the lit- tle things. If you piece together the evidence from this spring, the defense will be significantly better this fall, thanks to the two coaches at the top. And you can guarantee, with Hoke and Greg Mattison around, that and no team will bully the defense around. "We will hit as much as any team hits," Mattison said. "And that'll be our trademark before we're done." No way anyone's going to push Michigan around in 2011 - not when Michigan has its big- gest and best defensive players on the defensive line. Not with Hoke challenging the unit every single day, expecting more of them than anyone else. The former defensive line coach holds Mike Martin, Van Bergen, Will Campbell and Craig Roh to higher standards. And they're the first line of defense. The first one's who get a chance to get after the football. Michigan is going to be the bully this fall. "The defense will be slightly more aggressive," Van Bergen said. "We'll put more people in the box and are more inclined to bring the pressure on third-and- long than we might've been in the past. "There's definitely a change in attitude that we're going to get after people and take our shots when we get a chance." No more sitting back and getting manhandled. Hoke and Mattison want their guys to throw the first punch, to be the aggressors. That's why tech- nique and fundamentals are being shoved down the defense's throat this spring: Blow delivery - "Everything in defense starts with delivering a blow," Mattison says - escap- ing blocks, shedding blocks and getting to the football, which was sorely missed last season. And if the 2010 Wolverines did shed a block, they probably missed the tackle. "We've got to teach stance," Mattison said. "We've got to teach alignment. We've got to teach punch. We've got to teach Fifth-year senior Ryan Van Bergen (right) says the difference between last year and this year for the Michigan defense will b tackling. "And that's how great defens- es become great again. You do that so you can run to the foot- ball." No one's cutting corners, either. Mattison lives by the motto that, "It's going to be per- fect, or it's not good enough." On Tuesday, Van Bergen men- tioned the sense of urgency that everyone on the team feels. They need to get up to speed, and then they need to get better while the whole Big Ten builds off what it did a year ago. As evidence, look no further than the resurgence of the prod- igal son, Will Campbell. He was lost, gone to the offensive side of the ball, probably wasting a unique skill-set that talent eval- uators saw when they slapped him with that five-star recruit label. This spring, he's worked hard and Hoke says he will cer- tainly have an impact this fall. Van Bergen said Campbell has an improved work ethic and attitude this time around. He's putting in the extra time, paying attention to details and improv- ing on a daily basis. And, the best part? Campbell has been coachable - everyone's listening and improving this spring. As Hoke and Mattison are testing the defense, the coaches can hold it accountable too. No longer is Michigan handcuffed by a lack of experience. Take a quick look at the very unofficial depth chart: there are the big names like Martin, Roh, Van Bergen; Kenny Demens and Cam Gordon at linebacker; and Troy Woolfolk, J.T. Floyd and Jordan Kovacs in the secondary. And the key is the depth behind all of these veterans. Hoke wants his whole team to play with a toughness - and he said the seniors are leading by example in that way. Van Bergen's one of them. And he and the rest of the class don't have much time left. There's only one year left to turn it around. Hoke's personally seeing to it. As Rich Rodriguez would spend time with the offense, Hoke's fingerprints are leaving' marks all over this defense. He puts pressure on the defense in practice situations. During Sat- urday practices, he simulates the game-day experience and lets the players figure their problems out on their own. That would've been nice against Wisconsin last fall. Ever since Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon declared he wanted the ball boys to be 0 MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily e its new agressive attitude. defensive-minded, the fate of the Michigan football team has been redirected. It's a transfor- mation on defense that has been occurring this spring - as Mat- tison slows down his defensive install to teach the younger play- ers the fundamentals and make sure everyone understands the plays before they move on to the next set. That's a journey that has started this spring and could end this fall. At practice on Tuesday, after the defense had completed a drill, the entire unit gathered in a huddle, with one arm raised. "We're getting better every day, 'D,"' one voice exclaimed. And it sounded like he truly meant it. -Rohan can be reached attrohan@umich.edu Blue offense comes alive with season-high 13 runs Speierman pitches five strong innings, 'M' cruises past Broncos * By DANIEL WASSERMAN Daily Sports Writer After Bowling Green scored two runs in the top of the first inning, it seemed as if it was a microcosm of Michigan's sea- son. The Wolverines' momentum - stemming from a four-run come- BOWLING G N 3 back MICHIGAN 13 over Pur- due on Sunday - seemed to slip away before many fans had taken their seats in Ray Fisher Stadium, just as it has all season whenever something has gone right for Michigan. But thanks to an offense that finally woke up, the Wolver- ines made a statement with six runs across the plate before the Falcons could register a second out. Michigan (2-4 Big Ten, 9-21 overall) didn't stop after the first inning either, scoring a season-high 13 runs en route to a 13-3 rout. "It's huge," Michigan coach Rich Maloney said. "Now what you have, after a game like that, is you start feeling a little more confident and relaxed a little bit, instead of feeling so tight. It's hard when you're going through a tough funk for a long period of time, so it's nice to see them as a whole team. A lot of different guys got hits today and that's encouraging." Bowling Green (5-4 MAC, 11-17) opened the game with a walk, before Andrew Kubus- ki's single was misplayed by freshman rightfielder Michael O'Neill, which scored the lead runner and allowed Kubuski to take third. He later scored on a sacrifice fly. The Wolverines instant- ly responded with hits from seven of their first eight hitters. Freshman designated hitter Alex Lakatos and freshman left- fielder Tyler Mills each doubled in the "Ri; confid three- us toa runs it "Foi with s tional from sitting Lak by sop Kevin Crank RBI e off a seconc fe mt ai And basem looked season The was a walk,: agains O'N ciency and a; But catch before that re "Mi ing p know man t Glove. the fe that w league ing the Ove combit inning. Sophomore right-hander Ben ght now, I feel pretty Ballentine started for the Wol- ent," Lakatos said of his verines in a scheduled short out- hit game. "It was big for ing. He pitched three innings, answer - they scored two giving up two earned runs. n the first inning. Junior Kevin Vangheluwe r us to be able to answer pitched four scoreless innings to ix, it was a definite emo- garner the win. boost for our team. So "I was struggling a bit, so there, we knew we were this was good to bring up my good." confidence again, bounce back, atos and Mills were joined get a couple zeros up there (on phomore second baseman the scoreboard) and hopefully Krantz and catcher Coley carry this into the (series with with a game-high two Illinois) this weekend," Vanghe- ach. Crank's RBI's came luwe said. third-inning homer, his Michigan has now won back- d of the year. to-back games for the first time since March 20. From March 18-20 - a three-game win streak - is the only other win streak of You start the Wolverines' season. But Maloney had a positive eling a little spin on the matter, even if it re confident caused him to burst into laugh- Ore onfient ter rd relaxed." "I definitely think it's improv- ing, without question," Maloney said. "I think a lot of guys are contributing. "We're just trying to get bet- i redshirt-junior first ter. The halfway mark was three an Gerrett Stephens games ago, and we're 2 and 1 - I like he was over his mid- that's our record right now, 2 slump. and 1." hero of Sunday's game Freshman right-hander perfect 3-for-3 with a Jake Engels will start tomor- stolen base and three runs row against Toledo (7-2, 16-15). t the Falcons. The Rockets have a win streak eill continued his effi- of their own, having won 10 with two hits, two runs straight. stolen base. But finally with momentum it was the warning-track of its own finally, Michigan will the right fielder made look to build upon Tuesday's crashing into the wall offensive output on Wednesday. ally impressed his coach. "It's all about confidence," chael O'Neill keeps mak- Vangheluwe said. lays," Maloney said. "I "It's not like we're a bad team. he had that one error, but It's just that we haven't been hat dude's (got) a Gold doing it, we haven't been seeing That play he ran against good things, but today was defi- nce to make that thing, nitely a good thing. Everyone's vas special. That's a big- starting to see that we're actual- play and he's been mak- ly a good team when we all play em all year." together and we all contribute. rall, 10 Michigan players I think this time it's going to ned for 16 hits. carry into the weekend." ByMATT RUDNITSKY Daily Sports Writer With Western Michigan vis- iting Ann Arbor for a Tuesday evening non-conference show- down, the No.2 Michi- WESTERN 1 gao softball MICHIGAN 6 team wasn't exactly bursting with excite- ment. But the Wolverines (5-1 Big Ten, 36-3 overall) avoided a let- down, jumping on the Broncos from the beginning to earn an easy 6-1 victory. "Itold them before the game, 'Don't play the opponent,' because the mid-week game against non-rivals is just harder," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said Tuesday. "But just play with your Mich- igan pride and your passion, and I thought we did a pretty good job with it today because I've seen our energy be better but I've seen itbealot worse." Sophomore right-hander Stephanie Speierman (17-0) got the win pitching five strong innings, giving up just four hits and a walk. The sole run she allowed was unearned. "I came out, just working on getting better," Speierman said. "That's the goal the whole season, to be the best at the end of the season ... There were moments where I was a little bit wild, and I was able to recognize that I'm not that focused on this one pitch, and I think I was able to do a good job getting back to that one-pitch focus." Michigan's best hitting per- formance came from the bat of freshman left fielder Nicole Sappingfield, who went 3-for-4 while scoring a run and tallying two RBI. "I just think that everything just kind of started to work," Sappingfield said. "I practiced my hitting a lot yesterday, trying to get the ball on the ground, and it just worked today." In the first inning, junior cen- S PAKsteOMM/oaily Pitcher Stephanie Speierman allowed one unearned run against the Broncos. ter fielder and leadoff hitter Bree Evans got things started for the Wolverines. She scored after junior third baseman Amanda Chidester reached on a fielder's choice. Michigan added two more runs in the second inning - one coming on an RBI-single from Sappingfield - and three more in the fourth. Chidester finished 0-for-2, but she recorded two RBI. The Wol- verines had 10 hits in the game, leaving eight runners on base. "It's really nice to have the run support," Speierman said. "But even in the games where we aren't scoring runs, I trust that they're'gonna get it done on offense. So, if we don't have any runs, it's just a matter of time and I just have to keep the team in the game." Still, the Broncos (4-4 MAC, 10-24) didn't produce much offense. They left five runners on base, but Speierman was perfect through three innings and, out- side of a rocky three-hit fourth inning, Western Michigan's bats were stifled. After five innings, junior left- hander Hilary Payne relieved Speierman. And in just her sec- a ond appearance of the season, 1 Payne was impressive. She struck out three in just two innings and allowed just one Bronco to reach base. "I thought Hilary (Payne) did a great job," Hutchins said. "I was really pleased." W Hutchins was able to go deep into the bench in the non-con- ference tilt, playing six reserves. W Despite the inexperience on the field, the Wolverines never let Western Michigan make a come- back. "I told them after the game that some of those kids don't get to play a lot, so go in there and get after it," Hutchins said. "It's nice to give them a chance to play, and it's not like it was a giveaway game, it was a game."