The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, March 30, 2012 - 7

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycomFriday, March 30, 2012 - 7

Michigan opens Big Ten season

By ISABELLA ACHENBACH
Daily Sports Writer
Here comes the big one. After
seven weeks of being on and off the
road playing a total of 25 games,
the Michigan baseball team will
finally begin the Big Ten season
this weekend at
Minnesota. Michigan at
Record-wise,
the two teams Minnesota
match up fairly Matchup:
evenly. The Michigan 12-13;
Golden Gophers Minn. 13-13
and the Wol- When: Sat-
verines boast urday 1 P.M.,
similar results 3 P.M., Sun-
heading into Big day 1 P.M.
Ten play - Min- Where: H.H.H.
nesota is 13-13, Metrodome
while Michigan TV/Radio:
sits at 12-13. MGoBlue.com
"We know
Minnesota has
really good pitchers," said junior
outfielder Patrick Biondi. "We
know they're going to be close
games, so we just have to compete
a lot better than we did (at Eastern
Michigan)."
Wednesday's game against
Eastern Michigan ended in a dis-
appointing 12-2 loss. Biondi and
freshman infielder Dylan Delaney
were the only players to score
runs, and the Wolverines fin-
ished with only three walks and 11
strikeouts. It was not an encourag-
ing game leading into Big Ten play.
Pitching is perhaps the largest
area that Michigan coach Rich
Maloney is focusing on in practice.
The top-three starting pitchers -
senior right-hander Brandon Sin-
nery, redshirt junior left-hander
Bobby Brosnahan and junior
right-hander Ben Ballantine - did
not play in Wednesday's game so
that they could rest up for the start

Blue heads down to
Indiana for three

Junior pitcher Ben Ballentine and Michigan are prepared for a "dog fight" this weekend to open the Big Ten slate.

of the conference season.
"Three good pitchers that we
got going, Sinnery, Brosnahan,
and Ballantine, are going to have a
dog fight because they've got some
outstanding pitching at Minneso-
ta," Maloney said. "They're going
to have to pitch really well in Big
Ten play for us to be successful,
and that's really the bottom line."
Freshman right-hander James
Bourque, sophomore right-hander
Alex Lakatos, redshirt sophomore
left-hander Logan McAnallen and
redshirt freshman right-hander
Jay Perry split time on the mound
against the Eagles.
"When you're getting guys who
are inexperienced pitching out
there, you don't know what you're
going to get," Maloney said.
Maloney was pleased with
Perry's relief performances in
Wednesday's game and Tuesday's
game against Oakland.

"Two games in a row, he's come
in and done a nice job, therefore
he will get more opportunities,"
Maloney said. "We're waiting for
some other guys to step up."
Biondi is the player to keep
an eye out for right now. He's
the leadoff hitter and has scored
more runs than any other Wol-
verine this season. In the last four
games, he had more hits than any
other Wolverine. He also has the
third-highest batting average,
.323, behind sophomore outfielder
Michael O'Neill and freshman
outfielder Will Drake.
According to Maloney, Drake
has been "consistent" and O'Neill
."needs to get hot again." O'Neill
was named to the Big Ten Play-
ers to Watch list at the start of the
season and was also honored as
the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week
on Feb. 27 and then claimed the
honor outright on March 5.

Minnesota's TJ Oakes is one of
the starting pitchers that could
cause problems for Michigan. His
ERA is the team's lowest at 1.56,
he's pitched a total of 40.1 innings,
and he is 4-1 in his six starts. Of
the Golden Gopher pitchers, he
leads with 27 strikeouts.
Ballantine is statistically the
best starting pitcher for the Wol-
verines this season. He's pitched
38.2 innings and has struck out
29 batters. But his ERA, which is
the second best for the Wolverines
after Brosnahan, is 2.56, a full run
worse than Oakes'.
It's goingto come down to more
than just great pitching from
Michigan to come out on top this
weekend and throughout the rest
of the Big Ten season.
The Wolverines are going to
need to make timely hits, play
their best defense and steal some
bases.

By COLLEEN THOMAS
Daily Sports Writer
After completing a successful
five-game homestand, the Mich-
igan softball team will travel to
Bloomington for three games
against Indianathis weekend.
The Wolver-
ines downed M
Penn State Michigan
last weekend at Indiana
with a huge
offensive per- Michigan 22-9;
formance, Indiana 16-15
recording 29
runsoff36hits. When: Friday
7:35 P.M.,
They also took Saturday 3:05
down Bowl- P.M., Sunday
ing Green on 2:05 P.M.
Wednesday in Where: IU
a 12-run effort, Softball Field
punctuated by TV/Radio:
sophomore left M oluecom
fielder Nicole
Sappingfield's
walk-off grand slam to end the
game in six innings. And the bats
don't seem to be cooling off any-
time soon.
"I think we are playing with
confidence, swinging with con-
fidence," said Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins. "Hopefully we'll
carry that with us on to Bloom-
ington."
No. 20 Michigan (3-0 Big Ten,
22-9 overall) takes on the Hoo-
siers (1-2, 16-15), who dropped
two of three games in their
conference-opening series with
Ohio State last weekend.
Indiana boasts a roster full
of offensive talent, but unlike
Michigan, lacks a solid pitching
staff. Both of the Hoosiers' start-
ers have an ERA over 4.00, and
just like Penn State's Lisa Aka-
mine, they have struggledto con-
trol their releases.
Sophomore lefty Meagan
Murphy and freshman righty
Lora Olsen have recorded over
50 strikeouts each, but both also
have high walk totals - a good
sign for the Wolverines, who
have recently thrived with run-
ners on base.
In its last series, Michigan tal-
lied 26 RBIs and drew 20 walks,
two stats that Hutchins was
proud of after a mediocre offen-
sive showing in nonconference
play. As the offense is produc-
ing to its potential, the Wolver-

ine pitching has been consistent
as well. Freshman lefty Haylie
Wagner has been the go-to start-
er for Michigan, pitching33more
innings and recording 29 more
strikeouts than fellow freshman
pitcher Sara Driesenga.
Though Driesenga has seen
limited action in the circle, she's
produced on offense. The Hud-
sonville, Mich. native has been
the designated player - similar
to the designated hitter in base-
ball - in nine games this season
and has put up a .391 average
while batting in six runs. After
the series against Penn State,
Hutchins emphasized the impor-
tance of the bottom of the lineup
producing offense, and Dries-
enga has been a key part of that.
The rest of the bottom of
the lineup - freshman catcher
Lauren Sweet, junior second
baseman Amy Knapp and Sap-
pingfield - has also stepped up.
Sweet earned Big Ten Freshman
of the Week honors this week
after going 5-for-6 and drawing
four walks against the Nittany
Lions last week. Along with the
consistent hitters, such as senior
first baseman Amanda Chidester
and senior center fielder Bree
Evans, the Wolverines boast a
strong lineup heading to Bloom-
ington. But Indiana has offen-
sive threats, too. Sophomore left
fielder Jenna Abraham's .354
batting average and 22 runsleads
the team, while redshirt senior
Cassie Gogreve leads the team
in RBIs with 19 and boasts a .319
average as the clean-up hitter.
Four other Hoosiers boast
.300-plus averages and the
senior leadership on the team
has helped their offense over the
course of the season.
Wagner and Driesenga, who
have quickly gained confidence
and poise inthe circle, have done
a good job against experienced
batters and will again be faced
with a challenginglineup.
But for Hutchins, it's not the
pitching that will be the key to a
sweep of Indiana.
"Our team evolves, and I told
them a few weeks ago that it's
about what we become and we're
becoming," she said. "But we
have a lot of games in front of
us, and we still have to stay one-
game and one-pitch focused."

Brown forgoes senior season at Michigan

By MATT SLOVIN
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan junior forward Chris
Brown has decided to forgo his
senior year and sign with' the
Phoenix Coyotes' organization,
a release from the hockey club
announced Thursday. The deal is
a three-year, entry-level contract.
Financial terms were not made
available.
"We are disappointed with
Chris' decision to leave Michigan
and not graduate with his class,"
said Michigan coach Red Beren-
son in a statement.
Brown was expected to be one
of the team's leaders if he were to
return. The Flower Mound, Tex.
native posted 29 points in 2011-12,
a career high.
He was a member of the
CCHA's all-rookie team dur-
ing his freshman season, and his
through-the-legs goal against
Miami (Ohio) earned the fan vote
for CCHA Play of the Year.
In an exclusive interview
with the Daily, assistant general
manager of the Phoenix Coyotes
Brad Treliving said that he feels
Brown's playing style more eas-
ily fits in the professional leagues,
rather than college hockey.
For the majority of the season,
which ended. last weekend in an
upset, overtime loss to Cornell

through the Michigan athletic
department.
"This was a very difficult deci-
sion for me to make, but at the
same time I am excited about this
opportunity."
Brown first came to Ann Arbor
in 2007 after being chosen to join
the United States' National Team
Developmental Program.
He was the first-ever Michigan
hockey recruit to hail from down
in Texas.
During the team's end-of-sea-
son media availability session on
Monday, junior defenseman Lee
Moffie spoke critically of any of
his classmates that would con-
sider leaving the program.
Sophomore defenseman Mac
Bennett, echoed that sentiment,
while simultaneously renewing
his vows to Berenson and Michi-
gan.
"I'm coming back for sure,"
Bennett said. "I'm not ready to
leave this place yet. I love it too
much."
Brown remains in Ann Arbor,
where he is finishing up a class.
Treliving was unsure when
Brown will report to Portland,
Maine, where the Coyotes' AHL
affiliate is located,but did say he'd
have a better idea on Friday.
Michigan is scheduled to vote
on next season's captains on
Thursday.

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Junior forward Chris Brown signed a contract with the Phoenix Coyotes.

in the NCAA Midwest Regional,
Brown skated on the top Wolver-
ine line with David Wohlberg,
now a member of the Albany
Devils of the American Hockey
League, and freshman Alex Gup-
till, a Dallas Stars' draftee. The
Coyotes selected Brown with

their second-round pick in the
2009 draft.
"I want to thank the Michigan
coaching staff, my teammates
and all the fans who have made
my three years in Ann Arbor an
experience that I will cherish for-
ever," Brown said in a statement

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Dinner will be provided! L Ji]
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