8 - Friday, March 22, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com S Behind the plate, Michigan's rock By ERIN LENNON Daily Sports Writer In a game of pure physics, the blink ofaneye or amisread curve could be the difference between a win and loss for the Michigan softball team. Just ask sopho- more catcher Lauren Sweet. Behind the plate, Sweet's responsibilities go beyond catch- ing a ball and throwing it back to the pitcher. Catchers must be able to keep the ball in front of them at all times, even in the case of a wild pitch. Sweet has been a brick wall for the Wolver- ines, committing just five errors in her role as starting catcher - just three all last season. She completed her freshman season with a Big Ten Freshman of the Week award and a .988 fielding percentage. Inside the batter's box, she finished her freshman campaign with a .277 batting average. And while she may have to scream a little louder through the face mask, Sweet has the responsibility of calling out the count and calming her pitcher down when the opponents reach base. "I'll go out there (to the circle) and remind (the pitcher), 'Hey, it's just you and me. Just think about it in the bullpen as if it were just you and me,' " Sweet said. When sophomore pitchers Sara Driesenga and Haley Wag- ner hurl a softball upwards of 70 miles per hour towards home plate, Sweet's glove has been there to absorb the blow. In the trio's freshman season, Sweet started 56 games - 50 as catcher for Wagner or Driesenga. As one of Michigan coach Carol Hutchins's smallest and most exciting recruiting class, Sweet, Wagner and Driesenga carried the Wolverines to a Big Ten Championship and an appearance in the NCAA region- al final. "They're very different pitch- ers," Sweet said. "I've gotten a lot more used to them this year because I've been playing with them for a year now." With Wagner's early-season injury, Sweet has had an oppor- tunity to catch Driesenga almost exclusively. Driesenga - recent- ly named NFCA National Player of the Week - has excelled this season, pitching her first career no-hitter and boasting a 1.48 ERA. "We both have great con- fidence in each other and we complement each other so well," Driesenga said. The two California natives began their pitcher-catcher rela- tionship in high school. Four years later, their comfort level with one another is apparent on the field. Moving forward into the Big Ten season, the challenge for Sweet and her pitchers will be to keep hitters on their heals. "It allows the team day after day to adjust to the other, so it makes for a tough series," Hutchins said. Added Sweet: "It takes a lot of work when the hitters know what the pitchers throw. It takes a lot more effort from both the pitcher and the catcher, and even the coaches in calling the pitch- es." The Wolverines will face their first Big Ten challenge in their home opener against Purdue. For Sweet, a second challenge of the weekend may be the run- ning game. Purdue junior out- fielder Lindsay Rains - who leads the Boilermakers in slug- ging percentage - has stolen 25 of 27 bases this season, while fifth-year senior infielder Molly Garst leads the team in steals with 28. Thus far, Sweet has caught five runners in stealing. FILE PHOTO/Daily Sophomore pitcher Sara Driesenga threw two complete games and recorded a win in relief last weekend, along with multiple RBI at the plate. rdw are for riesenga Sop e N SopI enga s threeN progra Pitcher Nation accolac of Mic season strong also c side of Dric end ag throwi homore pitcher allowing just five hits. She helped offensively,too,going2-for-3 with arns Big Ten, adouble and an RBI. She followed this up with a relief appearance, FCA honors in holding No. 2 Arizona scoreless for the final 2.1 innings to help same week the Wolverines come back from a two-run deficit. Driesenga ended By NATE SELL the weekend against No. 14 Ari- Daily Sports Writer zona pitching a six-inning com- -- plete game without giving up an homore pitcher Sara Dries- earned run to go with two RBI. pent her weekend getting Though these performances wins against three ranked are impressive, they come as lit- tms, resulting in Big Ten tle surprise. Driesenga has been r of the Week and NFCA posing problems for opposing al Player of the Week teams in nearly every appear- des. She's been a key part ance this season. In the circle, higan's success early this she has already thrown a no- - consistently delivering hitter against Hofstra on Feb. 23, outings in the circle while and she struck out a career-high ontributing on the other 15 batters in a win over Georgia tthe plate. Tech on March 1. On the offensive senga started the week- end, she had five RBI, a home run tainst No. 18 Washington and a double against Maryland on rng a complete game and Feb. 16. She even added a grand slam to her resum6 the next day against FAU. Driesenga has the ability to affect the game on both sides of the plate - holding teams to few or no hits while driving in run- ners herself. This makes for a dynamic player who is a night- mare to face. It's why she's the first Michigan player to be named NFCA National Player of the Week since former pitcher Jordan Taylor in 2011 - and Big Ten play hasn't even started. Driesenga has even more confidence when pitching, with sophomore pitcher Haylie Wag- ner returning to the lineup after recovering from an injury. "We both have great con- fidence in each other, and we complement each other so well." Driesenga said. "We know that if something would go wrong, the other is going to come in and get it done." Since having Wagner back, Dri- esenga has pitched without being the only pitcher that the team is relying on. This has helped take pressure off of both Driesenga and Wagner - two pitchers who are both worthy of being the ace for the Wolverines. This has cre- ated what Michigan coach Carol Hutchins calls a "deuce" at the pitching position, where there's no clear best pitcher. In addition to having a "deuce" in the circle, the team is also focusing on playing what it calls "one-pitch softball." The Wolver- ines will emphasize taking every series and every game of the sea- son one play at a time. Michigan will start Big Ten play with its home opener against Purdue this weekend, with Dries- enga looking to add to her Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and NFCA National Player of the Week awards. Positional Preview By SIMON KAUFMAN Daily Sports Writer The Michigan softball team's fate in the Big Ten rests in one left hand and one right hand - those belonging to sophomore pitchers Haylie Wagner and Sara Driesenga, who share duties in the circle this year. Here's a look at who will be behind them on the diamond: Pitchers Left-handed pitcher Haylie Wagner had a monster freshman year, posting a 32-7 record - a Michigan record for victories by a freshman. The six-foot south- paw was unable to startthe 2013 season due to an injury but has made a smooth transition since returning March 6. Wagner has posted a 1.52 ERA, while holding oppo- nents to a.205 average. Right-handed pitcher Sara Driesenga did most of the pitching during Wagner's absence this season. Dries- enga, a member of the All-Big Ten first team her fresh- man year, has 124 strikeouts this season - averaging just under one per inning. Offensively, she has hit in the clean-up spot in every game she has appeared in and is second on the team with 25 RBI. ./ continue to be used in such a role. Doyle, Sappingfield and Crum- mey are all perfect in the field this season. Doyle and Sappingfield hit first and second in the lineup, respectively, and both are tied with 26 runs scored - a team best. In the outfield, junior Lyndsay Doyle will cover center field while freshman Sierra Lawrence plays left and junior Nicole Sappingfield patrols right. Senior captain Jac- lyn Crummey has made some spot starts in right field and will likely Freshman shortstop Sierra Romero has been spectacular since taking over the position this season. She leads the team in hits (33), RBI (26) and slugging percentage (.731) while batting third in the lineup. Senior Amy Knapp moves to third base this year after playing shortstop a season ago. Knapp has made a solid transition to the hot corner, owning a .955 field- ing percentage in 28 games this season. Knapp has hit primarily out of the last spot in the order - helping turn the lineup over with a .380 average and .444 on-base percentage this year. Lawrence has contributed from the bottom half of the lineup, hitting .315 on the season. The freshman has also showed off her speed on the base path - stealing six bases without being thrown out. An All-American her sophomore year, senior Ashley Lane worked hard in the off-season to improve her field- ing, admitting that she has always been more comfortable in the batter's box than the field. She has batted mostly out of the seven-hole but will occasion- ally hit higher up. Her .568 slugging per- centage is second best on the team. Junior Caitlin Blanchard appeared in just 21 games last year after suffering an injury early in the season. The first baseman is batting .316 with 14 RBI this year. At the beginning of the season, first base was a position that was up for grabs, with Michi- gan coach Carol Hutchins trying out differ- ent options, but Blanchard has solidified the position as hers for the time being. 6 a 0 0 Completing the battery is sophomore Lauren Sweet. Sweet caught Wagner in high school on a travel team and has adjusted well to being behind the dish for Dri- esenga, too. At the plate, Sweet has struggled though, starting the season 3-for-42 after batting .277 with six home runs last year.