wi 4B - Monday, April 15, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Michigan outscores Spartans by 29 runs in weekend romp In five innings, a 21-run explosion By SIMON KAUFMAN Daily Sports Writer Exactly one month after the Michigan softball team's last loss, it looked as though its dominance would finally come to an end in East Lansing on Sunday. Down 7-4 against Michi- gan State in the seventh inning, junior catcher Caitlin Blanchard doubled to center field to spark a rally that would end in a Michi- gan sweep and the team's 17th straight victory. Senior second baseman Ashley Lane followed Blanchard with a home run to put the Wolver- ines within one run. Freshman left field- er Sierra MSU 2 Lawrence MICHIGAN 21 stepped up next and MICHIGAN 11 drove a 2-2 MSU 2 pitch over - the left- MICHIGAN a field wall. MSU 7 The score was tied at seven, and it was time for extra innings. Michigan (12-0 Big Ten, 35-7 overall) wasted no time in the extra frame. After junior right fielder Nicole Sappingfield reached on a fielder's choice and freshman shortstop Sierra Rome- ro was intentionally walked, Blanchard came through again with an RBI single to knock in the would-be winning run. In the bottom of the eighth inning, sophomore right-hander Sara Driesenga set the Spartans down in order to clinch the victory. "The important thing about this team is that, no matter how many runs we're up or down, we just keep fighting and we just keep persevering," Blanchard said. "Our offense is what really does that for us, and when we can score a lot of runsthat really helps the defense and the pitching." The game was the second half of a doubleheader played on Sun- day, after agame originally sched- uled for Saturday was postponed due to weather. The split series Six home ru power Wolver to first 20-run since 200( By ALEJANDRO ZU Daily Sports Write Two flags flutter bel outfield wall of Alumr One is the stars and strip United States. Below it is maize and blue block 'M. flags billowed in a stron on Friday afternoon, a , helped the Michigan softi turn a tight game agains gan State into a blowout. For an inning and a Wolverines' 21-2 win ove gan State epitomized th in-state rivalry. The seco Spartans (7-4 Big Ten, 21 all) jumped all over so pitcher Haylie Wagner, work- ing a walk «T before lining a 1 double down the left-field line and scoring a run on a wild ns sail over the wall, over a tent and into a grove of pine trees that ines divides Alumni Field from Ray * Fisher Stadium. With the grand game slam, the rout was on. The awe of Romero's blast didn't last long. After a quick inning by Wagner, sophomore NIGA catcher Lauren Sweet launched a ?r shot that almost hit the pole hold- ing those two flags. Then, the hind the wind caught junior centerfielder ni Field. Lyndsay Doyle's sharp line drive es of the just enough, and it clanged into a smaller the fence inches above the home- The two run line. g breeze Freshman pinch hitter Kelsey ind that Susalla followed with a rocket ball team over the right field bleachers, st Michi- something that Michigan coach Carol Hutchins had never seen in half, the her 29 years with the program. r Michi- Not to be outdone, junior Taylor e classic Hasselbach belted a moonshot nd-place that cleared the outfield wall of -17 over- both Alumni Field and Ray Fisher phomore Stadium, momentarily interrupt- ing a baseball game. "We were t was a great definitely firing feigon all cylinders feelin ." on offense," Hutchins said. "The wind was Junior catcher Caitlin Blanchard's seventh-inning double sparked a comeback victory Sunday over MSU. between the interstate rivals started in Ann Arbor on Friday night before moving to East Lan- sing for the final two games. Michigan State (7-4, 21-17) came into the weekend in sec- ond place in the Big Ten, and for a moment on Friday afternoon, it looked as though the 12th-ranked Wolverines might have found their first competition since entering Big Ten play. Michigan gave up a run to the Spartans in the first inning but failed to score in its own half of the first - a rar- ity for a team that has dominated in early innings this year. Then after evening the score at one, Romero stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom ofthe second and did what she has done all year - crush the ball. On a 2-0 pitch, Romero sent the next pitch over the left-field wall to put Michigan up 5-1. The team never looked back, putting on an offensive clinic en route to a 21-2 run-rule victory. Senior third baseman Amy Knapp kept it going with an RBI single - her second hit of the inning. The Wolverine offense continued into the third inning in which it scored 13 runs. Soph- omore Lauren Sweet, junior Lyndsay Doyle, freshman Kelsey Susalla and junior Taylor Hassel- bach all chipped in with long balls in the inning - the most home runs Michigan has had this sea- son in a single frame. The Wolver- ines added two more runs in the fourth before the mercy rule was put into effect. In the circle, sophomore left- hander Haylie Wagner regained composure after struggling in the first inning. She pitched four innings while striking out five Spartans. "I just wanted us to settle in and play our game, and we did obviously," said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. "We were defi- nitely on all cylinders on offense, and you don't expect that to be the norm, but it's certainly excit- ing. ... The one thing I like about this team, nothing fazes them. This team just does their part." On Sunday, during the first game of the doubleheader, Michigan's offense started qui- etly before producing a big fifth inning. The Wolverines got on the board first when Sappingfield scored on an error in the first inning, but Michigan State got the run back quickly off starting pitcher Driesenga. Pitching dominated through the middle innings, with each side only allowing one additional run until Michigan came to bat in the fifth. Michigan scored two runs by stringing together a series of hits before finally load- ing the bases for Romero. The Spartans had already intention- ally walked Romero three times in the game, but now had no place to put her - and she made them pay. The freshman sent a shot to left field - her second grand slam of the series - to put Michigan up 8-2. The Wolverines tagged on three more in the sixth inning to give them the 11-2 victory. "We have so much depth in this lineup," Lane said. "Anyone can do it at any given time. It's exciting. This team is very spe- cial." pitch. The con- ference-leading and 12th-ranked Wolverines (12-0, 35-7) threat- ened in the bottom half of the frame, putting runners on second and third with only one out, but they failedto bring a runner home. But when freshman phenom Sierra Romero - who boasts a.416 batting average and 15 home runs on the season - stepped up to the plate, the winds showed signs of change. The two flags in center- field started fluttering in the brisk breeze. From the crack of the bat, the crowd knew it was gone and that the shortstop would trot around all four bases and into a mob of teammates at home plate. Rome- ro smashed a bomb to deep left center, with a little help from the wind. Michigan State's left fielder Alyssa McBride had no chance. She just turned to watch the ball blowing out and you have to adjust your game. The key is that we're swinging well and seeing the ball. You can't always control everything else." The Wolverines scored 13 runs in the third inning, and they still weren't done. Michigan finished the contest by setting the mark for runs tal- lied against the Spartans, scoring 20 runs for the first time since 2000. The last of the six home runs meant the most to Hutchins, as junior Katie Luetkens rounded the bases with a fist pump and a smile after lining a two-run pinch- hit drive over the fence - just her second career hit. "It was a great feeling, a lot of emotion," Luetkens said. "Lots of people want that moment, and I got the opportunity to have it. That's something I can cherish forever." 0 With sweep of Penn State, Blue tied for first place in the Big Ten By MAX COHEN Daily Sports Writer After the final out was recorded in its weekend series against Penn State, the Michigan baseball team waited for Michigan coach Erik Bakich in left field to address it as he does after every game. Normal- ly, Bakich is met by a team quietly awaiting his words. This PENN STATE 1 time, the MICHIGAN 5 Wolverines PENN STATE 2 joyously MICHIGAN 3 engulfed him, jump- PENN STATE 1 ing up and MICHIGAN 8 down, exult- ing in victory. After going five years with- out a Big Ten series sweep before sweeping Michigan State last weekend, Michigan (7-2 Big Ten, 20-14 overall) repeated the feat, as it handled Penn State in three con- secutive games, 5-1, 3-2 and 8-1. With the sweep, the team has won nine games in a row. "Even though we hadn't (swept a series) before, once we got a taste of it we knew that we could come out and do it again," said senior centerfielder Patrick Biondi. Against the Nittany Lions (0-9, 7-24), the Wolverine bullpen played a pivotal role, entering all three games when the outcome was in doubt. The relief pitchers combined to pitch14 innings in the series while allowing no runs and six hits. Sophomore right-hander Matt Ogden led the way, pitching 7.1 innings in his two appearances and being credited with the win each time. "With this hot streak we're on right now, we're doing our job, and we trust our coach with pitches," Ogden said. "Everyone is trying to get theirs a little bit and help this team out." Ogden was forced into early action in Sunday's game after redshirt junior left-hander Logan layed three early runs into McAnallen labored through the victory. Though freshman left first inning and got pulled before hander Evan Hill wasn't sharl recording an out in the second. - he allowed five walks, five hit Ogden came in with the game and two earned runs in 5.1 inning tied at one with runners on first - the bullpen ensured that Michi and second and no outs. Not only gan would hold the early lead did he prevent damage in the Right-handers senior Kyle Clark inning by inducing a sacrifice sophomore James Bourque an' bunt, a strikeout and a groundout, Cronenworth allowed only on but he pitched five more scoreless runner to reach base in the fina innings afterwards. 3.2 innings of the game. His performance allowed the "A goodbullpen is a good recip Michigan offense to slowly build for any team to get a lot of win a lead as the Wolverines scored late in the game," Bakich said two runs in the third and fourth "Having our bullpen be able to pu innings and added three more zeros up and keep the game righ insurance runs in the seventh. where it was was critical for ou Freshman third baseman Jacob success." Cronenworth led Michigan with Though it's still early in con three RBI on Sunday as the 8-1vic- ference play, the success of th tory completed the sweep. bullpen assures that there's no Ogden earned his other victory one other place to find Wolverine of the weekend on Friday. After than in left field: at the top of th sophomore left-hander Trent Big Ten standings. Szkutnik exited the game after a dominant 6.2 innings in which he garnered 12 strikeouts - the most for a Michigan pitcher in a single game since Chris Fetter struck out 13 in 2009 - Ogden entered in the seventh inning with runners on first and second and recorded the final out of the inning. Like many , teams on winning streaks, some luck went Michigan's way, as Penn State catcher Alex Farkes tripped as he rounded third base and was thrown out at home. Down by one run, the Wolver- ine offense woke up in the eighth after three straight walks, and LJI4AU L junior left fielder Michael O'Neill's AUTHORIZED DEALER infield single with the bases load- ed. Penn Statetshortstop Taylor *expres 5/6 Skerpon's late throw sailed wide daily l3 of first base, allowing an extra run to score. The Wolverines would - add three more insurance runs in JACKSON ROAD** the inning, and the score would 3870 Jackson Rd stand pat, as Cronenworth pitched the ninth inning in Michigan's 5-1 7347479060 victory. 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