4B - March 31, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4B-Mrh31 04Te ihgnDal.,ihiadiyo Wolverines take two of three By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Writer The baseball curved further and further to the right. Iowa second baseman Jake Mangler - who made spectacular plays all weekend - looked primed to save the game IOWA 3 for the MICHIGAN 2 Hawkeyes. Yet the IOWA 2 ball kept MICHIGAN 4 drifting to the right, IOWA 5 eventually MICHIGAN 6 landing just out of reach in shallow right field to a splash of turf pellets. As freshman outfielder Jackson Lamb barreled around to score, the Michigan baseball team burst out of the dugout. A weekend of shining moments and dark spots had come to an end, and the Wolverines charged toward first base to celebrate the brightest moment of the weekend. Junior outfielder Jackson Glines had just delivered a walk-off hit to lift Michigan to a 6-5 victory over Iowa, giving the Wolverines (3-3 Big Ten, 11-15-1 overall) a much-needed series win and their fourth win in five games. "I went up there knowing we needed a big hit," Glines said. "I'm the three-hitter, and that's what I'm supposed to do." For much of Sunday, it looked like the hero would be left- hander Trent Szkutnik. With a fastball that teetered into the 90s and a crippling curveball, the junior stifled the Big Ten's second-best offense, limitingthe Hawkeyes (3-3, 15-9) to just four hits and striking out six in seven innings of work. When Szkutnik jogged into the dugout after his seventh inning, the crowd stood and cheered. After building a 5-0 lead, it appeared just a few formalities stood in the way of the Wolverines winning their BASEBALL Slowing down Iowa key in series victory By BEN FIDELMAN "Martin has a strong arm, Daily Sports Writer blocks and receives well," Bakich said. "You don't see The scouting report was them with long, slow leg times clear for the Michigan baseball to the plate. Cole gets rid of the team's series against Iowa: The ball quickly and accurately, and Hawkeyes can hit and run as when we need to disrupt the well as anyone in the conference. rhythm of the baserunners, we If you can stop them, you have a do." shot at winning. Saturday's starter,sophomore The Hawkeyes came into left hander Evan Hill, is among the weekend the conference with the leaders in second-best pickoffs. team batting "A lot of guys don't That proved average in effective, as the Big Ten at run on lefties." none of the .306, leading seven runners the conference who reached with 36 stolen base during bases. Hill's 5.2 innings came around But the Wolverines put a stop to score. to that. "We have looks and specific Michigan answered the call, long-holds to try and mix up holding Iowa to a .215 batting when we're going to pitch and average and just two stolen when we're going to pick," Hill bases as it took two of three said. games in the weekend series. Two of the three Wolverine In a schedule that has starting pitchers are left- seen Michigan play 20 games handers - a luxury many teams decided by two runs or fewer, can't afford. That, along with the outcome is often decided their defensive traits, combined by whoever wins the battle on to mute Iowa's offense. the base paths. It's inevitable "I think it's a huge help that runners will reach base, (having two lefties)," Martin but winning teams stop the said. "We've had three or four bleeding quickly and minimize guys that have left first early and the damage of those runners - we just picked over and got them two things that the Wolverines out without the other team even have done well all year. having to touch the ball, which This weekend followed suit, is great. A lot of guys don't run with all three games coming on lefties as it is, so having their down to one or two runs. presence on the mound keeps "We're comfortable in the people on first base." pressure game," said Michigan And on the other side of coach Erik Bakich. "For us, it's the ball, Michigan tore up the no big deal - we're used to it." basepaths itself. The Wolverines Led by the defense of senior took over the conference lead catcher Cole Martin and strong in stolen bases, bringing their pick-off moves from Michigan season total to 39. pitchers, the Wolverines have The result on both ends been able to stall multiple of the base paths was one of teams that are known for their Michigan's best weekends of aggression with runners. the season. LUNA ANNA ARCY/Daily Senior catcher Cole Martin helped limit Iowa's potent baserunners to only one steal throuthout the weekend series. first home series of the season. But after a long weekend, the bullpen showed its fatigue in the eighth. In a half-inning that lasted nearly an hour, four Michigan pitchers combined to surrender three hits, five walks and a five-run lead. After a lifeless bottom half of the inning on offense, the Wolverines were deflated. With 10 of their losses coming by two runs or fewer, they were in the midst of an all- too-familiar narrative. But freshman right-hander Brett Adcock bucked the trend. After getting drilled by a line drive, Adcock scurried around before barely throwing out the runner to end the top of the ninth as the potential go-ahead run crossed the plate. "(Adcock) had a huge toughness play for us," Bakich said. "That would've been a tough way to lose, but he got the clutch play." The bottom of the ninth began quietly when Lamb drew the game's 14th walk. Substitution had forced Iowa to use its third- string catcher. Lamb capitalized on the lack of depth for the Hawkeyes, putting himself on second with a steal. A walk and a ground out later, the scene was set for Glines. With two on, two outs, the crowd on its feet and the game on the line, Glines was ready to shine. Glines pulled the 1-1 pitch to right field for the win. The hit wasn't blowing past anyone, but on Sunday, it curved just right. What happened Friday: Despite the moment in the sun, the weekend didn't start bright for Michigan. Friday, a damp day in the upper 30s, the Wolverines' bats were equally cold, mustering just six hits to nine strikeouts, wasting solid pitching and defense in a 3-2 loss. What happened Saturday: A solid outing by sophomore left hander Evan Hill kept them in the game. After four quick at-bats, the Wolverines had tied the game and loaded the bases with nobody out. Then two quick outs made it look like the offensive outburst was nothing more than an anomaly, but defensive substitute and freshman infielder Trey Miller had other plans. "I don't get up there often, soI don't wantto leta single strike go by," Miller said. "I sawone Iliked, and tried to put my hardestswing into it. I've been working hard all week, so I just had to trust my training and trust myself." Miller's trust paid off, and his first career hit drove in two, giving Michigan a 4-2 lead that moments later tied the series. Wolverines best UC Davis in OT Softball sweeps Nittany Lions By MITCH BECKMAN Daily Sports Writer March Madness was alive and well in Ann Arbor this weekend, but the drama of the month wasn't relegated UC DAVIS 12 to the MICHIGAN 13 hardwood. The Michigan women's lacrosse team provided plenty of excitement on the Big House turf Sunday, winning over UC Davis 13-12 in a riveting four-overtime marathon game, which lasted almost two hours and 45 minutes. The result was the program's first ever win. When freshman midfielder Anna Schueler notched the game-winning goal, the team jubijantly streamed onto the field, mobbing her in celebration. This was the second time Sunday the Wolverines had celebrated a winninggoal. The first time was after midfielder Madeline Dion's bounceshothittheback ofthenet as time expired, but the referees conferred and ruled that Dion's goal went in after the buzzer, sending the dejected Michigan squad back to the bench. Fourteen more minutes of lacrosse and three goals later, the result was the same. Freshman attackman Tess Korten scored her fifth ofthe daywith21seconds left in the second overtime. Once again, it seemed like Michigan (1-8) would be winning its first- ever game, but the Aggies (6-4) controlled the draw and worked the ball downfield to score with seven seconds remaining. Both teams had chances to end it in the third OT, which, unlike the first two, is a sudden-victory format. Freshman goaltender Allison Silber made her biggest save of the game off a UC Davis free position to continue the game. On the offensive end, the Wolverines failed to convert on three free position attempts, but the misses became irrelevant as soon as Schueler's shot crossed the line. "I think everyone really wanted to get the game over with," Schueler said. Michigan, which lost its first eight games of the year, recognized the significance of the win, but understood the win is by no means an endpoint. "This is history today," said coach Jennifer Ulehla. "I'm so happy for this program and the young women who have worked so hard, and obviously worked really hard today. This is a milestone for us, and they're getting to the point where they understand what it takes and how much they have to fight." The five goals apiece from Schueler and Korten were complemented by midfielder Kim Coughlin, who added two, and freshman attacker Allie Breitfeller, who opened the scoring early in the first half. Schueler's offensive outburst marked her third straight game with three or more goals. Back- to-back hat tricks last week garnered her the American Lacrosse Conference Rookie of the Week award, and she showed no signs of slowing down Sunday. "We've been going over our offense trying to get the chemistry we haven't really had," Schueler said. "The past couple games, we've really gotten ina flow." At the end of the day, Ulehla said the win is a testament to the resilience of the team as well as the talent. After Dion's shot was overturned, Michigan was forced to recoup from the ecstasy of believing it had won its first game and go back out on the field as if nothing had happened. Though the Wolverines have a quick turnaround, playing archrival Ohio State on Wednesday, they will certainly spend as much time as they can reveling in their first win. It's not everyday you make history in Michigan sports. By JAKE LOURIM Daily Sports Writer Michigan played 16 innings of near-perfect softball this weekend, followed by one that was just OK. PENN STATE 0 But it MICHIGAN 6 turned PENN STATE 0 out that MICHIGAN 22 one poor inning PENN STATE 4 couldn't MICHIGAN 12 put a dent in the domination the Wolverines (6-0 Big Ten, 25-6 overall) asserted all weekend. Three strong pitching performances and an offense that cracked out five five-run innings earned Michigan three blowout wins - 6-0, 22-0 and 12-4, the last two in five innings - this weekend at Penn State (0-6, 6-21). The key to the series against the Nittany Lions wasn't the power punch that knocked six balls out of the park last weekend against Indiana. Rather, it was a consistent lineup that piled up base runners, led by senior outfielders Lyndsay Doyle and Nicole Sappingfield at the top. "That's their job - that's the role they play for us," said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. "Their job is to set the table. ... I thought they did an outstanding job." The pair combined to hit 15-for-23 with 12 runs, three times Penn State's output for the weekend. That set the table for sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero, giving the Nittany Lions no place to put Michigan's elite slugger. "Any time either (Sappingfield) or I get on base, I think that justsparks our offense totally," Doyle said. "It's such a game changer when the leadoff batter gets on, and it just pumps up the team." Romero was walked only once and ended the weekend 6-for- 11. Twenty of the 27 Wolverines who started in the batting lineup finished with a hit, including junior right-hander Sara JAMES COLLER/Daily Senior Lyndsay Doyle sparked Michigan's bats by getting on base early, helping the bigger sluggers drive home runs. Driesenga, who tied Penn State's weekend score by herself with a grand slam in the second game. Still, just six of the 39 hits Michigan cranked out went for extra bases. The Wolverines instead fed off of 12 walks and five errors to get around the bases. Hutchins got nearly everyone into action, with seldom- used senior outfielders Katie Luetkens and Brandi Virgil each hitting their first home runs of the season. Every time Michigan put the ball in play, it seemed to amount to something. "Not every batter needs to go up there swinging for the fences - we just need to make good contact," Doyle said. "Our goal is to get one base at a time and just keep stringing those along." Penn State, on the other hand, struggled to muster anything. Junior left-hander Haylie Wagner held the Nittany Lions without a base runner in the first game until a seventh- inning, one-out walk. She lost the no-hitter to a single by the next batter. "I didn't realize until after it was broken up and somebody said something," Wagner said. But Wagner had another chance at a no-hitter the next day, heading into the fifth inning with a 12-0 lead. With weather threatening, Hutchins said Wagner may have been trying to end the game quickly rather than have it postponed until Sunday. Still, after two strikeouts, a walk and a hit batter, Wagner was one out away from finishing off a five-inning no-hitter and leaving Penn State scoreless on the weekend. The Nittany Lions, however, showed signs of life, stringing together three two-out hits and four runs. "I don't make too much of it," Hutchins said. "She pitched very well all weekend and had one bad inning." Junior right-hander Sara Driesenga then relieved Wagner and got the final out, securing the five-inning victory. With her performance, Wagner moved to 17-0 in 19 appearances with a 1.00 earned-run average. Driesenga also pitched the second game, the most lopsided of all of them. Michigan tallied at least four runs in all five innings and garnered 16 hits and seven walks. "What can often happen is when it's a tight game and if we're going up and down the order and no one's hitting, people start feeling the pressure," Hutchins said. "It's a lot easier to hit with no perceived pressure." Michigan managed just six runs in the series opener, but the game never got close because Wagner was nearly perfect. "We really weren't relentless in that game," Hutchins said. "But we pitched well and held up our lead." The bats came alive later that night, and Wagner and Driesenga took care of the rest.