The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, March 21, 2014 -- 7 Michigan coach Red Berenson's team's NCAA Tournament chances may have ended Thursday with the team's 2-1 double-overtime loss to Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament PSU eliminates'M' from BIG Tourney Penn State nets 20T winner, beats Wolverines for third time in 2014 By DAILY WRITER who has this position ST. PAUL, Minn. - One inch. Andrew Copp's shot spun like a coin on the goal line, teasing to fall across and give the Michigan hockey team a crucial overtime winner against Penn State (3-16- 1-0 Big Ten, 8-25-2 overall) in the first round of the Big Ten Tourna- ment. One more inch and the Wol- verines would have almost cer- tainly earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. But the puck was kicked out, and No. 3 seed Michigan was elim- inated by No. 6 seed Penn State, 2-1, Thursday afternoon, putting an NCAA Tournament berth in serious jeopardy. Forward Zach Saar scored on a wrist shot at 12:47 of the second overtime to end nearly 100 min- utes of hockey and advance the Nittany Lions to the second round of the conference tournament. Michigan (10-8-2-1, 18-13-4) entered the Big Ten Tournament No. 11 in the PairWise Rankings. The Wolverines dropped to 16th in the PairWise with the loss and could miss out entirely on the 16-team tournament if lower teams earn automatic berths by winning their respective confer- ence tournaments. Michigan coach Red Berenson said he doesn't think his team will be called on Selection Sunday. "We'll wait and see on Sunday where everything ends up," he said. "When you lose a game like this, you can'texpect to move up." Thursday's game remained scoreless until late in the second period, when a last-minute offen- sive possession quickly turned into a disaster for the Wolverines. Freshman defenseman Michael Downing pinched, leaving Penn State's Taylor Holstrom alone at center ice. Following a turnover, the Nittany Lion forward received an outlet pass and slotted a wrist shot over freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort's stick side with just 22.8 seconds remaining until intermission. At 11:06 of the third period, the Wolverines finally responded. Sophomore forward Boo Nieves won the puck behind Penn State's net and slid a pass to junior for- ward Phil Di Giuseppe, who one- timed it past goaltender Matthew Skoff. "When they got the firstgoal, it took us quite a while to answer," Berenson said. "To get that goal back was huge. I thought we got the momentum off that goal." The game then remained knot- ted at one until Saar's winner in the second overtime. "It was good faceoff play on their part," Nagelvoort said. "I went down to cover, and the next thing I knew, it was in the net." Penn State's offensive formula is relatively simple: Forecheck relentlessly, throw pucks at the net and force opponents into had turnovers. They succeeded in all of those, resulting in a wide- open game that featured 118 shots between the two teams. Nagelvoort was up to the chal- lenge for most of the afternoon, finishing with 63 saves, but the magic ran out on Holstrom's rush and Saar's wrister. "He kept the game close when we were at our worst and gave us a chance," Berenson said. Michigan has played to the level of its competition .1tl year. It opened the regular season with a commanding 3-1 win over No. 3 Boston College and ended it with a rout of No. i Minnesota. But sandwiched between those results came a 5-4 record against Michi- gan State and Penn State, the Big Ten's worst teams. That ineptitude reared its head again Thursday. The first period ended without much offensive firepower from Michigan, which failed to take control despite a pair of power plays and a crowd par- tial in its favor. The Wolverines ranmped up the intensity in the sec- ond frame, but they couldn't find twine and conceded late. When the exhaustion of two mnertines had isnkin, the Nittany Lions final n' elivered the dag- get. s'initg M i-nigain home early from the conference tournament and potentially ending the Wol- ve-ines' season. Baseball opens Big Ten Michigan starts Alumni play vs. conference power Field slate vs. Indiana By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer Though its record may not show it, the Michigan baseball team has improved this season. But this weekend, the upward- trending Wolverines (8-12-1) will face a major test in Blooming- Michigan ton, where they at Indiana will open Big Ten play against Matchup: projected con- Michigan 8-12- ference cham- 1; indiana 10-8 pion Indiana When: Friday (10-8). 4:05 P.M. The Hoosiers Where: Bart are captained Kaufman Field by an experi- TV/Radio: enced pitching MGoBlue.com staff that has posted a 2.68 earned-run average, which leads the Big Ten by nearly three quar- ters of a run. Senior Joey DeNato is 3-1 on the year and is the ace of the rotation. His 1.95 ERA is good for seventh in the Big Ten, and opponents are mustering just a .241 batting average against him through five starts. Much like the Michigan pitchers, he goes after hitters with a power-pitching attitude, and his strikeout num- bers reflect that. The second noteworthy starter is sophomore Christian Morris, who is pumping through his out- ings with a2.75 ERA. "He's going to mix a fastball, breaking ball and change-up," said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. "He just knows how to pitch. He's not out there throwing - he's pitching. He has a plan, and he's had a lot of quality starts." Indiana will send DeNato to the mound Friday, followed by Morris and junior Kyle Hart on Saturday and Sunday, respective- ly. The Wolverines aren't looking to do anything differently against one of the conference's best arms in DeNato. Theybelieve offensive success is going to come from being disciplined and aggressive at the plate, and that formula will work against any pitcher in the country. Compared to his usual statline, DeNato struggled in his most recent outing against Long Beach State, and Michigan will be look- ing to capitalize on a rare chink in his armor. The Wolverines will counter with an ace of their own Fri- day with fifth-year senior right- hander Ben Ballantine. The team will look to Ballantine and fel- low fifth-year senior left-hander Logan McAnallen to come out and utilize their veteran presence to set the tone for the series. Another high point of the Hoosiers team is the shutdown bullpen duo of junior Luke Harri- son and sophomore Scott Effross. The pair has given up just six earned runs through 35 innings - impressive considering that all of their appearances have come in relief. Though the Indiana pitching staff stands out with its low ERA, Michigan is confident rolling into the weekend with hot bats. It seems that someone new steps up inthe Wolverines' lineup every weekend - last weekend, that was sophomore shortstop Travis Maezes. He carried a .500 batting average on the weekend, popping two home runs and driv- ing in four. The Hoosiers carry four hit- ters who bat above .300. Indiana is led by juniors Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis, who are hit- ting .352 and .320, respectively. Schwarber also packs some power, racking up three home runs and five doubles. One area in which the Hoo- siers struggle is stolen bases. Junior Casey Rodriguez has six steals on the season, but no other player has more than three. In comparison, Michigan has four players with at least three steals. Indiana is a particularly tough opponent with which to start Big Ten play. Coming off a sea- son that saw it reach the College World Series, it wasn't surprising when the preseason poll project- ed Indiana to win the Big Ten in 2014. "They have the bullseye on their back in this conference," Bakich said. "They're not going to sneak up on people anymore. They have a lot of their key play- ers back from last year, and they're a team that everyone knows a lot about, because every- one in the region followed their great success story." Indiana has been in the top 25 for most of the season. It fell off the list after dropping two of three to Long Beach State last weekend. The team rebounded this week, picking up a midweek win against-No. 14 Louisville. But Michigan will do its best to ensure the Hoosiers don't turn the lone triumph into a streak. By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Writer Carol Hutchins' favorite thing to do is throw batting practice with her team. That is, as long as they're hittingthe ball. With the Big Ten season start- ing Friday, the Wolverines' bats are hitting and the Michigan softball coach is smiling wide. The Wolverines (19-6) will see Indiana in their first conference series- of the season, and while the Hoosiers' strength is their pitching staff, Michigan is now hitting its stride at the plate. Senior infielder Taylor Has- selbach was named Big Ten player of the week after hitting .667 with six RBI last weekend in Louisville, Ky. Though most of her career has been defined by timely pinch-hitting and leader- ship, Hasselbach made the most of her chance in the lineup and will look for more opportunities this weekend. "Once 1 got into the lineup, the main thing was just trusting my preparation," she said. "I just got into the box and did what I knew how to do." Hasselbach's offensive erup- tion came at just the right time. The Wolverines struggled to hit the ball the previous Indiana at weekend but, Mich behind the igan senior infield- Matchup: er, Michigan Indiana 17-7; posted 27 runs Michigan 19-6 in three games When: Satur- in Louisville. day 2:30 P.M. Friday's Where: doubleheader Alumni Field at Alumni Field TV/Radio: will give the MGoBlue.con Wolverines a chance to showcase their talent for a home crAvd for the first time this sea- son after Tuesday's non-confer ence contest with Bowling Green was postponedi ne week. 'Our klci- antastic job transitioning from indoors to outdoors," I Hutchins said. "But to ine, the biggest distraction ie have is be ing at home now." In every pr 'g' mthis sea son, Mic!rgan has been on the road and in a hotel on game day. In those games, the Wolverines were monitored by Hiutchins and the staff where they helped the team stay focused. Now tha tihe players are on Sece SFTRALL. Poe R Gain skills and grad school opportunities through Peace Corps. See our global openings at peacecorpS.g ov/openings Campus Office: 734.647.2182 or peace.corps@umich.edu I I