The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 20, 2002 - 9
Bound for Oklahoma City

'M' will succeed whether it's pretty or not

By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Writer
Good teams win when they are sup-
posed to.
Great teams win when things are
going against them.
For Michigan, greatness has been
seen every time it steps on the field.
It hasn't
always been pret- SOFTBALL
ty, but for the C n
past 25 games, Commentar)y
the Wolverines
have emerged from the field victori-
ous 23 times - including 16 straight
after their 4-0 win yesterday against
Ohio State. The win gave Michigan
its second straight regional title and
second straight Women's College
World Series berth.
Nothing has been able to stop the
Wolverines as of late either.
Washington's Jaime Clark hit two
home runs on Saturday, including a
towering shot to right field that was last
seen still airborn in Canada, yet the
scoreboard still read 6-5 in favor of
Michigan at the end of the game.
Winning by any means necessary.
In yesterday's game Ohio State,
down by just two runs, loaded the bases
in the fifth inning with two outs. Sec-
ond baseman Jennifer Link hit what
appeared to be a game-tying ground
ball in between Michigan's first base-.
man Melinda Moulden and second
baseman Kelsey Kollen. Moulden
deflected the ball towards Kollen, who
in turn, bolted towards first base as

Moulden was out of position for an
easy throw-and-catch.
Link and Kollen both dove for first
base. But it was Kollen, by an exten-
sion of her arm, getting the final out
and taking the wind out of the Buck-
eyes for the final two innings.
And with that dive, Kollen seemed
to sum up all of Michigan's season in
one play.
Every game, the Wolverines and
their opponents have seen their share of
bad breaks, but it has been Michigan
that has recovered from them and
turned them into something positive.
For six games this season against
Michigan, Ohio State has not been able
to overcome its errors on the field and
has turned in a 0-6 record that would
make even John Cooper cringe.
The Wolverines saw their share of
struggles during those six contests, but
for every strikeout, there was a recov-
ery to win the game.
This was never more evident than in
the batting of Michigan's Stefanie
Volpe, who had struggled in her first
two outings of the regional going 0-for-
6. She rebounded with key hits and an
RBI in each of the final two games.
"I think it's important that I try and
keep those first two games out of my
head and clear out what I'm doing
wrong,"Volpe said.
Clearing their minds of the negative
has given the Wolverines a valuable
edge going into this week's WCWS.
Eight of their nine losses have been fol-
lowed up by wins.
Even powerhouse Arizona has been

more susceptible to being swept, as
Washington did it to the Wildcats to
finish the regular season. No. 1 UCLA
couldn't avoid the upset bug like the
Wolverines did, as unranked South-
Carolina gave the Bruins - an eight-
time national champion - one loss in
the double-elimination postseason.
UCLA rebounded to win its region, but
it was shown to be human and suscep-
tible to teams not from the West.
Michigan has thrived on playing a
very modest game. Even its stars won't
celebrate in the spotlight unless sur-
rounded by their teammates.
There are no Jennie Finchs, Arizona's
ace who many regard to be the best
pitcher in the wildcat state - yes, that
includes Randy Johnson and Curt
Schilling. But there are Nicole Motycka
and Marissa Young, a one-two punch
that has thrown off teams all season.
There are no Stacey Nuvemans or
Natasha Watleys, who UCLA can boast
as the No. 1 and No. 3 hitters in the
NCAA - Nuveman is hyped as being
the best player in the world by UCLA's
official website. Instead, there are
always nine batters in Michigan's line-
up capable of batting just as well as
anyone in the nation. Every player has
come up clutch at some point this sea-
son, whether it has been a Lisa Mack
grand slam or Jessica Merchant work-
ing the count for a game-winning walk.
Michigan is able to go into a game
and not rely on just one player to carry
it through. If the team does well, the
team wins. If it doesn't, they still find a
way to win or improve.

Welcome to the Big Show
After defeating Ohio State yesterday to clinch a Women's College World Series
berth, Michigan booked its second trip to Oklahoma City in as many years. For
the second straight season, the Wolverines will be seen on ESPN and ESPN2
for all those not able to make the 17-hour drive to the Sooner state.
Thursday
Game 1: UCLA vs. Florida State, 1 i a.m., ESPN2
Game 2: Oklahoma vs. California, 1:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 3: Michigan vs, Arizona State, 7 p.m., ESPN2 . -
Game 4: Nebraska vs. Arizona, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
Friday
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p:
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7:30, 8
Saturday
Game 7, 8: Loser bracket, 2 and 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Game9, 10: Loser bracket, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m., ESN
Sunday
Game 11-14: 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6 or 8:30 (if necessary), ESPN2
Monday
Final: 1:15 p.m., ESPN

Either way, they win or lose as a
team.
"I think that's something I've learned
this year," Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins said. "You don't always have
to play your best because you're not
always going to. You have to not let any
adversity get you down. And at this
time of year especially, whether you
play your best or you just play maybe
not your best, but you're still out there
playing - give it all you've got and
stay positive."
One year ago, Michigan went to the
WCWS star-struck and happy to be
there. They were out after the first two

The 2002 WC W

Wo. 1 UCLA
HOW THE BRUINS GOT HERE:
54-7 overall; PAC-10 Cham ions; NCAA
Region I Cha erty 3-0, d.
Eastern Kentu e . orgia 2-1, I.
1 South Carolin h Carolina 1-0)
THE RPPE9HR
SS Natasha 06 H)
Keira Goeri 9 K's)
Runnen-up last year, team to beat this year
vs.
Wo. 8 F(o rida State
HOW THE SEMINOLES GOT HERE:
52-18 overall; No. 3 in ACC; NCAA Region
8 Champions Id. Auburn 2-1, L Georgia
Tech 7- , d. Chatta 1-0, d. Georgia
Tech 3-2, d. G
THE RIPPE
2B Brandi S rt B7 10HR
THE HURLS
Leslie Malerict i, 1.31 ERA)
Jess van der Un 166, ERA)
O-sTLOOK:
1-1 vs. PAC-l10 this season.

Wo. 2. Arizona
HOW THE WILDCATS GOT HERE:
52-10 overall; Pac-10 runner-up; NCAA
Region 2 Champions d. Boston 4-1, d.
Penn State 4-3, De aul 2-0, I. DePaul
6-0, d. DePaul 8- )
THE RIPPERS
SS Lovieanne . 6HR
1B Leneah 0 R)
THE HU
Jennie Finc utouts
OUTLOOK:
Wildcats showed weaknesses with 6-0 loss to
DePaul. Repeating as champ will be tough.
vs.
2o.7 A-ethraska
HOW THE CORNHUSKERS GOT HERE:'
49-12 overall; Big 12 runners-up; NCAA
Region 7 Champns d. 111Chicago 1-0, d.
Iowa 4-0, d.O tate -0 Notre
Dame 5-3) y
THE RIPPE m.
OF Kim Og 0 HR)
THE HURLE
Peaches Jam , N 1 CG)
Leigh Ann.J 7-5 ,1 [>
2TLs. AC-10 this season.

No. 3 Arizona State
HOW THE SUN DEVILS GOT HERE:
44-8 overall; No.5 in Pac- 10 NCAA
Region 3 Champipn id. Mississippi State
4-1d Massachus=J-0, d. LSU 3-2, d.
LSU 4-I)
THE RIPPE. S f K-i
3B Phelan'1 tj 4RBA, 35 R)
THE HURLER&S ° « : 7
Kirsten Voak'j094ERA - ; 5 SV)
Erica Beach (27-13, 1.4TA, 169 K's)
OUTLOOK:
Has split games with UCLA, Arizona, Michi-
gan and California this season already.
vs.
Mo.a MiYOIir igan
HOW THE WOLVERINES GOT HERE
Reg-o 6verchampions (d. Canlsius 5-0, d.
Ohio State0c.Wsn n,5,d
Ohio State1
3B Stefne Vb6:2;W1 R 75SLG)
THE HU
Nicole M ~ c (22 K's3)
MarissaYon(2-,09ER,22K)
Lent otay dependent on pitching and

games they played.
This season, the team isn't taking
anything for granted except that it will
be playing Thursday night against Ari-
zona State, a team Michigan split with
earlier this season.
The Wolverines will take it one pitch
at a time, not remembering the last and
not looking ahead to the future.
They will go in with a confidence
level that was not there last season.
"We know that we can win,' Kollen
said. "We know we're as good as any
other team in the country and we're
gonna wm some games."
They will succeed.
. 4 Ca(Wrornia
' THE BEARS GOT HERE'
B No. 4 in PAC-1 0; NCAA Re ion 4
npions Id. Fresno State 1-0, . Stan-
1-, d. Cal-St llerton 4-2 d. Cal-
Fullerton.
ica N (.32 67 SLG%)
HURL
lyn Fores..
Anders - , 2 SV)
LOOK:
of two No. 3 seeds to advance to
X/S.
VS.
vs.
5 OkahoMa
N THE SOONERS GOT HERE:
4 overall No5in Big 12 NCAA
ion 5 Chapo n Utah 6-0, d. Texas
A7-0, , xs4 d TxasA&M 8-1)
RIPPE R <
Chris ifg 116
eathe $ i I( egin .team)
'ah GuD11 I-ftego I em
HURLERS."
ifer Stewar O N
LOOK:s e s
against WCWS teams this year