Tuesday
May 4,2004
sports.michigandaily.com
sports@michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Another
split for
' M' Nine
By Ryan Sosin
Daily Sports Editor
A win during the second game of Sun-
day's double header would have meant a
share of the Big Ten lead for the Michigan
baseball team. But sloppy defense and a
pair of blown scoring opportunities led the
Wolverines to falter 6-3 against Michigan
State and a fall to
fourth place in the
standings.
"We are still right in MICHIGAN STATE 6
it, which is nice," C
Michigan coach Rich
Maloney said. "But, at the same token,
we've had opportunities where we could
be the leader here."
With a runner on second base in the sec-
ond inning, Michigan State's Erik Morris hit
a ball into right field, six inches inside the
foul line. But first base umpire Dave Buck
threw his anns in the air to signal a foul ball.
Morris wasn't fazed as he stepped back in
the box and drilled the next pitch out to put
the Spartans on the board, 2-0.
Michigan starting pitcher, junior Michael
Penn, turned in another solid outing. But his
exit from the game was not exactly a fitting
one. As he faced the first batter of the
eighth, Penn tossed two lame fastballs that
drew Maloney from the dugout.
"He was around 96-pitches, so I said 'No,
I can't wait (to pull him). I just can't make a
mistake here,"' Maloney said.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Jeff Kunkel
rifled a pitch in the second off the top of
the right-centerfield fence for a double.
During his next at-bat in the fourth,
0 ROWING
Blue shocks rivals in
Big Ten photo-finish
By Eric Ambindr
Daily Sports Editor
Underdogs?
For a program that has finished
no worse than eighth in the nation
in its seven-year history, a fourth
seed at the Big Ten Tournament
proved to be enough motivation
for the Michigan Rowing team
... 3.1 seconds worth.
Despite an inconsistent sea-
son, the Wolverines performed at
their best on Saturday in Iowa
City against the nation's top
teams. Tenth-see Michigan cap-
tured its fourth Big Ten Champi-
onship in the past five seasons
with an overall score of 128
points. No. 13 Wisconsin fin-
ished second, and rivals No. 1
Ohio State and No. 7 Michigan
State, who had beaten Michigan
earlier in the year, finished third
and fourth respectively.
"We've been the underdogs
before but not by this degree,"
Michigan senior Heather Man-
doli said. "The past few weeks of
practice, we've really come
together. The team was focused,
and we had this nothing-to-lose
type attitude going into (last)
weekend. It was an incredible
win and very unexpected."
See BIG TENS, Page 14
TONY DING/Daly
Redshirt sophomore Jeff Kunkel delivered a double and a home run Sunday in a losing effort.
Kunkel tied the game at two when he hit
the ball just one foot higher, depositing
the pitch over the fence and driving in
sophomore A.J. Scheidt, who was also
swinging a hot bat, in the process.
"The (home run) was kind of a hanging
curveball," Kunkel said. "I just got the bat
head out."
Down by a run in the seventh, Michigan
used a single and a pair of walks to set the
table for Scheidt and Kunkel. But Michigan
State reliever Adam White dialed in, sending
the duo back to the dugout with successive
strikeouts to end the threat.
Another chance with two runners on
came about in the ninth. Scheidt popped out
and Kunkel did the same, blooping out to
center field. Senior DH Brandon Roberts
followed with a strikeout to end the game.
"I had a big chance to help the team there
at the end," Kunkel said. "The second (at
bat) I had a good pitch. I just got under it."
Freshman Leif Mahler continued to sub
for the injured sophomore Jeremy Gold-
schmeding and, on Sunday, had an unchar-
acteristically difficult sixth inning. Mahler
saw a ball roll under his diving arms, a bad
hop skip off of his glove and a snap pickoff
from Kunkel sneak past him.
"(Jeremy) is still a little shaky," Maloney
said. "(Mahler) has been playing well, so
we're not going to rush it."
During the early game Sunday, which had
been originally scheduled for Saturday, Red-
shirt sophomore Paul Hammond made his
first start since undergoing Tommy John
Surgery on his elbow. Despite breath-chill-
ing temperatures, Hammond baffled the
Spartan hitters, tossing a four-hitter in
Michigan's 10-2 win.
Only two of Michigan's eight Big Ten
losses have been by more than one-run, both
coming last weekend to the Spartans. Satur-
day's 13-4 loss was the first, and Sunday's
loss the second.
"Like I've been saying all along, we are
so close yet we are millions of miles away,"
Maloney said.
0 SOFTBALL
Haas slams Wolverines to Big Ten title
By James V. Dowd
Daily Sports Writer
Tiffany Haas didn't want to leave it up in the air. A win away from
clinching the outright Big Ten regular-season title, the second base-
man saw runners on each base in the eighth inning of a tied game
and knew this was her chance. Haas came CG
through and launched a pitch over the fence in NTEE . _ _ _
right-center for a grand slam, giving the
Wolverines a 7-3. N E N
The past weekend was quite the paradox for CG
the No. 6 Michigan softball team. Despite a disappointing pair of
splits against Michigan State and Northwestern, the Wolverines had
reason to celebrate as they claimed the 2004 Big Ten regular season
championship as well as the right to host the conference tournament.
Though Sunday ended with Haas's grand slam, Michigan lost the
first game of the double header in the same fashion. In the sixth
inning, Northwestern designated player Garland Cooper slugged a
grand slam to clinch a 6-4 win.
The Wolverines were disappointed after losing two of their first
three games on the weekend, but it was their mental attitude that kept
them striving for the title.
"We did not play our best," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said.
"But our heart was in it, and that's what matters."
In their second game against the Wildcats, the Wolverines fell
behind early, but Michigan catcher Monica Schock connected for
her first home run of the season to tie the game at two.
After Michigan sophomore Jennie Ritter relieved junior Nicole
Motycka in the eighth inning, the Wildcats pulled ahead 3-2.
But Michigan responded immediately, as third baseman Grace
Leutele led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run, setting
the stage for Haas's game-winner.
Leutele was also a factor in the Michigan State series. On Satur-
day, she hita game-winning single in extra innings.
On Friday, the Spartans handed Michigan their first home loss of
the season. Ritter pitched a solid game going all seven innings, but
allowed two-run outbursts in the third and sixth innings in the 4-3 loss.
Friday night also marked the return of Michigan shortstop Jessica
Merchant, who had sat out six games after severely spraining her
See WILDCATS, Page 15