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Thursday, June 5, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, June 5, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
11
Detroit Beat: Perspectives from policy conference
Leaders emphasize
link between Detroit
and Michigan
By SAM GRINGLAS
Daily News Editor
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. -
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan may
have been the most talked about
guy on Mackinac Island last week.
Early in the annual Mackinac
Policy Conference's second day,
Duggan was weaving down the
main promenade of the island's
Grand Hotel, fresh from his pri-
metime conference keynote the
day before.
Up and down the hotel's sweep-
ing porch and Media Row, jour-
nalists and business leaders were
angling for face time with Detroit's
chief executive. People were talk-
ing about Duggan - and they were
talking about Detroit.
Most every speech that followed
his keynote called out the mayor
by name. Duggan, who took office
earlier this year after a write-in
campaign propelled him to victory
in November, is often seen as the
face of Detroit's resurgence.
"He has a sense of urgency,"
author Malcolm Gladwell said in
his lecture atthe conference. "He's
in a hurry."
Duggan's prominence at the
conference signals an increased
spotlight on the city of Detroit,
even at a conference organizers
say was designed to more broadly
emphasize statewide issues com-
pared to previous years.
Brad Williams, vice president
of government relations at the
Detroit Regional Chamber, said
his organization tried to build a
conference that was also relevant
to the entire state. However, he
said conversations surrounding
Detroit wielded new energy this
year.
"This year I think it was dif-
ferent in that what's happening
in Detroit is so impactful to the
state of Michigan, particularly
this bankruptcy portion," Wil-
liams said. "That has an impact
statewide. So I think that's why
you heard so much more conver-
sation about Detroit this year and
because we have a new mayor, new
council leadership. There's lots of
energy and interest around the
city."
During the four-day gathering,
speakers made the case over and
over again that the state's future is
intertwined with Detroit's.
"It's not about Detroit ver-
sus Michigan," Gov. Rick Snyder
(R) said to a hall packed with the
state's most influential business
and political leaders. "I hope
94eMicign
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Highlights from the 2014 softball season
Mayor Mike Duggan during an interview with the Michigan Daily at the Mackinac
Policy Conference Friday.
By MAX BULTMAN
Daily Sports Writer
When the 2014 season began,
feelings on the Michigan softball
team could have been described as
"Women's College World Series or
Bust." In the end, the Wolverines
didn't make the Women's College
World Series, but they weren't a
bust, either.
The Daily looks back on some
of the best memories and perfor-
mances from 2014.
MVP: Sierra Romero
The sophomore shortstop
entered the season already boast-
ing a Big Ten Player of the Year
award and a spot on the preseason
All-America team. Romero made
sure to end the season with far
more, earning nods as an All-
American, finalist for National
Player of the Year and Big Ten
Player of the Year, the latter for the
second straight year.
She had the nation's second-
highest batting average, .491, and
led the country in on base percent-
age at .633, all while smacking 18
home runs and 72 RBI. But Rome-
ro's real value to the team was her
knack for coming through when it
seemed no one else could, with the
plays only she could make.
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
lauded Romero for her "swag,"
admiring the way Romero carries
herself at the plate, in the field and
in the locker room.
Best win: Regional final over
Arizona State
No one would have blamed you
if you buried your face when Ari-
zona State catcher Amber Freeman
hit what appeared to be a walk-off
homer to beat the Wolverines in
the regional final. But, if you did,
you missed senior center fielder
Lyndsay Doyle's leaping catch at
the wall that sat atop SportsCen-
ter's Top 10 Plays for days to come.
Doyle said assistant coach Bon-
nie Tholl told her to "jump the
wall" just moments earlier, and she
followed the advice, rising up to
end the game and propel Michigan
into the Super Regionals.
That catch came minutes after
sophomore outfielder Sierra Law-
rence and senior designated player
Taylor Hasselbach hit back-to-back
home runs to tie the game and take
the lead, respectively.
Worst loss: 10-2 loss at Illinois
The Wolverines found them-
selves in plenty of mercy-rule
contests this season, but only once
were they on the wrongside of one.
That came on April 25, when lowly
Illinois trounced Michigan, 10-2,in
six innings.
Driesenga started the game in
the circle, but gave up six runs
on nine hits in 3.2 innings before
yieldingtoWagner,whowasn't any
better, giving up five hits and four
runs in 1.2 innings of work. From
the plate, the Wolverines were
just as bad, mustering just five hits
themselves, two of them off the bat
of Romero.
The game was indicative of a
larger struggle Michigan was fac-
ing, part of a streak in which it
lost four straight series openers to
conference foes. While no confer-
you're ready to stand up for the
settlement for Detroit, Michigan."
Snyder, who called for the
appointment of an emergency
manager, has been a vocal advo-
cate for state support of the city's
rejuvenation and bankruptcy pro-
cess.
on the heels of the conference,
he joined state and city officials in
calling on legislators in Lansing
to approve the city's "grand bar-
gain" - a deal that would provide
$195 million in state aid to the city.
The contribution would be cou-
pled with funds gifted by Detroit
Institute of Art benefactors and
local philanthropic organizations,
allowing the city to settle debts
with its pensioners and avoid the
sale of DIA art.
The package was approved
by both houses of the legislature
Tuesday and now awaits the gov-
ernor's signature and a vote of
approval by the city's pensioners.
Support from legislators across the
state - not just in the Metro area
- was necessary for the package of
bills to pass both houses.
More than ever, the city of
Detroit is shaping conversations
across the state and it's doing so in
new ways.
"I don't think we knew exactly
where we would be at this point
in history, but certainly as we got
closer (to the conference), we knew
the city would be a focal point of
the conversation," Williams said.
Jeanette Pierce, director of
community relations for D:hive, a
Detroit organization that provides
resources for people who are con-
sidering moving into the city, said
she noticed the discussion's addi-
tional emphasis on Detroit.
In previous years, Pierce said
she was frustratedby panel discus-
sions that brought in practitioners
from out-of-state. She said 75 per-
cent of the projects those speakers
touted were already going on in
Detroit.
"I think too often we kind of
look outside instead of looking
inside and I think the mayor ham-
mering that stuff home was really
part of that," she said.
Like D:hive, Duggan said his
administration's top priority is to
retain the city's existing popula-
tion and attract new residents.
"We get up everyday and we
focus on what we can do to reverse
the population decline in the city
of Detroit," he said in his keynote
address. "It governs every single
decision we make. We do not have
a future if we don't start growing."
Though thebmayor touted a
growing number of technology
jobs, Detroit-based artisans and a
burgeoning downtown and Mid-
town housing market, he said
he was not "under any illusions"
about the city's challenges. Dug-
gan said the city lost 12,000 in
population last year and the unem-
ployment rate remains two times
the state's average.
"I'm going to show you why it's
not hopeless," he told the audience
at the start of the address.
A major part of Duggan's plan
is revitalizing blighted neighbor-
hoods, rather than solely demol-
ishing abandoned homes. In the
presentation, Duggan highlighted
one neighborhood where 39 homes
were slated for demolition. He
said a new initiative - one that
would allow the city to seize and
auction abandoned homes if their
owners didn't get them fixed up
and occupied within six months
- has already jumpstarted tan-
gible changes in that neighbor-
hood. Now, only nine homes will
be demolished.
Continue reading online at
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ence loss was a good one, this flop
against a bottom dweller has to be
considered the worst because of
the lopsided drubbing Michigan
received and the hopelessness it
exuded in the final innings.
Top freshman: Megan Betsa
With two strong junior pitchers
returning in right-hander Sara Dri-
esenga and lefty Haylie Wagner,
pitching was far from a concern
for the Wolverines entering the
season. That didn't stop Betsa from
earning a significant chunk of play-
ingtime.
Betsa finished the year 18-4,
posting a 2.25 ERA and a team-
high 150 strikeouts in 130.1 innings
pitched. Though she struggled
with confidence and composure
early in the season, Betsa worked
hard, sometimes on her days off, to
earn her playing time. She threw a
no-hitter against Detroit and ulti-
mately beat out Driesenga for the
No. 2 slot in the rotation.
Imm
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Grading the Michigan softball team in 2014
By JAKE LOURIM
ManagingSports Editor
The 2014 Michigan softball sea-
son opened with a 4-0 seventh-
inning lead that turned into a
9-4 extra-inning loss against the
eventual national champions. It
closed with a walk-off home run
in the deciding game of the Super
Regionals. In between, there were
22 run-rule games, 21 of which
the Wolverines won and many of
which could have been a lot more
lopsided if Michigan wanted to run
up the score.
But the season still had a flair for
the dramatic.
The Daily breaks down how
they stacked up overall.
Offense: A
Michigan's most effective unit
this year played a large role in its
success. The Wolverines were
among the best nationally in every
category: fifth in batting average,
second in on-base percentage,
ninth in scoring and 16th in slug-
ging.
They had speed, with senior slap
hitters Lyndsay Doyle and Nicole
Sappingfield setting the table at
the top of the lineup. And they had
power, with sophomore shortstop
Sierra Romero and senior designat-
ed player Taylor Hasselbach lead-
ing the team in home runs.
Michigan lost five times in the
last three weeks of the regular sea-
son, and in those losses, it scored
just 13 runs. But after splitting the
Big Ten title with Nebraska, the
Wolverines heated up again, mov-
ing to the brink of the Women's
College World Series.
Defense: A-
Michigan's defense made the
most significant strides from last
year, when it was the team's weak-
est unit.
Of course, the biggest highlight-
reel play was the one that ended up
on the highlight reel - SportsCen-
ter's Top 10. With two outs in the
seventh inning of a decisive region-
al game, senior center fielder Lynd-
say Doyle made a leaping catch at
the wall to rob a would-be game-
winning home run. The Wolver-
ines finished eighth in the nation
in fielding percentage and will
return three full-time starters in
the infield next year.
Pitching: B+
At times during the first half of
the season, this looked like Michi-
gan's strongest unit. Junior left-
hander Haylie Wagner kept her
earned-run average under 1.00 for
most of the season, returning to
top form after an injury limited her
down the stretch last season.
Late in the season, however, the
pitching was not on the elite level
it needed to be. Wagner carried the
load and was solid, but in the end,
she couldn't match zeroes with
Waldrop in the deciding game, a
4-2 loss. For most of the season,
the Wolverines' staff of three good
pitchers was their strength: They
usually started one game each
weekend and kept them fresh. In
the NCAA Tournament, Michigan
needed one tostep up and be on top
ofhergame, and none ofthemtruly
was.
Final Grade: B+
When Michigan brought back
seven starters plus Driesenga, last
year's ace, from a team that went to
the Women's College World Series
last year, expectations were high.
For most of the season, the Wolver-
ines lived up to them. They knocked
off five ranked teams in the non-
conference season and strung
together a dominant 20-game win
streak that put them in the driver's
seat in the Big Ten race.
But then they stumbled a few
times. A loss to Minnesota in the
Big Ten Tournament final shipped
them off to Tempe, Ariz. for the
regional round of the NCAA Tour-
nament.
There, Michigan took care of
business, winning two one-run
elimination games to advance in
thrilling fashion.
But they couldn't get further.
Shut down by Waldrop to the tune
of two runs in two games, Michi-
gan's season ended in Tallahassee,
Fla. Though it featured many high-
lights, the Wolverines took a step
back from last year, leaving some
business unfinished in 2014.
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan Softball
7
Consecutive Big Ten titles won, including
this year's split with Nebraska.
Nationalrankin on-base percentage, led
by Sierra Romero, the individual leader.
4:37
Total gametime of theltwo Super Region-
al losses thateliminated Michigan.
Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr during an interview with the Michigan Daily
at the Mackinac Policy Conference Friday.
wrl,