12
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Blue falters in Big Tens
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ter first round were the worst of the eleven Big
Ten teams on Saturday, shooting
ad, Wolverines a 302 - five shots more than any
other team.
rop to eighth "It was disappointing because
even going into the third round
By TIM ROHAN we were only 11 shots off the lead,"
Daily Sports Writer said Michigan coach Andrew Sapp.
"But we just weren't able to mount
Michigan men's golf team a charge."
ut firing this weekend at The Wolverines failed to con-
Ten Championships, firmly tend after Friday, and even though
op spot as Friday came to a they strung together some good
tt the Wolverines couldn't holes, missed putts and key mis-
e the charge in the final two takes ultimately cost them the
ishing tied for eighth place. tournament.
igan traveled to State Col- While the overall team momen-
compete on Penn State's tum wasn't there, the trio of
ourse over the weekend. Sitompl, sophomore Lion Kim, and
olverines ended tied with senior co-captain Nick Pumford
with a 1,179 total score, 30 made a strong showing. Each shot
behind Illinois, the Tour- career 72-hole personal records at
Champion. State College.
smore Alexander Sitompul Michigan's top individual was
Michigan into first place Kim, who finished 14th with a 293
irst day with a two-under score over the weekend. Following
f 69. But the Wolverines Kim for Michigan were senior co-
captain Bill Rankin and Sitompul
who tied for 17th with a score of
295.
But even with the Wolverines'
individual successes, the middle
two rounds kept Michigan from
gathering steam and having a
successful weekend after their
impressive entrance into the tour-
nament.
"We played well in the first
round, obviously - we had the
lead," Sapp said. "Got off to a great
start, but the middle two rounds
really sunk us. And (we) played
solid (Sunday) in the final round
and we were able to move up.
"Those middle two rounds real-
ly hurt us and obviously that's what
cost us finishing a lot higher."
The tough competition the Wol-
verines faced this weekend could
prepare them for their NCAA
Regional, which will be played at
the University of Texas Golf Club
in Austin, Tex. from May 14 to
May 16:
NO-HITTER
From page 11
of scoreless work, Wimmers and
Fetter - two of the Big Ten's
best pitchers - accounted for 14
strikeouts. But after Dew's hit,
Fetter fell apart as he allowed
four runs in the sixth and sev-
enth innings.
Fetter's performance in the
first game of a series often serves
as the measuring stick for the rest
of the Wolverines' weekend. And
it's no secret that the team counts
on Fetter for a win.
"It's huge to go 1-0 on a team,"
said sophomore centerfielder'
Ryan LaMarre. "If you get that
first one under your belt, you're
one win away from winning the
series. We know (Fetter) always
gives us a chance, and that's
important to our success."
After Fetter was dealt a loss in
Saturday's first game, the Wol-
verines were hard-pressed to
bounce back in the nightcap.
Michigan came out firing with
two quick runs, but sophomore
pitcher Tyler Burgoon fell vic-
tim to a six-run hitting spree that
shortened his campaign to just
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'5
NORTHWESTERN
UNIVERSITY
1.2 innings.
Despite a comeback attempt
in the game's middle innings,
the Wolverines lack of consistent
pitching doomed them to a 9-6
loss.
"We were a few bounces from
being in the first and second
games," LaMarre said. "(Sun-
day's
game) MICHIGAN 0
was our OHIO STATE 6
surprise
game.
We all MICHIGAN 9
knwiOHIO STATE 9
knew it,
so we
went out MICHIGAN 9
as hard OHIO STATE 2
as we
could and played with despera-
tion."
Apparently, desperation was
what Michigan needed in the
final game of the series as it cou-
pled a consistent effort on the
mound from junior Eric Katz-
man, who allowed just four hits
and one earned run, with solid
play at the plate as four Wolver-
ines got multiple hits leading to
a 9-2 win.
By salvaging a win in Sun-
day's game, the Wolverines kept
within a half-game of Purdue,
which holds the sixth spot in the
Big Ten standings after winning
two games against Indiana this
weekend.
Only the top six teams make
the conference tournament, so if
Michigan hopes to compete for
the Big Ten Championship, it'll
have to be one step ahead of the
Boilermakers in the two remain-
ing weekends of the conference
season.
"We've had three straight Big
Ten championships," LaMarre
said. "No one is feeling sorry for
us where we are."
But Michigan coach Rich
Maloney knows the Wolverines'
postseason position depends on
what happens in the next two
weeks and whether Michigan
can pull together the complete,
consistent effort it has strived
for all season.
"We know we can beat any-
body, win any day, but because
of our inconsistency, we haven't
been able to," Maloney said.
"The Tournament, for us, is far
out there. The biggest thing for
us is to be a better team, get in
that six spot, and perhaps play
our best baseball at that time."
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