8 — Friday, February 20, 2015
Sports
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Michigan reschedules tourney,
will play four in Georgia instead
Weather moves
Wolverines to
Savannah for four
weekend games
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team
had long planned to travel to
Greenville, North Carolina to
participate in the Keith LeClair
Classic along with host East
Carolina, No. 25 Liberty and St.
John’s.
But Mother Nature put the
kibosh on the tournament as
very cold temperatures and ice
forced East Carolina to make
schedule changes that kept the
Wolverines (1-2) from traveling
there. Michigan will instead
travel to Savannah, Georgia to
take on Tennessee Tech and
Davidson in alternating games
Friday through Sunday. The
Wolverines will play in two
contests on Saturday.
The trip to Greenville was
supposed to be a poignant
homecoming for Michigan coach
Erik
Bakich
and
recruiting
coordinator Nick Schnabel: In
1999 and 2000, the two men
manned the infield for the
Pirates under then-head coach
Keith LeClair. LeClair tragically
passed away in 2006 after a five-
year battle with ALS.
“I’ll always be a Pirate in
regard of loving the school that
I got to be a student-athlete at,”
Bakich said. “Keith LeClair was
an incredible man.”
The scheduling alterations
came with short notice for the
Wolverines. The announcement
that Michigan would not travel
to the Keith LeClair Classic came
Wednesday, and the Wolverines
did not know whom they would
face or when they would play
until Thursday night.
Michigan’s
first
opponent,
Tennessee Tech (2-1), posted
40-19 record in 2014, meaning
they will likely give Michigan a
challenge. The Golden Eagles’
biggest threat is Jake Farr, who
went 5-for-9 with six runs in a
Saturday doubleheader versus
Longwood.
As for Davidson (1-1), the
Wildcats split a pair of games
with Appalachian State last
weekend. They find themselves
in a similar situation as the
Wolverines,
as
Davidson’s
scheduled contests with Lehigh
and Army were scratched due to
inclement weather.
Despite
the
spontaneous
plan changes, Bakich expressed
confidence in his team going into
the weekend.
“I think we match up well
against anyone when we play our
best baseball,” he said. “I would
put us up against anyone when
we’re firing on all cylinders.”
Against Long Beach State,
Michigan
looked
far
from
smashing
this
ceiling.
The
Wolverines dropped their first
two games against the Dirtbags,
3-2 and 7-2, respectively, before
winning Sunday’s contest, 5-3, in
10 innings.
“Long Beach State was very
crafty in the way that they
pitched us, and gave us some
trouble,” Bakich said. “We didn’t
get very many fastballs, and so
we just have to do a better job of
taking what the pitching gives to
us. It was a good opportunity to
use as a teachable moment.”
The Wolverines were also
forced to contend with some
injuries
during
the
series,
including one to junior shortstop
Travis Maezes, who sat out
Sunday’s win.
“(Maezes) hurt himself in the
Saturday game,” Bakich said.
“We held him out as a precaution
on Sunday, but he’ll be back
this weekend according to the
training staff.”
While junior first baseman and
pitcher Jacob Cronenworth hit a
game-winning, two-run single
in the top of the 10th inning on
Sunday, he was unable to come
out of the bullpen to close any
games against the Dirtbags due
to soreness. That forced the right-
handed trio of senior Donnie
Eaton, junior Matt Ogden and
sophomore Mac Lozer to take a
stab at the closing role.
The
closing
job
is
Cronenworth’s, but Bakich isn’t
afraid to look further down his
bench if needed.
“It would be a group of guys
making a group effort,” Bakich
said, regarding his relievers.
“That’s a nice option that we
have. We can match up well with
righties and lefties and different
hitter strengths based on our
strengths.”
Cronenworth,
however,
is
expected to be healthy for the
series against Tennessee Tech
and Davidson.
“(Cronenworth) didn’t have
anything unusual,” Bakich said.
“Everyone is dinged up, but
the guys are doing a great job
competing. Our training staff
does a great job at keeping our
guys off the injury list or keeping
their stays on it very short. I’m
confident that we will be full
steam ahead going into this
weekend.”
In
spite
of
the
losses
and
injuries,
Michigan
got
promising performances out of
several of its freshmen pitchers
versus
Long
Beach
State.
Southpaw Michael Hendrickson
and righty Bryan Pall teamed
up for a combined 5.2 innings
of
relief
pitching
Saturday,
allowing two runs with five
strikeouts. Right-hander Ryan
Nutof pitched 5.2 innings in his
start Sunday, letting in only one
earned run and striking out four
batters.
While playing the Golden
Eagles
and
the
Wildcats
wasn’t the original plan for the
Wolverines, with the temperate
weather, they will still relish
the opportunity to compete this
weekend.
‘M’ faces revamped,
healthy OSU team
Wolverines have
won nine of 10
against Buckeyes
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Writer
To say the Michigan hockey
team has had the upper hand
against
Ohio
State
recently
would be a gross understatement.
Since 2011, the Wolverines
(8-4 Big Ten, 16-10 overall) have
gone 9-0-1 against their neigh-
bors to the south. The Buckeyes
have been outscored 52-28 in
those contests, 18 of those com-
ing in just two games this sea-
son.
But as No. 15 Michigan has lost
three of its last four games, Ohio
State (3-9, 8-16-2) has improved
and, more importantly, gotten
healthy. The two teams will bat-
tle it out once again in Columbus
on Friday, then in Ann Arbor on
Sunday.
“They’re a different team, let’s
face it,” said Michigan coach
Red Berenson to MGoBlue.com.
“When we played them last game
(on Jan. 16), they had seven regu-
lars out, they couldn’t even dress
a full lineup of players because of
injuries, so they’re a whole differ-
ent team, a different animal.
“They’ll want revenge, and
we’ve go to go down there and
keep pace.”
In addition to injuries, the
Buckeyes have struggled to get
the most out of their players who
are on the ice. Ohio State leads
the conference in game miscon-
ducts, surrender 3.5 goals per
game, hasn’t been able to get the
most out of what was thought
to be a two-headed force in net
between Matt Tomkins and
Christian Frey.
The Buckeyes have dropped
seven of eight games during the
stretch, ruining any postseason
aspirations.
“It really came down to who-
ever was less bad would play,”
said Matthew McGreevy, a stu-
dent reporter and broadcaster for
Big Ten Network and Ohio State
student radio. “It was pretty hard
to watch. They had the injuries,
but the problems were so much
more than that.”
This time, however, the Buck-
eyes are much closer to full
strength. With injuries, suspen-
sions and position battles pretty
much over, a new energy has
arisen in Columbus.
“Wednesday’s practice was
really the first time since Novem-
ber that everyone was back,”
McGreevy said. “The team seems
really excited to play, rather than
just saying they’re excited.”
After dropping three of its last
four games, though, Michigan
is more than ready to move on,
especially against one of the Big
Ten’s worst teams.
“We know that it’s a rivalry
against Ohio State, but we’ve got
to stay focused on what we’re
going to do and how we’re going
to win,” said sophomore forward
JT Compher to MGoBlue.com.
“It’s not going to be about them,
it’s going to focus on how we play
and how focused we are on get-
ting the win.”
In addition to returning to
competition,
the
Wolverines
are excited about another long-
awaited return. Sunday’s game
will mark Michigan’s first home
game since Jan. 10.
“It’s been a while,” Compher
said. “I think everyone’s excited
to get back to Yost, but we have
a game in Columbus on Friday
that’s at the forefront right now,
so we’re focusing on that first.”
Michigan has dominated Ohio
State for three seasons. But with
a rejuvenated lineup, Berenson
knows that edge can be far from
safe.
“I think any time you have an
edge on the team, you’ve really
got to pay attention to detail,”
Berenson said. “We’re going to
see their best hockey, and we’re
going to need to play better than
we did last week.
“The records don’t really mean
anything. I think they’re better
than their record because of all
the injuries, and we need to get
better if we’re going to have a
good record.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Michigan coach Erik Bakich’s team will play Tennessee Tech and Davidson in Savannah, Georgia this weekend.
ICE HOCKEY