8 — Friday, February 20, 2015 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com DID YOU GET TRADED BY AN NBA TEAM ON THURSDAY? If not, join the Daily! EMAIL US AT SPORTSEDITORS@ MICHIGANDAILY.COM TO LEARN MORE! 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