4B — March 9, 2015
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan’s NCAA Tournament
hopes take a hit in State College
By ERIN LENNON
Daily Sports Editor
STATE COLLEGE — With
six minutes remaining in the
second period Saturday, a pileup
in the Penn State crease ended
in a skate-
induced
hole,
forcing
Pegula Ice Arena staff to switch
out the nets.
It was a game of pileups
and penalties, but after three
frustrating periods of hockey,
the No. 16 Michigan hockey
team failed to finish its chances
for a second straight game. The
Wolverines suffered their third
loss of the season to the Nittany
Lions, 4-3.
With
just
four
seconds
remaining in regulation, yet
another pileup resulted in what
looked
like
the
Wolverines’
game-tying goal. But after a
referee waved his arms and the
tally was reviewed, the goal came
off the board.
Following its fifth straight
road loss, Michigan will need
to win the Big Ten Tournament
to secure an automatic berth to
the NCAA Tournament. It also
puts the Wolverines’ hopes of a
first-round bye in the conference
tournament at risk, meaning even
one loss to Michigan State in the
final regular-season series could
be detrimental.
“There’s
always
pressure,
but we want to make the
tournament,” said sophomore
forward JT Compher. “Everyone
in the room wants to make the
tournament. But we can’t think
about it.”
Unable to get much of anything
going through the first half of
the final frame, the Wolverines
were forced to play the remaining
minutes
without
freshman
forward
Dylan
Larkin,
who
received a 10-minute misconduct
at the midway point.
After that, Michigan was
simply unlucky.
With
5:15
remaining
in
regulation, sophomore forward
Tyler Motte set up junior Boo
Nieves, whose shot deflected high
above the net. At the 4:56 mark,
sophomore forward Alex Kile’s
shot clanged off the goalpost.
The struggle forced Michigan
coach Red Berenson to call a
timeout, pull goaltender Steve
Racine and put Michigan on
the 6-on-5 advantage for the
remaining 3:26. And though the
move allowed the Wolverines
to pull within one goal on JT
Compher’s
hat
trick-earning
goal, it was too little, too late.
“I’ve been playing some of my
better hockey,” Compher said.
“Unfortunately, the team hasn’t
been. These two losses hurt a lot.”
Despite allowing six goals in
his fifth straight start Friday,
Racine
got
the
nod
again
Saturday over sophomore Zach
Nagelvoort. The junior finished
the weekend having surrendered
10 goals in two complete games
while accumulating 69 saves.
“He’s been a good back-to-
back goalie,” Berenson said. “I
think he’s rebounded from his
not-so-good games Friday and
been a lot better Saturday.”
At even strength for most of
the second period, both teams
went end to end with little in the
way of scoring chances on either
side. Michigan’s best chance
came early in the frame, when
a too-many-men penalty and
subsequent hooking extended the
power play more than a minute,
but the Wolverines were unable
to capitalize.
Michigan was held scoreless
despite outshooting the Nittany
Lions 16-8 in the frame.
And the missed opportunities
would come back to haunt them.
On the power play for the first
time in the period, Penn State
broke the tie at the 13:32 mark
with one second remaining on
the man advantage. Forward
Erik Autio teed up from the point,
firing a shot through Racine’s
legs.
Then, on his senior night,
Penn State forward Tommy
Olczyk tallied the Nittany Lions’
fourth goal, sending his team into
intermission up 4-2.
The
Nittany
Lions
never
trailed, though after a dismal
first period Friday at Pegula,
Michigan could have used a
strong start.
At the 5:50 mark, when
Compher netted the Wolverines’
first goal to tie the game at
one, it looked like Michigan
accomplished that. Instead, Penn
State forward Scott Conway beat
Steve Racine a second time in the
frame.
Then, when a delay-of-game
penalty called in the waning
minutes of the frame looked as if
it would doom Michigan before
the first intermission, Compher
raced in front of Copp, who fed
him for the shorthanded goal.
It was the Wolverines third
shorthanded goal of the season.
“(Penn State) has done well
against
us,”
Berenson
said.
“They have a good record against
Michigan, so we’re keeping them
in the league, I guess.”
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Sophomore forward JT Compher scored all of Michigan’s goals Saturday for his second hat trick of the season.
PENN STATE
MICHIGAN
4
3
ICE HOCKEY
Penalty kill struggles
in sweep at Penn State
By ERIN LENNON
Daily Sports Editor
STATE COLLEGE — No more
than one second after a Penn
State power play ended Saturday,
forward Erik Autio’s shot from
the point snuck through Steve
Racine’s pads.
Just when the No. 16 Michigan
hockey team appeared to have
found an answer to the Nittany
Lions’ potent power play, the
junior goaltender was forced to
dig another puck out of the net.
Though the Wolverines’ own
power play has consistently been
ranked among the top 10 in the
nation, their penalty kill found a
way to lose them games over the
weekend. The unit surrendered
three
power-play
goals
in
Friday’s 6-4 loss.
“Our
PK
was
terrible
yesterday,”
said
sophomore
forward
JT
Compher
after
the game Saturday. “That was
unacceptable. It kind of lost us
the game. … We knew that was
going to be a big thing, and the
improvement showed.”
Saturday,
for
the
second
straight game, the Wolverines
had
their
early
momentum
undermined by matching delay-
of-game penalties and an ensuing
Penn State goal.
Michigan’s
luck
briefly
improved when Compher turned
a breakaway pass from junior
forward Andrew Copp into the
Wolverines’ third shorthanded
goal of the season.
But while they were able
to convert on two key power-
play
opportunities
to
keep
themselves in the game Friday,
they struggled to find twine on
the
man-advantage
Saturday.
Michigan had an opportunity
to jump out to an emphatic lead
thanks to two consecutive Penn
State penalties.
The Wolverines and Nittany
Lions accumulated 11 combined
penalties in the first two periods.
“I thought we were better,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson. “I
thought our power play moved
the puck well. I thought the PK
was good. You’d like your power
play to score on that 5-on-3. That’s
where you really need to score.
I think we’re working hard on
doing the right things.”
Friday,
the
teams
took
a combined 19 penalties —
including two sets of matching
penalties — playing on special
teams for 38 minutes.
For Michigan, the disparity
between
the
power
play
and the penalty kill was on
display through the first two
periods.
After
surrendering
two late power-play goals in
the first period, the Wolverines
capitalized on two straight man-
advantages — the first from
Copp, followed by junior forward
Justin Selman’s tally — to cut the
Penn State lead to two.
The difference was that while
Michigan’s 2-for-7 night on the
power play kept it in the game,
its
penalty
kill
surrendered
three goals in four Nittany Lion
attempts. Penn State also fired 11
shots to the Wolverines’ 14 despite
having three fewer chances.
“Yeah, I think (penalties)
disrupted our flow,” Copp said
Friday. “We had some good cycles
going 5-on-5. We had some flow
to our game, some momentum.”
For a portion of this season —
namely when the Wolverines’
nation-leading
offense
was
averaging more than seven goals
per game in Big Ten play —
Michigan’s offensive firepower
was enough to negate extra
penalties. But Berenson and his
team know as well as anyone
that an offense like that isn’t
sustainable for 30 games.
Michigan can no longer afford
to lose Dylan Larkin for 10
minutes on a game misconduct.
“You can never outscore your
mistakes for an entire year,”
Compher said.
‘M’ dominant in Carolina
By BEN FIDELMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Coming
into
the
Coastal
Carolina
Invitational
riding
a five-game win streak, the
Michigan baseball team was
already playing its best baseball
of this young season.
Then the team outscored its
four opponents by a combined
score of 37-12 on the weekend.
The Wolverines (9-6) took
business
against
Maryland-
Baltimore County, Toledo and
Coastal Carolina, before falling
to Akron in the finale.
In
its
Friday
afternoon
matchup, Michigan didn’t break
its momentum against UMBC
(1-4), taking the game 8-1.
After allowing a run to cross
the plate in the top of the first
inning, freshman right-hander
Ryan Nutof settled into a nice
rhythm for the rest of his start.
Through his seven innings, Nutof
allowed just five hits.
The Wolverines tied the game
in the bottom of the second with
a sacrifice fly from senior catcher
Kendall Patrick and dominated
the rest of the way. Offensively,
the team peaked in the bottom
of the fourth inning, when
Michigan slapped a five-spot
onto the scoreboard.
Following a two-run single
from senior second baseman Eric
Jacobson, Michigan sent first
baseman Jacob Cronenworth to
the plate as the top of the order
rolled around to try and cause
more
two-out
damage.
The
junior sent a towering ball over
the right-center field wall for a
three-run home run, giving the
Wolverines a 6-1 advantage.
Michigan tacked on runs in
the fifth and seventh innings,
leaving the final score at 8-1.
Moving to Saturday’s mid-day
matchup against Toledo (3-9), the
Wolverines hoped to continue to
better their average of 5.3 runs
per game.
Behind one of the best offensive
performances of Michigan coach
Erik Bakich’s time at Michigan,
the team put up a whopping 19
runs on the Rockets, defeating
them 19-5.
“Our guys are tough,” Bakich
said. “We’ve got good hitters
when guys are executing the
approach and having quality
at-bats. In years past, (opponents)
circled a few guys and focused on
not letting them beat you. We not
only have those guys again, but
we have a bunch more.”
The Wolverines’ scoring was
evenly spread against Toledo,
both on the scoreboard and box
score. Eight Michigan players
knocked runs in, and the team
scored in six of the eight innings
it went to the plate.
The Wolverines set the tone in
their first at-bats, putting up five
runs in one inning for the second
time in as many games. Senior
left fielder Kevin White sent a
moonshot to straightaway center
field with two runners on to give
Michigan a 5-0
lead right away.
“You’ve got
to give Toledo
credit,” Bakich
said. “We put
up five runs
on them in the
first
inning,
and they didn’t
back
down.
They
kept
fighting, and it
was a three-run difference there
in the middle of the game. Our
guys just stuck with the process
of being tough in the box.”
Righties Jayce Vancena and
Jackson Lamb both threw four
solid innings from the mound for
Michigan. Vancena, a freshman,
allowed two earned runs and
four hits, while Lamb shut Toledo
down in the later innings.
On the tail end of Saturday’s
doubleheader, the Wolverines
overcame some early trouble and
took down what was projected to
be their toughest opponent of the
weekend, Coastal Carolina (9-5),
by the score of 10-4.
Michigan jumped out to a 4-0
lead through three innings, but
Coastal Carolina battled back
with one run in the fourth and
two in the fifth, sending the
ballgame to the sixth inning with
the Wolverines leading by only
one.
Led by the bats of Benedetti
and junior third baseman Travis
Maezes, Michigan earned some
breathing room in the seventh
inning, plating four runs.
That 8-3 lead would prove to be
enough to secure the win for the
Wolverines, as right-hander Brett
Adcock kept the Coastal Carolina
bats at bay through 5.2 innings
of work. The sophomore allowed
three runs — none earned —
while striking out seven.
Benedetti finished the day
6-for-9 with 10 RBI and is a
serious contender for Big Ten
Player of the Week honors.
That win sent the Wolverines
into the Sunday finale against
Akron (7-5) on a wave of
momentum,
but
the
Zips’
pitching staff found a way to hold
the Michigan bats quiet.
Riding
the
arm
of
left-
hander
Pat
Dyer,
Akron
shut out the
Wolverines,
coming
away
with
a
2-0
victory.
The
senior allowed
just five hits
over
eight
innings.
The game was tied heading
into the bottom of the eighth
inning when Michigan moved
Cronenworth from first base
to take care of business on the
mound. What happened was far
from what the team was looking
for.
The closer faced eight batters
in his one inning of work. He
walked three, threw two wild
pitches and allowed two runs to
break the late-inning tie.
“(Cronenworth)
is
one
of
the most electric closers in the
country,” Bakich said. “Part of
being an electric or dominant
closer is that some days you just
happen to give up a run or two.”
Although it wasn’t the end to
the Spring Break trip the team
was hoping for, raising its record
well above .500 and showing
some confidence at the plate are
things Michigan intends to carry
with it all season.
BASEBALL
“(Cronenworth)
is one of the most
electric closers in
the country.”
Hectic schedule takes toll
in losses to ASU, Florida
By TYLER SCOTT
Daily Sports Writer
Of the 25 games the Michigan
softball team has played this year,
none have been at Alumni Field in
Ann Arbor. Ten of its games have
been against ranked opponents.
And yet, the third-ranked
Wolverines still found themselves
with only one loss heading into
the Judy Garman Classic in
Fullerton, California.
Thursday, Michigan lost its
opener against No. 22 Arizona
State, 2-0, and it dropped its
afternoon matchup to undefeated
No. 1 Florida, 7-4 in its two first
games of the tournament.
After losing the first two
games, the Wolverines wrapped
up the rest of play with three run-
rule wins against San Jose State,
No. 9 Baylor and San Diego State
by scores of 9-1, 11-1 and 10-2,
respectively.
The Saturday win against San
Diego State completed the fifth
road trip of the year for Michigan,
and it capped off a Spring Break
in which the Wolverines played
11 games in nine days.
“We are as fatigued as I’ve ever
seen us,” said Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins. “We really had
to gut through this last half of the
trip. I thought we had to show a
little grit there to get through it.”
If exhaustion was a factor in
the Wolverines’ losses to Arizona
State and Florida, it wasn’t
necessarily evident. Sophomore
right-hander
Megan
Betsa
allowed just seven hits and one
earned run, and she pitched seven
scoreless innings of work before
giving up a game-ending two-run
home run in the eighth inning
against Arizona State. Despite the
effort from Betsa, Michigan was
unable to score any runs.
“I don’t want to say that we
struggled (at the plate),” said
junior outfielder Sierra Lawrence
after the loss to Arizona State.
“We just didn’t have timely hits,
and we didn’t get them when we
should have.”
The Wolverines’ consistently
productive offense is batting
.346 as a unit, but it only put up
five hits against a talented Sun
Devil pitching staff that has come
to know the Michigan lineup
well in recent weeks. But the
contest a few hours later against
top-ranked
Florida
unfolded
differently.
After Lawrence reached first
from her leadoff spot in the first
frame against the Gators, junior
infielder Sierra Romero built
Michigan an early lead with a
two-run blast to center field.
A two-RBI double to right
field off the bat of senior left-
hander Haylie Wagner, who
also pitched the majority of the
game against Florida, padded
Michigan’s 4-0 lead in the top
of the third. However, Florida
responded in the bottom of the
same inning with three runs of
its own after the Wolverines hit
three batters.
Michigan maintained the one-
run lead until the fifth, when a
Gator double plated a walked
batter to even up the score. Betsa
replaced Wagner in the sixth, but
Florida was able to score three
more times, enough to do in the
Wolverines.
All in all, three runs off of two
hits and a walk left Betsa with
both losses on the day. Wagner
allowed six hits and a walk in her
efforts against the Gators.
“Really, we gave (the game up),”
Hutchins said. “We gave way too
many free bases. It’s an area of the
game that’s a sore spot for us and
an area that needs to improve.
“The pitchers just need to do
a better job of locking in every
pitch and not letting the pressure
of the moment get to them.”
Currently,
the
Wolverines
boast a 1.69 team earned-run
average, good for second in the
Big Ten.
“It was especially difficult
against Arizona State, because
this is the third time we’ve
played them in a week,” Betsa
said. “Same thing for Florida, this
was the second time we’ve faced
them. They’re definitely better
teams, which makes the games
more intense.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Megan Betsa pitched in four of Michigan’s five games over the weekend.