The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
March 16, 2015 — 3B

‘M’ wins rubber match

By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Writer

In Saturday’s home opener 

for the Michigan softball team, 
Kent 
State 
pitcher 
Emma 

Johnson dominated. She held the 
Wolverines scoreless, allowing 
just three hits and striking out 
five in a complete-game win.

Michigan couldn’t lay off of 

her tricky rise ball — which was 
the Wolverines’ game plan.

“I bet you my salary that we’re 

going to see Emma Johnson 
again,” said Michigan coach 
Carol Hutchins after Saturday’s 
3-0 loss. “That kid is good as 
anyone else I’ve seen. She’s legit.”

Sure 
enough, 
who 
was 

announced 
as 
the 
Golden 

Flashes’ pitcher in the pregame 
introductions 
Sunday? 
None 

other than Emma Johnson.

With a chip on their shoulder 

after losing the home opener, 
Hutchins said that she hoped 
the Wolverines would come 
back Sunday with “a bee in their 
bonnet.”

It’s safe to say Michigan 

delivered, led by 10 strikeouts 
from 
sophomore 
pitcher 

Megan Betsa and two RBI from 
sophomore left fielder Kelly 
Christner, winning 4-1.

Through 
the 
first 
three 

innings, Johnson was just as 
effective as Saturday. With a 
lethal rise ball, she racked up five 
strikeouts and forced the third-
ranked Wolverines (24-4) to 
pop out twice. Kent State (12-6) 
then scored first in the top of the 
fourth with a home run by right 
fielder Michele Duffy — her first 
of the season.

Michigan’s first hit of the 

game came in the bottom of 
the fourth inning by way of a 
single by Christner. Two batters 
later, freshman first baseman 
Tera Blanco broke up Johnson’s 
shutout with an RBI single, 
driving in Christner and tying 
the game at one. After junior 
right fielder Kelsey Susalla was 
hit by a pitch, a runner was in 

scoring position for freshman 
catcher Aidan Falk.

Senior catcher Lauren Sweet, 

the usual starter behind the plate 
for the Wolverines, was injured 
on a play running home Saturday, 
so Falk got her first career start 
Sunday. 
With 
the 
freshman 

facing a full count, the Michigan 
crowd roared to life, clapping 
and stomping its feet in hopes 
of a rally, but Johnson picked 
up another strikeout with her 
devastating rise ball.

In the fifth inning, sophomore 

third 
baseman 
Lindsay 

Montemarno led off the inning. 
After working the count full, she 
sent a charge to left field, landing 
near the chalk between fair and 
foul 
territory. 
Montemarano 

ran to second, but the call was 
reversed, sending the crowd and 
Hutchins into a tirade.

After 
Hutchins’ 
argument 

with the third base umpire 
concluded, the fans booed, and 
Hutchins raised her hands up 
and down in approval of the fans’ 
disappointment. 
Montemarano 

struck out on the next pitch.

Two batters later, more drama 

and controversial calls unfolded. 

Junior designated player Mary 
Sbonek stole second and Golden 
Flashes catcher Erika Warren 
tried to throw her out, but the 
errant throw hit the batter, 
sophomore 
shortstop 
Abby 

Ramirez, in the head, causing 
the ball to go behind third base. 
Warren hit Christner in the 
same type of situation in game 
one on Saturday. Sbonek then 
advanced to third but was called 
out, sending Wolverine fans into 
another frenzy.

With the bases loaded and 

tensions rising for Kent State 
in the sixth, Betsa got out of the 
jam by getting Warren to pop out. 
That was when the tide started to 
turn.

“I was trying to be one-pitch 

tougher than they were,” Betsa 
said. “If bases are loaded, I don’t 
try too hard. I don’t try to get the 
strikeout or to get them to swing 
and miss. That’s great, but if they 
put the ball in play and we throw 
the ball to first to get out of the 
inning, that’s just as good.”

Johnson’s effectiveness ended 

in the sixth. With the Wolverines 
up to bat in the subsequent half 
inning, junior center fielder Sierra 

Lawrence led off with a single. 
Four pitches later, Christner hit 
a two-run shot into the right field 
bleachers, giving Michigan a 3-1 
lead.

After a popout, Blanco sent 

a solo home run over the left 
field wall, extending the lead to 
three. While she ran the bases, 
she held one finger up in the air 
in triumph. The Wolverines had 
finally figured Johnson out, thus 
ending her day in the circle.

“I thought we were trying too 

much, and then we finally said, 
get back to see ball, hit ball,” 
Hutchins said.

When Betsa ended the game 

with a strikeout, the Michigan 
fans could finally breathe a sigh 
of relief. Kent State came into 
the series ready to win and got 
one in its first opportunity. After 
that, the Wolverines kicked into 
gear and got their offense going. 
Fans may not have expected 
Kent State to be competitive, 
but Michigan didn’t doubt its 
abilities after Johnson’s stellar 
performance.

“We always have to come out 

and battle,” Blanco said. “It’s kill 
or be killed out here.”

ROBERT DUNNE/Daily

Sophomore outfielder Kelly Christner knocked in two key runs Sunday in Michigan’s 4-1 victory over Kent State.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
DMR headlines 
championships

By RILEY NELSON

Daily Sports Writer

Two legs into the distance 

medley 
relay, 
the 
Michigan 

women’s track and field team’s 
fate was almost decided by an 
opposing runner’s error.

The Villanova runner fumbled 

a 
baton 
exchange, 
hitting 

Michigan junior Maya Long’s 
hand. Long was able to compose 
herself, however, helping the 
Wolverines’ relay team to a third-
place finish at the NCAA Indoor 
Track and Field Champi

The 
time 
of 
10:58 
in 

Fayetteville, Arkansas is more 
than four seconds faster than its 
previous best time this season.

“We were pretty fired up,” 

said 
Michigan 
coach 
Mike 

McGuire. “I thought we raced to 
our potential. We were ranked 
seventh or eighth, so we came out 
and finished third in the nation. 
That’s a great effort by four 
people.”

The distance medley relay is 

a four-part relay race consisting 
of 
1,200-, 
400-, 
800- 
and 

1,600-meter legs. The runners 
representing 
Michigan 
were 

juniors Shannon Osika, Long, 
Danielle 
Pfeifer 
and 
senior 

co-captain Brooke Handler, in 
that order.

“We put together four much 

more solid legs than we had in 
the previous weeks,” Handler 
said. “We were happy with our 
time as well.”

Stanford 
came 
in 
second 

at 10:53, while Arkansas set a 
facility and meet record with 
a time of 10:51. This was more 
than five seconds faster than 
the previous record, which was 
set by Michigan’s 2013 NCAA 
Championship relay team.

Michigan was also represented 

in Fayetteville by junior Cindy 
Ofili in the 60-meter hurdles. 
Coming 
off 
of 
her 
second 

straight win at the Big Ten 
Championships, Ofili hit a hurdle 
and fell during the preliminaries, 
failing to advance to the finals.

“It 
was 
obviously 
a 
big 

disappointment 
for 
her,” 

McGuire said. “It was not in a 
lack of effort. It was one of those 
things that can unfortunately 
happen.”

One point of discussion prior 

to this weekend was whether 
Pfeifer would compete in the 
individual 
800-meter 
race, 

which she also qualified for. 
After lengthy discussions with 
McGuire, Pfeifer chose not to 
compete individually in order to 
be fresh for the distance medley.

“We wanted to see what we 

could do as a team when we were 
all fresh,” Pfeifer said, “so after 
talking about that we decided that 
it was best for me to scratch the 
individual 800-meter. I’m pretty 
happy with my decision because 
of what we did yesterday.”

In the distance medley relay, 

Pfeifer had the fastest split of any 
800-meter runner in the race.

“I think that’s attributed to 

the fact that she’s a really good 
athlete and was running fresh,” 
McGuire said. “Next year she’ll 
be a senior, so we could decide on 
something different, but I think 
it was something we mutually 
agreed upon.”

For Handler, the weekend 

was particularly special because 
it was the last indoor race of her 
collegiate career.

“I wanted to go out with one of 

my best collegiate races,” Handler 
said. “It was definitely my best 
race of the indoor season.”

She ran a personal best with a 

time of 4:35.

The 
Wolverines 
had 
a 

successful indoor season, taking 
second at the Big Ten Indoor 
Championships. This is also 
the 12th consecutive year that 
Michigan has had All-Americans 
in the distance medley. All four 
members of the 2015 team were 
awarded that honor.

“I thought we made progress, 

getting second in the Big Ten 
and what we did this weekend,” 
McGuire said. “We’re going a 
step in the right direction.”

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Bastien an All-American in heptathlon

By MATTHEW KIPNIS 

Daily Sports Writer

At the Akron Invitational last 

month, junior Steven Bastien 
broke a record that had gone 
untouched for seven years.

When Bastien topped Frank 

Shotwell’s score with a 5,576 point 
total in that heptathlon, it seemed 
that his new record could stay 
at the top of the record book for 
nearly as long as its predecessor.

In reality, it lasted a total of 35 

days.

At 
the 
NCAA 
Indoor 

Championships 
this 
past 

weekend, Bastien earned 5,664 
points to finish in eighth place 
overall, 
becoming 
Michigan’s 

first-ever All-American in the 
heptathlon. In the process, he 
set four new personal records 
in seven events and entered 
Michigan’s all-time top 10 with a 
long jump of 24 feet, 7.25 inches.

“I feel really honored just to 

add to the tradition that Michigan 
had,” Bastien said.

Added Michigan coach Jerry 

Clayton: “Anytime you come into 
the national championship and 
your athletes finish higher then 
where they were ranked coming 
in, that’s a positive step. With 

Steven Bastien ending up as an 
All-American and scoring in the 
top eight (nationally), that’s even 
greater.”

Redshirt junior Derek Sievers 

joined Bastien in Arkansas for 
his first trip to the NCAA Indoor 
Championships. Sievers finished 
11th to earn second team All-
America honors. Even with a 
throw of 60 feet, 5.75 inches — 
sixth-best all-time for Michigan 
indoor throwers — it was Bastien 
making his debut that stole the 
show.

Entering the tournament as 

the 14th seed in the field, Bastien 
surpassed 
almost 
everyone’s 

expectations, except his and his 
coaches’.

Just hours after having set the 

previous record, Bastien knew 
he could do better. Immediately 
following the Akron Invitational, 
Bastien worked with Michigan 
coach Jerry Clayton and assistant 
coach Steven Rajewsky to create 
a plan of attack for the Big Ten 
Indoor 
Championships 
and 

NCAA Indoor Championships.

“As a decathlete, compared 

to people that do just the one 
event, you don’t get a lot of reps,” 
Bastien said. “There is a lot of 
room for improvement because 

you don’t have the time to spend 
on one or two events. Even after 
the first meet, Coach Clayton said 
there was more there, more to 
improve on.”

On the first day, Bastien looked 

ready to prove doubters wrong 
straight out of the gates. In the 
first event, the 60-meter dash, 
Bastien finished in sixth place 
with a time of 7.037 seconds, 
fractions off his personal best.

Bastien then jumped three 

places up the leaderboard to 
third in the second event with his 
record-breaking long jump of 24 
feet, 7.25 inches, but didn’t even 
know it.

“When I landed, I looked at 

the notches for each footmark 
and I misread it,” Bastien said. “I 
thought it wasn’t that good but 
then I saw the number and was 
really happy. Doing well in the 
(60-meter dash), then the long 
jump really helped me carry the 
momentum through.”

Eventually, 
after 
throwing 

a career best in shot put and a 
six feet, 2.25 inches high jump, 
Bastien fell back to eighth, where 
he ended the first day.

Bastien started the second 

day to with a personal-best time 
of 8.51 seconds in the 60-meter 

hurdles, and followed that up 
by breaking his previous best 
mark as a Wolverine in the pole 
vault, clearing 14 feet, 11 inches. 
Despite 
the 
result, 
Bastien 

dropped to ninth, and needed a 
solid performance on the final 
event to finish as a first team All-
American.

Bastien did that and more, 

running the fastest 1,000 meters 
of his career finishing second 
in the 14-man field, by clocking 
2:36.85 and beating his previous 
mark 
by 
more 
than 
seven 

seconds. With the runner-up 
finish, Bastien jumped back into 
eighth and finalized his spot on 
the All-American first team.

“We need to bring more people 

like him to our program to take 
us to the next level,” Clayton said. 
“This is the type of athlete we 
need. He has made great strides 
(since coming to Michigan). I saw 
the athletic ability, but it was just 
putting it together in a heptathlon 
which is what we have been able 
to do.”

Since transferring to Michigan 

from 
Samford 
this 
season, 

Bastien has broken two Michigan 
records in his seven events. When 
he is on the track, no record is 
safe. Not even his own.

BASEBALL
Hits don’t fall as 
‘M’ drops series

By DANNY VARGOVICK

Daily Sports Writer

To win baseball games, you 

need to hit the baseball and the 
ball has to find a hole. Against 
Kansas (8-12) this weekend, 
Michigan (11-8) did only one of 
those two things, as it dropped 
two of its three games in its 
weekend series in Lawrence, 
Kansas.

“Today (we had) some of the 

best at-bats we’ve had all season,” 
said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. 
“We hit some of the hardest balls 
we’ve hit all season.”

But two Jayhawk outfielders 

made leaping catches at the wall 
to rob the Wolverines of extra 
bases and countless line drives 
were roped straight into Kansas 
mitts.

The highlight of the weekend 

for the Michigan offense was the 
eighth inning of Saturday’s game 
when it scored three runs to take 
a 4-2 lead that it would not relin-
quish.

Junior left fielder Cody Brud-

er reached on an error to start 
the inning before being brought 
home by senior catcher Kend-
all Patrick’s single. Patrick and 
right fielder Johnny Slater then 
scored off the bat of senior Eric 
Jacobson, who has impressed 
after moving over to shortstop as 
junior shortstop Travis Maezes 
deals with an injury.

Junior 
first 
baseman 
and 

junior closer Jacob Cronenworth 
threw the final two innings Sat-
urday to ensure the Wolverines 
stayed ahead for good.

The main difference between 

the Wolverines’ win on Satur-
day and their two losses — 6-5 on 
Friday and 8-4 on Sunday — may 
have been the starting pitching.

Friday, sophomore left-hander 

Brett Adcock needed 87 pitches 
to make it through four frames, 
allowing five earned runs in the 

process. Adcock walked just two 
batters while striking out three, 
but the Jayhawks had his num-
ber, tagging him for seven hits.

“Brett’s had one bad outing,” 

Bakich said. “They capitalized on 
an inning where they had two-
out RBIs. Brett’s been lights out 
for us these past few weeks.”

Saturday, 
freshman 
right-

hander Ryan Nutof had one of his 
best starts in his young career, 
throwing six strong innings 
while allowing just two earned 
runs and seven total base run-
ners.

“He’s a good pitcher,” Bakich 

said. “When he’s throwing his 
fastball and breaking ball and 
change-up all for strikes, he’s got 
pretty good stuff. He gives us a 
chance to win games.”

In the rubber match Sun-

day, the Wolverines had their 
best pitcher so far this season, 
sophomore right-hander Keith 
Lehmann, on the mound, but he 
lasted just two innings. While he 
didn’t allow a single free pass, he 
was hit hard for six hits and four 
earned runs.

“Keith 
made 
some 
qual-

ity pitches,” Bakich said. “Every-
thing they hit found a hole. They 
didn’t strike out and found a way 
to put the barrel on the ball. You 
have to give them credit for com-
ing out and making contact.”

The weather in Kansas also 

seemed to favor the homestand-
ing Jayhawks.

“There was a jet stream going 

out to right,” Bakich said. “They 
hit a couple balls that way, and we 
hit a lot of balls the wrong direc-
tion.”

After putting together an 

eight-game winning streak over 
Spring Break, the Wolverines 
will try not to let one series that 
got away get them down. They’ll 
attempt to learn from the nega-
tives, try to focus on the positives 
and move on.

