Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
8 — Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Greek goddess of
walks, Sierra Romero
By TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
Many baseball fans refer to
former Red Sox infielder Kevin
Youkilis as the “Greek God of
Walks.”
Michigan
softball’s
Sierra Romero is challenging
him for that title. The junior
second
baseman
has
been
walked 38 times this season, the
third highest in college softball.
In
a
three-game
series
against Ohio State, the fourth-
ranked Wolverines (3-0 Big
Ten, 28-4 overall) swept the
Buckeyes, scoring a total of 46
runs and giving up just two. In
the first two games, Romero
recorded six runs batted in.
In the final game, she didn’t
record even one.
Romero’s lack of RBI on
Sunday was not the result of a
poor individual performance
but
a
change
of
strategy
from Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins.
After 12 Michigan batters
were walked on Saturday, three
of which eventually reached
home plate, Hutchins took
note and thought of a beneficial
adjustment.
Sunday, Romero moved up to
the leadoff spot in the batting
order, away from her usual
position as the third in line. In
that game, Romero was walked
three of the four times she came
to the plate, and she made it
around the bases each time she
was walked.
“We did a great job of taking a
lot of free bases,” said Michigan
coach
Carol
Hutchins.
“In
(Saturday’s) game we got 12
walks, and we made them
pay for it. When we did strike
the ball, we struck it really
well, but the key was getting
baserunners.”
When it comes to on-base
percentage, Romero boasts a
hefty .699, which ranks second
in the country.
Romero’s
high
on-base
percentage is largely a result
of how often she gets walked.
Romero’s
dangerous
power
hitting merits the number of
intentional walks she receives.
When she is at bat, Romero
expects to get on base, and
this is a big reason why she
is considered one of the best
players in country.
Since Romero gets on base
so much, it only made sense
to bring her to the top of the
order. Michigan has plenty of
other the sluggers to hit her
around the bases, but if no one
is on base beforehand, there
are fewer runs to be scored.
Behind Romero in the batting
order were sophomore Kelly
Christner and junior Sierra
Lawrence. Both follow right
behind
Romero
in
on-base
percentages, holding a .504 and
a .476, respectively.
But Romero sticks out. She
has shown there is more to
offense than just hitting home
runs, something she can do
with ease. Instead, Romero’s
stat sheet demonstrates the
importance of getting on base.
In her career, Romero has
been walked a total of 153 times,
the third highest in Michigan
softball history. By end of her
senior year, the record will
likely belong to her.
Kevin Youkilis’ 104 walks
in 2003 were the among the
highest in the minor leagues.
Former Oakland A’s manager
Billy Beane hired him for just
that. As a three time All-Star
and two-time World Series
champion, Youkilis made a
nine-year career out of getting
walked. Romero is already
doing the same.
Note: Michigan’s Tuesday
game
against
Western
Michigan has been rescheduled
to Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at
Alumni Field.
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Junior second baseman Sierra Romero is currently third in the nation with 38 walks. She has a .699 on-base percentage.
Wolverines prepare for
Falcons in home opener
By BEN FIDELMAN
Daily Sports Writer
After spending its first 22
games on the road, the Michi-
gan baseball team opens its
home schedule against Bowling
Green on Tuesday at Ray Fisher
Stadium.
The
team
will not only
be happy to
see its home
turf in game
action for the
first time this
season,
but
also
to
play
sub-.500 com-
petition after
being swept at
Nebraska last
weekend.
The Falcons
(0-3 MAC, 5-13
overall) come into Ann Arbor
riding a seven-game losing
streak, most recently includ-
ing a sweep at the hands of
Ball State in which they were
outscored by a combined 18-3
margin. Though the offense
has recently struggled to score
runs, two Bowling Green start-
ers have batting averages above
.300: catcher Trey Keegan and
infielder Greg Basalyga.
Heading to the mound for
the Falcons is left-hander Brett
Fitzwater, who has been one
of the team’s most consistent
pitchers this season. Carrying
a 3.65 earned-run average, the
junior has held opponents to a
.229 batting average so far this
season.
The Wolverines (0-3 Big Ten,
11-11 overall) will counter with
right-hander Matt Ogden. Com-
ing back from an injury that
cost him the entire 2014 season,
the redshirt junior has posted a
5.14 ERA through seven innings
pitched this year. Tuesday will
be his first start of the season.
Though
the
scoreboard
didn’t end up looking like what
the team wanted, Michigan had
a few bright spots against the
Cornhuskers. Three Wolver-
ines hit over .350 on the week-
end, including senior outfielder
Jackson Glines, who went 6-for-
13. His season average now sits
at a Big Ten-best .472 — nearly
70 points higher than any other
player in the conference.
In addition to Glines, junior
left fielder Cody Bruder, right
fielder Carmen Benedetti and
first baseman Jacob Cronen-
worth are having respectable
seasons.
Benedetti and Bruder rank
in the top six Big Ten players
in runs batted in, with 22 and
20, respectively. Nearly half of
Benedetti’s 22 RBI were record-
ed in one day, when he slugged
in 10 runs in a doubleheader
against Toledo and Coastal Car-
olina on March 7. Benedetti also
ranks third in the conference
with eight doubles.
While it comes as no shock to
anyone who watched the team
last year, Cronenworth con-
tinues to get on base and score
runs better than many others.
Last season, he finished sec-
ond in the conference in walks,
accompanied with a 10th-place
finish in runs scored. He seems
to be on a similar trajectory
this year, as he currently sits at
second in walks and is tied for
third in runs scored among all
Big Ten players.
Glines, Cronenworth, Bene-
detti and Bruder are joined by
senior shortstop Eric Jacobson
to make up the five Michigan
players with batting averages
above .300 this season.
Michigan is looking to right
the ship in this midweek game
before facing off against No. 20
Maryland this weekend. This is
the second year in a row that the
Wolverines have started the Big
Ten season against two of the
best teams in the conference,
and they learned last year how
important it was to sustain good
momentum in weekday games
between those major series. The
team lost just three midweek
games once opening its home
schedule last year.
Bowling
Green at
Michigan
Matchup:
Bowling
Green 5-13;
Michigan 11-11
When: Tues-
day 4 P.M.
Where: Ray
Fisher Stadium
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Jackson Glines hit 6-for-13 in Michigan’s series against Nebraska.
‘M’ advances in WNIT
By MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Writer
TOLEDO, Ohio — As the
buzzer sounded to signal the
end of regulation, Michigan
women’s basketball coach Kim
Barnes
Arico’s
children
charged
through
the
stands
to
congratulate their mom after a
huge 74-58 win over Toledo.
But just as they reached the
court, an usher stopped them,
not knowing exactly who the
kids were. Barnes Arico had
to signal to the usher to let
them through so she could
experience the joyous moment
she deserved after leading her
team to the WNIT round of 16.
“(The usher) didn’t know
who they were, so I had to tell
him,” Barnes Arico said. “They
had to get home to get to bed, so
I didn’t want them to hang out
(too long).
“They are at the age now
that they know what’s going on.
When we lose, they cry. When
they win, they’re so excited.”
And for a moment, it seemed
as if Barnes Arico’s kids would
be crying after the game.
Five minutes into Michigan’s
second-round WNIT matchup
with
Toledo,
backed
by
a
raucous
crowd
at
Savage
Arena, the Rockets made their
first three shots, while the
Wolverines shot just 1-for-5 to
start the game.
It seemed like it would
be another rough night for
Michigan away from Crisler
Center.
But things were different
this time, and freshman guard
Katelynn
Flaherty
was
the
player to ignite the Wolverines
on Monday night to bring them
into the WNIT round of 16.
With 5:07 left in the first
half and senior forward Cyesha
Goree off the floor due to foul
trouble, Flaherty drove inside
and put up a shot through of
forest of bodies. The layup went
in, and the once-rocking crowd
at Savage Arena was silenced.
Flaherty’s
3-point
play
ignited the Wolverines to a 16-0
run to end the half — all without
Goree, their leading scorer, on
the floor.
“At the beginning of the
year, if Cyesha picked up her
second foul and (senior guard
Shannon Smith) picked up her
second foul, or any two of our
seniors, we would’ve thought
to be in serious trouble,” Barnes
Arico said. “To finish that
first half with two freshmen,
a sophomore, a junior and a
senior on the floor during a 16-0
run got me super excited.”
Flaherty led Michigan with
25 points, while sophomore
guard Siera Thompson, despite
not starting for the second
game in row, scored 20 points.
“It was nice to see Katelynn
and Siera knock down some
shots,”
Barnes
Arico
said.
“They’ve been kind of a streaky
lately, so it was great to see
them have an incredible night.”
The Wolverines picked up
right where they left off in
the second half, shooting 40
percent and outscoring the
Rockets by two.
And when Goree picked up
her third foul with 12:52 left
in the game, it was freshman
forward Jillian Dunston who
came up big for the Wolverines.
Just like in the first half when
Goree left the game, Dunston’s
physical
presence
inside
was enough to throw off the
Rockets.
“In practice, we work on
getting younger players, like
Jillian, ready so she can step
in at big times like tonight,”
Thompson said. “I think she
played very well tonight.”
But with the crowd on
Toledo’s
side,
the
Rockets
never seemed like they were
completely out of the game.
Midway through the second
half, Toledo went on a 7-0 run
to cut the lead to 10. But that
was as close as the Rockets got.
Once again, it was Flaherty
who sank three straight shots
to widen the gap.
While Toledo put up a good
fight, it wasn’t meant to be for
a team ranked 59 spots behind
Michigan in the RPI.
Rockets
guard
Inma
Zanoguera — Toledo’s lead-
ing scorer — finished with 14
points, while guard Brenae
Harris, who played for Michi-
gan between 2011 and 2013, fin-
ished with 11.
The Wolverines now move on
to play Missouri in the round of
16 at home on Thursday.
But considering its road woes
this season, Michigan will cel-
ebrate its victory, at least until
tomorrow’s practice.
“It’s a great feeling (to win),”
Thompson said. “We’re not
done though. We want to keep
working and keep winning.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty scored 25 points off the bench in Michigan’s second-round WNIT victory.
MICHIGAN
TOLEDO
74
58
Flaherty, Thompson star
By MAX BULTMAN
Daily Sports Editor
TOLEDO,
Ohio
—
After
an
unceremonious
WNIT
opener that saw the Michigan
women’s basketball team shoot
a combined 6-for-18 from the
field in a win over Cleveland
State, freshman guard Katelynn
Flaherty and sophomore guard
Siera Thompson got to work.
They, along with the other
Wolverine guards, went in to
take extra shots on their day
off Friday with assistant coach
Megan Duffy.
And in the Wolverines’ 74-58
win over Toledo at Savage Arena
on Friday, it showed, as the two
combined to shoot an almost
nonsensical 17-for-23 from the
floor, lifting Michigan into the
tournament’s third round.
“My last game, I think I shot
3-for-11,” Flaherty said. “Getting
the ball back in our hands
when we’re not having a good
shooting day really gives us
confidence.”
Neither
Thompson
nor
Flaherty
started
Monday
for the Wolverines, but they
made
the
difference
in
a
hostile environment. Without
Thompson
and
Flaherty’s
astounding 74-percent shooting,
the Wolverines’ line would have
been 9-for-30.
And while both players are
undoubtedly deep threats every
night, Monday’s outburst was still
somewhat unexpected. While
Flaherty started the season as one
of the team’s premier shooters,
she has struggled to get her shot
going in her last three games.
“Katelynn is funny — she’s
still such a youngster that
so much of her game is still
predicated on the first shot, or
the second shot,” said Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico. “If
she’s 0-for-1 or 0-for-2 I start
to get nervous, because I think
she hesitates instead of taking
threes. But tonight she got the
first one to fall, and then her
confidence was flowing.”
But Flaherty didn’t just get the
first one to fall Monday. She got
the first eight. In fact, she didn’t
miss a shot until there was just
11:29 remaining, and that was
on a blocked layup by Toledo’s
Sophie Reecher.
She racked up 25 points from
just about everywhere on the
court, mostly on 3-pointers and a
series of long 2s, neither of which
the Rockets could do anything
about.
Even when they closed out on
her, Flaherty’s release was still
too quick.
“We just couldn’t get a hand
her face fast enough,” lamented
Toledo coach Tricia Cullop.
Added Thompson: “(Flaherty)
was great tonight. I’ve seen her
like that a lot of times, but she was
very, very good tonight.”
Even if the Rockets had
found an answer for Flaherty,
Thompson might have been
able to carry Michigan herself.
She shot a perfect 4-for-4 from
behind the arc, finishing with 16
points.
She continuously found ways
to get open and make Toledo pay
for the holes in its defense.
“To (Thompson)’s credit, she’s
been out of the starting lineup
the last two games, and that’s
probably the only time in career
she’s been out of the starting
lineup,” Barnes Arico said. “She
responded tonight, and that was
awesome to see.”
For one stretch in the second
half, Flaherty and Thompson
were the Wolverines’ entire
offense. After Flaherty hit a
3-pointer to put Michigan up
46-30 with 15:16 to play, no player
not named Thompson or Flaherty
scored for the Wolverines until
senior forward Nicole Elmblad
hit a free throw with 2:46
remaining.
Luckily for Michigan, that was
still more than enough scoring.
They totaled 17 points in that
span, more than enough to stave
off a brief push from Toledo.
“They just kind of lost us with
all our screens,” Flaherty said. “I
know my team needs me to shoot
— it’s one of the best things I do.”