Sports
6A — Thursday, March 26, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Senior guard Nicole Elmblad led Michigan with 14 rebounds in the Wolverines’ win over Toledo on Monday.
Michigan hosts Missouri

By BRAD WHIPPLE

Daily Sports Writer

The 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball team refuses to let its 
season end.

Monday night, the Wolverines 

powered 
through Toledo 
on the road — 
a dicey affair, 
considering 
they had nine 
losses 
away 

from 
home 

during 
the 

season.

Thursday 

night, though, 
Michigan (8-8 
Big Ten, 20-14 
overall) will get another chance 
to extend its postseason life when 
it hosts Missouri (7-9 SEC, 19-13 
overall) at Crisler Center in the 
WNIT Round of 16. It will also 
be Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico’s 100th game at the helm of 
the program.

“After we lost in the Big Ten 

Tournament, 
we 
refocused,” 

Barnes Arico told WTKA Radio 
on Tuesday. “Our kids still 
want to continue to play, win a 
championship and hang a banner, 
something that’s never been done 
for Michigan women’s basketball.”

The winner will move onto 

the quarterfinals to face either 
Southern Mississippi or Eastern 
Michigan, the latter of which the 
Wolverines routed early on in the 
season.

Against Toledo, Michigan’s 

underclassmen came through 

to score 47 points — only one 
of which came from a starter. 
The leading seniors, meanwhile, 
failed to make much of an impact. 
Senior forward Cyesha Goree 
battled foul trouble early in the 
first half, while senior guard 
Shannon Smith struggled to keep 
possession.

Though Goree had a strong 

first-round 
performance, 
she 

was limited to just four rebounds 
against the Rockets, well below 
her 10.6 average. Though she 
failed to be much of a difference 
maker, 
senior 
guard 
Nicole 

Elmblad cleaned up around the 
glass with 14 rebounds. Against 
Missouri, though, Michigan will 
need its leading rebounder back 
in action to pave way for victory.

Another key to success in the 

postseason for the Wolverines 
is their shooting behind the arc. 
Monday, 
freshman 
Katelynn 

Flaherty and sophomore Siera 
Thompson scored 25 and 20 
points, respectively. The guards 
also combined for six 3-pointers, 
bringing Flaherty’s total to 76 on 
the season, passing the single-
season record set by Thompson 
last year. As for Thompson, 
she became the only player in 
program history to post back-to-
back seasons with 70-plus triples.

The underclassmen have been 

finding their stride as practice 
has become more competitive 
and the seniors have gotten some 
rest.

“Late in the year, we got a little 

flat and our seniors got a little 
worn down, because they were 
playing so many minutes,” Barnes 

Arico said. “The last couple of 
weeks, the opportunity to mix up 
practices to give our younger kids 
an opportunity to get some playing 
time and have them improve has 
worked out really well.”

This year, the Tigers’ had their 

best finish to the regular-season 
since the 1984-85 season, and 
earned their first postseason win 
since 2003 with a first-round win 
over Northern Iowa.

“They try to wear you down, 

they hold it sometimes through 
the entire shot clock, they’re a 
disciplined team and they’re 
used to playing on the road,” 
Barnes Arico. “They’ll be a tough 
matchup and a different type of 
team than we’ve faced recently.”

According to Barnes Arico, 

much of her team’s postseason 
success will depend on being 
able to host more games, which 
is determined by attendance 
averages at the discretion of the 
WNIT.

If 
the 
Wolverines 
win 

Thursday, the may even host the 
quarterfinals like they had in 
2010. That year, they hosted each 
game, eventually falling in the 
semifinals.

As Michigan continues to 

ride a lot of momentum, though, 
Missouri 
is 
experiencing 
a 

postseason high. A win Thursday 
will cement its longest postseason 
run in program history. So when 
the Tigers arrive in Ann Arbor, 
it won’t matter how much of 
the postseason has been in 
the Wolverines’ favor, because 
Missouri wants a banner of its 
own.

‘M’ uses big fourth 
inning, routs WMU

Wagner’s complete 
game, two homers 
power Wolverines 

By KEVIN SANTO

Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan softball team 

was left with nothing to show for 
three baserunners through three 
innings.

But 
Michigan 
sophomore 

left fielder Kelly Christner and 
freshman 
first 
baseman 
Tera 
Blanco changed that, starting 
the bottom of fourth inning with 
a bang. After three innings of 
struggling at the plate, the two 
Wolverines went yard to capture 
the first lead of the game.

And after the fourth inning 

strike Wednesday at Alumni 
Field, Michigan (3-0 Big Ten, 
29-4 overall) never looked back 
in its 8-2 victory over Western 
Michigan.

The Broncos (6-14) started with 

right-hander Erin Binkowski in 
the circle, and though she put 
forth a valiant effort through 
three innings, the Wolverines 
eventually caught up to her.

In the fourth inning, Christner 

sent her home run flying to the 
right-field bleachers, and Blanco 
tore the stitching off a full-
count pitch, sending it over the 
center-field wall into Ray Fisher 
Stadium. Michigan proceeded 
to bat through the order, scoring 
four more runs and forcing two 
pitching changes in the process.

“We were trying too hard to 

do too much with the pitching,” 
Christner said. “Whenever it’s 
not as quick as we’ve been seeing 
(against other teams and our own 
pitchers), we have to be more 
patient, looser and let it come to 
us. And that’s what we started 
doing in the fourth.”

The 
four-run 
onslaught 

featured two more RBI for 
Christner, one for freshman third 
baseman Taylor Swearingen and 
another for senior left-hander 
Haylie Wagner.

Blanco 
credited 
Wagner’s 

reassuring performance on the 
defensive end for catalyzing 
the Wolverines’ confidence and 
motivation at the plate in the 
fourth. Wagner dealt from the 
circle, recording seven strikeouts 
and allowing only one hit to 
Western Michigan through five 
innings.

“I was just really working my 

ladder,” Wagner said. “And that’s 
just making them bite and chase 
the (pitches) off the plate. I was 

trying to move the ball and spin 
it.”

Her only setback came in the 

top of the sixth inning, when the 
Broncos showed promise against 
Michigan’s ace.

But Wagner quickly recovered 

to force a pop fly and end the 
inning.

Junior center fielder Sierra 

Lawrence further relieved the 
pressure, 
roping 
a 
two-run 

homer over the right-field wall 
in the bottom of the sixth inning, 
padding the Wolverines’ lead.

Wagner went on to strike 

out the side in the seventh, 
solidifying her complete game. 
She posted a season-high 10 
strikeouts and allowed just four 
hits in her seven-inning outing.

“She 
pitched 
well,” 
said 

Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. 
“She had a number of pop-ups (to 
the circle) because her curveball 
jammed them up. I’m going to 
guess that the pitches they hit 
to the fence were over the plate. 
Sometimes that curve ball on 
righties doesn’t get in on them, and 
when it doesn’t, it’s dangerous.”

Blanco’s home-run ball may 

be staying in the outfield of Ray 
Fisher Stadium for the night, but 
Michigan made sure that was the 
only remembrance of Western 
Michigan left behind in Ann 
Arbor after the first three innings.

SOFTBALL

W. MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN 

2
8

Wolverines own full counts

By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Writer

When the count goes full 

in softball, a duel ensues. The 
pitcher and batter engage in 
a staring contest. The batter 
chokes up on her bat, protecting 
the ever-so-important plate in 
front of her. The pitcher winds 
up with more pressure on her 
than any previous pitch.

The outcome of the pitch has 

many possibilities, but the count 
either remains full or drops back 
to 0-0 — it’s do or die.

Full count is arguably the 

tensest moment in softball. But 
when the Michigan softball 
team faces the high-pressure 
moment, it doesn’t see it as 
one to be feared. Instead, the 
Wolverines hold their nerves 
and deliver.

“Our kids don’t get down 

when the count isn’t in their 
favor,” said Michigan coach 
Carol Hutchins. “It’s a credit 
to their ability to stay in one 
pitch.”

In 
Wednesday’s 
matchup 

against Western Michigan, the 
Wolverines had the most success 
with the count full than any 
other count. They ended the 
day 3-for-5 with the count full, 
including a home run and two 
walks. The stout average on full 
count helped the team to an 8-2 

victory.

After the first two full-count 

at-bats led to an error and a 
groundout, Michigan started 
to show why it’s dangerous on 
the 3-2 count. None of the three 
Bronco pitchers could close out a 
full count in their favor.

In the next full-count at-bat, 

freshman first baseman Tera 
Blanco got all of the payoff 
pitch, hitting a home run over 
the centerfield wall, landing in 
an empty Ray Fisher Stadium. 
It might have even hit an 
outfielder if a 
baseball game 
was in action.

Blanco’s 

solo 
homer 

came 
two 

at-bats 
after 

Michigan 
scored 
its 

first 
run 
in 

the 
fourth 

inning 
from 

another 
solo 

blast by sophomore left fielder 
Kelly Christner. The home runs 
jolted the Wolverine offense, as 
it scored six runs in the frame.

The next four at-bats that 

reached full count alternated 
between singles and walks. 
Christner and freshman catcher 
Aidan Falk both rocketed singles 
up the middle, giving a clinic on 
how to have quick hands while 

swinging the bat. Freshman 
infielder Amanda Vargas and 
junior right fielder Kelsey Susalla 
both earned walks, practicing 
careful patience at the plate.

“Honestly, with a full count, 

I love it,” Christner said. “(The 
pitcher) doesn’t want to walk 
you, for the most part, in any 
situation. So it’s kind of that 
confidence approach, like she’s 
going to give you something to 
hit, so just attack it.”

When the pressure was at 

its height, Michigan showed 

poise at the 
plate. 
When 

a 
Wolverine 

entered a full 
count against 
a 
Western 

Michigan 
pitcher, 
they 

made 
the 

most of their 
opportunity 
and got rid of 
any 
tension. 

The individual victories led to 
an overall team win.

Performing 
well 
in 
full 

counts may benefit Michigan 
in the future, especially when 
it is facing the country’s best 
pitchers. If the Wolverines can 
hit this well when they’re in 
high-pressure situations, they’ll 
be well-suited for postseason 
drama.

SOFTBALL

Missouri at 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Missouri 19-13; 
Michigan 20-14

When: 
Thursday 
7 P.M.

Where: Crisler 
Center

“Our kids don’t 
get down when 
the count isn’t 
in their favor.”

