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SportsMonday
April 6, 2015 — 3B
Michigan stays hot, wins series
The Wolverines
take two games
over defending Big
Ten champs
By DANNY VARGOVICK
Daily Sports Writer
The wins just keep on coming.
Last weekend, the Michigan
baseball team (4-5 Big Ten, 18-13
overall) won its series against
Maryland, the preseason Big
Ten favorite. This weekend, the
Wolverines took their series
against Indiana, the defending
Big Ten champion, splitting
the
Saturday
doubleheader,
7-3, 11-13, before winning the
deciding game Sunday, 4-3, in
Bloomington.
“We’ve taken an approach
the last couple weeks that our
backs are against the wall and
we’re going to fight our way
out of it, and that’s what we’ve
done,” said Michigan coach Erik
Bakich.
The deciding game was a
nailbiter.
Freshman
closer
Bryan Pall retired the side in
the eighth inning, and then
struck out the first batter in the
ninth. He allowed a solo homer
to cut the lead to one, but then
struck out the next two batters
to
preserve
the
Wolverine
victory.
Bakich had all the confidence
in the world in his freshman
closer, even after the home run.
“I knew we were in good
shape,” Bakich said. “I never
had any doubt whatsoever, and
I don’t think any of our players
did either.”
It
was
left-hander
Brett
Adcock, however, who laid the
groundwork for the victory.
The sophomore, who has
struggled with walks this year,
gave the Hoosiers (2-6, 18-10)
only one free pass and one run
in six innings of work.
“I
attacked
them
with
fastballs, moving it inside and
outside, and worked off that
with my off-speed pitches,”
Adcock said. “It was big to
only give up one walk because
their offense starts going when
pitchers make mistakes.”
Saturday,
junior
right-
hander
Jacob
Cronenworth
was
just
as
impressive
in
his start in the
first game.
In his second
collegiate start,
he also went
six
innings
and
allowed
only one run.
He threw 76
pitches as he continued to build
his
arm
strength,
allowing
five hits, striking out five and
walking two.
The one low point in the
weekend was freshman right-
hander Ryan Nutof’s start in the
second game on Saturday. He
allowed six runs — five earned
— and his earned-run average
ballooned from 2.93 to 3.74.
“He
pitched
well
—
he
pitched just like he pitched
last weekend,” Bakich said.
“It just so happened that the
pitches that he threw, they put
some quality
at-bats
together.
Credit
their
players
for
hitting some
quality
pitches.”
Still,
Bakich
was
thrilled with
how his team
almost pulled
out an implausible win in the
unlikeliest of situations.
“Even when we were down
13-4, our guys didn’t stop
fighting,” Bakich said. “That
was something I came away
from very proud of, the way our
guys never quit.”
Senior centerfielder Jackson
Glines, who leads the team
in hitting, had just two hits
on the weekend. In his stead,
Cronenworth, sophomore right
fielder Carmen Benedetti, and
recent returnee junior infielder
Travis Maezes stepped up.
In
game
one,
Benedetti
collected three hits and one
walk while scoring two runs.
In game two, the trio reached
base a combined eight times
while scoring four times and
collecting
eight
RBI.
Two
of those RBI came in the
first inning, when Benedetti
homered, plating Cronenworth.
In
the
third
game,
Cronenworth,
Maezes
and
Benedetti each reached base
three times. Benedetti again
went deep on a two-run shot,
this time scoring Maezes.
“We had a lot of timely hits,
two out RBIs,” Bakich said.
“Just up and down the lineup, it
was a good team win.”
After a slow start to Big Ten
play, Michigan is back on track.
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Jacob Cronenworth reached base three times in Sunday’s game and pitched six innings Saturday.
“Just up and
down the
lineup, it was a
good team win.”
Wolverines take
battle for Big Ten
By TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
The best of the Big Ten squared
off in Minneapolis, and at first, it
seemed like the home team would
run away with the series.
A slow start to the weekend
gave the Michigan softball team
(7-2 Big Ten, 33-6 overall) its
worst loss of the season, as the
fourth-ranked Wolverines fell
9-1 in a mercy-rule defeat to No.
14 Minnesota (6-3 Big Ten, 30-7
overall).
But Michigan regrouped Satur-
day as senior left-handed pitcher
Haylie Wagner stepped into the
circle and earned a 9-4 victory
in the second game of the series.
Wagner was also a force in the
batter’s box, hitting a two-run
shot to the right-field scoreboard
for her first home run of the year.
Sunday, the Golden Gophers
brought back their strongest
pitcher in Sara Groenewegen,
who gave Michigan all sorts of
problems in the series opener,
tallying 10 strikeouts.
In the circle for Michigan was
sophomore pitcher Megan Betsa.
Despite giving up one run, Betsa
totaled nine strikeouts on the
day, a stark contrast from Fri-
day’s game when she allowed
nine hits and walked five batters.
“Minnesota is a very aggres-
sive team,” said Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins. “(Betsa) really
kept us in. We struggled Friday to
do much at the plate, and the key
to beating a good pitcher is hav-
ing a good pitcher. (On Sunday,)
she held a really potent offense
and did a nice job.”
In the rubber match, the Wol-
verines connected with their bats
in the top of the sixth inning, as a
six-run rally sealed the 9-1 victory.
Unlike Friday, Michigan found
a way to frustrate Groenewegen.
A sizzling grounder from junior
infielder Sierra Lawrence skid-
ded past the shortstop to bring
in sophomore infielder Lindsay
Montemarano. Another single
by junior second baseman Sier-
ra Romero scored Lawrence,
stretching the lead to 5-1.
After Romero’s hit, the Golden
Gophers finally took Groenewe-
gen out of the circle, and in doing
so, sacrificed their best asset.
“She worked the corners a lot,”
Wagner said. “She had a good off-
speed pitch, and she mixed up the
seams.”
After the pitching change,
it was all downhill for Minne-
sota. Sophomore outfielder Kelly
Christner ripped a single to right
field, junior outfielder Kelsey
Susalla was hit by the next pitch
and senior catcher Lauren Sweet
notched a grounder that was mis-
handled by the second baseman,
scoring Romero and Christner.
The onslaught continued, and by
the end of the inning, Michigan
led by eight runs.
“We were amped up that
we hit Groenewegen out of the
game,” Montemarano said. “We
were getting hits and trusted
the game plan. We were the ones
throwing the punches.”
Montemarano’s big afternoon
was capped off by an RBI double
that was part of the sixth-inning
rally. She drew a pair of walks
and also posted two runs and two
hits on the day, one of many Wol-
verines contributing offensively.
In the bottom of the sixth,
with one out, Betsa missed low
and wide with the 12th pitch of
an at-bat to load the bases. Just
two outs away from ending the
series, another long at-bat result-
ed in Betsa’s ninth strikeout, and
the Wolverines came closer to
mercying the Gophers.
An infield popup to freshman
first baseman Taylor Swearingen
ended the game, and the run rule
kicked in, concluding the week-
end with another Michigan win.
SOFTBALL
‘M’ earns first Big Ten win
By DANIEL TACHNA-FRAM
Daily Sports Writer
This year, the Michigan men’s
lacrosse team has preached
resilience. The mantra might
just have saved the Wolverines’
season as they came up with
a
crucial
10-8 home
win
over
Rutgers on
Sunday.
Michigan (1-1 Big Ten, 5-5
overall) is currently sitting
in fourth in the conference
standings, and with just the
top four teams advancing to the
inaugural Big Ten Tournament,
Sunday’s game against fifth-
place
Rutgers
had
all
the
makings of a must-win game for
both squads.
Last Sunday, the Wolverines
suffered a 13-4 drubbing at the
hands of Maryland in their
Big Ten opener. It would have
been easy to let the loss to the
Terrapins deflate the team and
derail the rest of the Big Ten
season, but Michigan managed
to
right
the
ship
against
Rutgers.
Freshman attacker PJ Bogle
opened the scoring for Michigan
six minutes into the game.
Sophomore attacker Ian King
added to the early lead with a
goal in transition less than a
minute later, when goalkeeper
Gerald
Logan
corralled
a
Rutgers shot, brought the ball
halfway up the field and dished
it off to King.
King
didn’t
stop
there,
though, scoring three more
goals in his first action in over
a month after coming off a foot
injury.
“It’s awesome,” King said.
“It’s the kind of thing you
dream of every day (when
you’re out).”
Junior attacker Kyle Jackson
closed out Michigan’s scoring in
the first quarter with a rocket
past the Scarlet Knights goalie,
stretching the lead to 3-0.
From there, Michigan began
to stumble. Pressured by two
Rutgers
attackers,
redshirt
sophomore defenseman Charlie
Keady rolled the ball behind
him for a turnover, which led
to an easy goal for the Scarlet
Knights late in first quarter.
The
Wolverines
saw
themselves outscored 4-1 in the
second quarter and ultimately
trailed at halftime, 5-4.
After
coughing
up
the
lead, the resiliency that has
characterized the Wolverines
this season surfaced in the
third quarter as they took back
control of the game. King’s
second goal of the day quickly
tied the game at five just two
minutes into the third quarter,
and junior midfielder Riley
Kennedy added another a few
minutes later to give Michigan
the lead once again. It was
short-lived, though, as Rutgers
responded 16 seconds later to
tie the game at six.
That’s when Jackson took
over for the Wolverines. He
scored back-to-back goals in the
third quarter to put Michigan
on top for good.
King
drove
the
dagger
through the Scarlet Knights
when,
with
one
minute
remaining in the third quarter,
he scored his third and fourth
goals of the game just seven
seconds apart. Rutgers added
two goals in the fourth quarter
while
holding
Michigan
scoreless,
but
the
Scarlet
Knights couldn’t overcome the
deficit.
“This team stays hungry,”
said Michigan coach John Paul.
“They handle adversity pretty
well. They come back ready
to work every week no matter
what
happened
the
week
before.”
After losing some of its
momentum
in
the
fourth
quarter Sunday, Michigan will
face a stern test against Ohio
State. The Buckeyes will likely
test the Wolverines’ resiliency
yet again, as the team looks to
continue progressing toward
its ultimate goal of a Big Ten
Tournament appearance.
MEN’S LACROSSE
RUTGERS
MICHIGAN
8
10
Michigan drops heartbreaker
Duquesne scores
late goal to down
Wolverines at
Michigan Stadium
By DANIEL TACHNA-FRAM
Daily Sports Writer
Sunday,
Duquesne
scored
the first goal and the last one,
downing the Michigan women’s
lacrosse
team,
11-10,
in
a
heartbreaking,
back-and-forth
battle.
That
first
goal
set the tone
for the rest of a disappointing
afternoon for the Wolverines.
“We wanted to come out and
set the tone and play a much
more upbeat, aggressive game,”
said Michigan coach Jennifer
Ulehla.
The turning point of the
game came with 16 minutes
left to play in regulation and
Michigan nursing an 8-7 lead.
Sophomore goalie Allison Silber
saved a shot and gained control
of the ball. The Duke defense
elected not to pressure Silber,
allowing her to hold the ball
and give her defense time to
rest. After about 30 seconds,
Silber made an ill-advised pass
about 30 yards downfield that
was picked off by a Duquesne
attacker with nothing but open
field between her and the net.
The play allowed the Dukes to
tie the game and shifted the
momentum clearly in their
favor.
The game started close, and it
stayed that way, as neither team
managed to open up more than a
two-goal lead.
One of those
two-goal
leads
came
early in the
first half when
Michigan
responded to
the
Dukes’
opening goal
with three of
its own, the
final of which
came from sophomore attacker
Jess Angerman, who finished
the day with a hat trick.
“Today I was obviously lucky
because my teammates were
able to find me,” Angerman
said. “Just the way the defense
worked with me playing behind
the cage I was able to get some
looks.”
When Duquesne battled back
to make it 3-2 midway through
the first half, the Wolverines
quickly responded with another
goal and it seemed like they
would manage to stay in control
of the game. But that reality
quickly subsided, and the Dukes
dominated the second part of
the first half by scoring three
consecutive goals to take the
lead, 5-4.
Seconds
before
the
half
expired, sophomore midfielder
Anna
Schueler
scored
an
equalizer to send the teams to
the locker room knotted at five
apiece.
In the first
five minutes of
the second half,
Angerman
sandwiched
her
second
and
third
goals
of
the
game
around
a
Duquesne
goal scored off
a penalty shot.
Less
than
a
minute after Angerman’s third
goal of the afternoon, Duquesne
responded with a goal to tie the
game at seven.
Michigan notched two quick
goals
following
the
Silber
blunder, but the Dukes quickly
responded with two of their own
to tie the game once again.
Finally,
after
setting
the
tone for much of the afternoon,
Duquesne scored the last goal of
the game in the final minutes.
“We
never
really
put
it
together,” Ulehla said. “We’d
make a stop on defense, then
we’d turn the ball over. That has
been a constant that we’ve been
struggling with all season.”
“That has been
a constant that
we’ve been
struggling with.”
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
DUQUESNE
MICHIGAN
11
10