Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 — 7
Wagner earns
birthday win
Lefty settles down
after first-inning
home run, retires
last 12
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
Haylie
Wagner’s
birthday
was just another reason to
celebrate.
Michigan softball’s senior
left-hander has had some very
happy
birthdays
throughout
her tenure with the Wolverines.
With every passing year for
Wagner, it seems that April 7
has brought her more luck in
the circle.
And her 22nd birthday was
no different.
Tuesday,
her
birthday
fortune
was
in full effect
at
Alumni
Field, though
it didn’t look
that way from
the start. After
recording
two outs in
the top of the first, Eastern
Michigan right fielder Michelle
Kriegshauser
stepped
to
the plate. On a 2-2 delivery,
Kriegshauser crushed the ball
over the left-field fence to put
the Eagles up 1-0.
But that was the worst of
Wagner’s play, as she went
on to earn a nice present — an
11-1 run-rule victory. Wagner
pitched a perfect game after
the solo shot off the bat of
Kriegshauser. She mowed down
12 straight Eagles and recorded
six strikeouts in five innings.
“It’s the same thing every
game that I’ve been focusing
on,”
Wagner
said.
“Just
attacking
the
hitters
and
finishing my pitch. So after that
(home run), I was just focusing
on that and making the ball
move. And it’s cool to get a win
on your birthday. It’s fun.”
Though
not
quite
as
impressive
as
her
Tuesday
showing,
Wagner’s
other
performances on April 7 stood
out.
Wagner, just a freshman at
the time, had a seven-inning
battle against Ohio State in the
circle in 2012, allowing just five
hits, conceding four earned
runs and leading Michigan to a
6-5 victory.
And 365 days later, in 2013,
the Wolverines’ ace picked up
where she left off against the
Buckeyes. Wagner produced a
strong three-inning outing as
Michigan cruised to a 17-5 run-
rule victory in which she didn’t
allow a single earned run or
walk.
Michigan didn’t get to play
a game to mark Wagner’s 21st
birthday in 2014, but she put
together a shutout performance
two days prior.
Michigan
coach
Carol
Hutchins
joked
about
the
happenstance that Wagner has
pitched on her birthday three
times in her four-year career.
“It must be (a coincidence),
because I’m not aware of that,”
Hutchins said.
“(And)
last
year
didn’t
fall
on
her
birthday?
Then I didn’t
start her on
her
birthday
(all
four
years).”
But
Wagner’s
career can’t be chalked up to a
few special performances on
her birthday. She boasts a 2.08
earned-run average and a 15-2
record in the 2015 campaign,
and
her
performance
has
especially excelled as of late.
After faltering late in a
loss to Iowa on March 29, the
veteran quickly recovered for
a crucial Big Ten series against
Minnesota.
In
five
innings
against the Golden Gophers,
Wagner
allowed
just
one
earned run and recorded five
strikeouts, leading Michigan to
a 9-4 victory.
“The
main
thing
with
her is her confidence,” said
sophomore left fielder Kelly
Christner. “When she has that
self confidence, like, ‘Yeah I
can dominate this game,’ and
whenever she has that presence
on the mound is when she really
shuts the batters down.”
Tuesday was the last time
Wagner will ever have the
opportunity to step into the
circle donning the maize and
blue on her birthday. Yet for
the next 30 games, she’ll still be
wishing for the best gift of all —
a Women’s College World Series
ring.
RITA MORRIS/Daily
Senior left-hander Haylie Wagner pitched five innings of one-hit ball Tuesday.
Wolverines rout EMU
By CHRIS CROWDER
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan and Eastern
Michigan campuses are roughly
11 miles apart from each other.
But
when
the
Wolverines
played the
Eagles
on
Tuesday,
they
proved that the two softball
programs are many more miles
apart in talent and performance.
With a day off on Monday,
Michigan
looked
mentally
prepared
against
its
cross-
county opponent. It got the win
by run-rule in five innings, 11-1.
“We usually have Mondays
off so we can catch up on our
studies and everything,” said
sophomore left fielder Kelly
Christner. “Then we can come
out stronger like today. We have
those Mondays to not worry
about and kind of forget about
softball and relax, and then we
come back Tuesday refocused
and ready to go.”
Added Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins: “It’s a long season,
and it’s cumulative. … As a
coach, you worry about how it
will affect them and whether
they’ll be focused when you
have a game the next day.”
The worry may have settled
in early as Eastern Michigan
drew blood in the first inning.
Senior pitcher Haylie Wagner
went through the first two
batters, earning a strikeout
and a groundout. With Wagner
needing one more strike to get
out of the inning, sophomore
Michelle Kriegshauser timed
the 2-2 pitch perfectly, sending
it over the left-field wall to give
the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
But Wagner was perfect the
rest of the way, not allowing a
hit or walk through the next
four
innings.
The
offense
backed her up, batting through
the lineup in a single inning on
two separate occasions.
The Wolverines evened the
score
almost
immediately.
Junior
centerfielder
Sierra
Lawrence started the three-
run first inning with a walk
and stolen base to get into
scoring position. Junior second
baseman Sierra Romero then
drove Lawrence in with a
base hit back up the middle,
advancing to second on the
throw home. Christner hit a
ball right to the shortstop, but
Romero was able to reach home
on an errant throw. Christner
scored off of another single
by junior right fielder Kelsey
Susalla.
Later in the inning, Michigan
loaded the bases but couldn’t get
a runner home. Nonetheless, the
Wolverines had batted through
the whole lineup, giving Wagner
ample time to prepare mentally
for the next inning. She used
the time well, coming out in
the second inning to earn three
straight groundouts.
“They were ready to go and
came out aggressive,” Hutchins
said. “We love aggressive.”
The Wolverines started the
second inning like they started
the first, with Lawrence earning
a walk and Romero hitting a
single to knock the speedster
in for a run. Two batters later,
sophomore
third
baseman
Lindsay Montemarano hit an
RBI double to make the score
5-1.
Sophomore shortstop Abby
Ramirez stepped up to the dish
in the third inning with one
runner on. Given Ramirez’s
status as a slap hitter, the Eagles
outfield was playing in. Ramirez
made them pay, hitting a shot
past the centerfielder, batting a
run in to push the lead to five.
Two batters later, Christner
hit a double to score two more.
The next batter, Susalla, hit
a liner past a diving Eastern
Michigan right fielder, driving
in yet another run. After an
RBI sacrifice fly by freshman
catcher Aidan Falk, Michigan
had a commanding 10-1 lead to
end the third.
Montemarano
walked
with the bases loaded in the
fourth inning, scoring another
run. But that was it for the
Wolverines, as Wagner struck
out to close the inning. With
a 10-run lead, Wagner had the
opportunity to redeem herself
after her strikeout by pitching
a shutdown inning to end the
game on the run rule.
She did just that, picking
up two more strikeouts to put
her count at six on the day.
With Wagner’s stellar pitching
and Michigan’s potent offense
scoring at will, it was a near-
perfect day for the team.
And with the Wolverines’
dominant performance, they
continue
to
have
bragging
rights in Washtenaw County.
The schools are close, but with
regard to their softball teams,
there’s a much bigger gap.
Hill, Maezes continue road back
Benedetti keeps
hot streak going in
blowout win over
Eastern Michigan
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team
was already rounding into form
in the last two
weeks.
Now
it
has
two
key contributors returning to
provide a boost.
Following a series win at
defending Big Ten champion
Indiana last weekend, Michigan
returned home and steamrolled
Eastern Michigan on Tuesday,
18-4, notching 20 hits in the
process.
“It was great to see some
offensive explosion and some
fireworks out there today,” said
Michigan coach Erik Bakich.
“They did a good job of taking
advantage of pitches that they
could drive for extra base hits.
We didn’t hit 20 singles.”
The contest featured two key
contributors for the Wolverines
who have been suffering from
injuries:
junior
left-handed
pitcher Evan Hill and junior
infielder Travis Maezes.
Hill
—
who
has
been
rehabilitating
from
a
knee
injury — made his first start of
the season Tuesday. He pitched
two innings and surrendered
only one run on two hits while
striking out two batters. Hill’s
return adds even more depth
to an already-stacked pitching
staff.
“I definitely thought I had
more in me, but the two-inning
start was scheduled,” Hill said.
“Whatever (the coaching staff)
wants me to do going forward,
I’ll be there ready to go.”
Maezes,
who
has
been
suffering
from
a
strained
oblique, was moved from his
usual
shortstop position
to
third base in order to allow
him
playing
time
without
exacerbating the injury.
And it has paid off. Since
returning to the lineup April
1 against Central Michigan,
Maezes is batting 10-for-21
with six runs scored and three
doubles. Against the Eagles, he
went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
BIG
EARLY
INNINGS
PROPEL
MICHIGAN:
In
Tuesday’s game, the Wolverines
scored three runs each in the
first and second innings.
Michigan’s
offense
has
made a habit of storming out
of the gate, such as in the first
innings
of
games against
Maryland
on
March 29 and
Toledo
on
March 31. The
Wolverines
put up five in
the first frame
against
the
Terrapins and
four
against
the Rockets.
With
runners on first and second
and none out in the first
frame, Maezes hit a single and
advanced to second on an error
that also allowed a run to score.
Two batters later, junior left
fielder Cody Bruder smacked a
double to left field that drove in
two more runs.
“Our guys are focused on
helping the team score the most
runs,” Bakich said. “A lot of it is
just that we’ve got good hitters.”
In the second, with Michigan
ahead, 3-1, sophomore right
fielder Johnny Slater added
another run to the Wolverines’
total by rounding the bases in a
highly unusual fashion. He drew
a walk, advanced to second on a
failed pickoff
attempt,
reached third
on a balk and
scored
on
a
wild pitch.
“(Slater)
manufactured
the
run
all
by
himself,”
Bakich
said.
“We’ll
take
it. It was a
big run at the
time.”
Later
in
the
inning,
sophomore
first
baseman
Carmen Benedetti and Bruder
contributed to the Wolverines’
cause in a more conventional
matter. Both belted RBI base
hits — Benedetti a double and
Bruder a triple — to extend
Michigan’s lead to 6-1.
“A lot of guys had quality
at-bats,” Bakich said. “We made
a lot of hard contact all over the
field.”
BENEDETTI CONTINUES
HOT STRETCH: It has been
a banner year for Benedetti,
who leads the Big Ten with 35
RBI. In addition, he posts a .353
batting average with 41 hits,
three home runs and a team-
best 12 doubles.
But he really made waves in
last weekend’s series against
the Hoosiers by going 7-for-
13 with a slugging percentage
of 1.077. Benedetti carried his
momentum
into
Tuesday’s
game, nabbing three hits in four
at-bats and scoring a run in the
process.
Benedetti is hardly alone in
his offensive success, though.
The Wolverines topped the Big
Ten in batting average (.294)
following the weekend series
against Indiana.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence
right now,” Benedetti said. “It’s
an awesome feeling.”
“It’s cool to get
a win on your
birthday. It’s
fun.”
CONGRATULATIONS
TO MICHIGAN DAILY
BRACKET POOL
CHAMPION
KEVIN SANTO
(EVEN IF HE IS A FRESHMAN)
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Sophomore Carmen Benedetti leads the Big Ten with 35 RBI and is hitting .353 with three home runs and 12 doubles.
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Sophomore outfielder Kelly Christner went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored Tuesday against Eastern Michigan.
E. MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN
1
11
NOTEBOOK
“It was great
to see some
offensive
explosion today.”