6A — Thursday, April 9, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘Silent Assassin’ does the little things

Sierra Lawrence 
gets the job done 
in ways that aren’t 

always obvious

By KEVIN SANTO

Daily Sports Writer

It all started Sierra Lawrence’s 

freshman year. She would get 
to second base, and Michigan 
coach Carol Hutchins would get 
ready to tell her to steal third.

But by the time she looked up, 

Lawrence was in full stride, if 
not already at the bag. That was 
the beginning of the now-junior 
centerfielder’s unique alter ego, 
“The Silent Assassin.”

The sports world sees its fair 

share of nicknames — some 
serious, others absurd.

Reggie Jackson became “Mr. 

October” after he hit three 
home runs on three consecutive 
pitches in Game 6 of the 1977 
World Series. More recently, 
former Michigan guard Nik 
Stauskas picked up the alias 
of “Sauce Castillo” by way of a 
closed-captioning error.

Clearly, the Michigan softball 

team is no exception to the 
nickname phenomenon.

The name fits Lawrence’s 

game well. She’s undoubtedly 
one of the Wolverines’ top 
players, ranking third in runs 
scored, home runs and runs 
batted in.

But 
Lawrence’s 
most 

significant contributions have 
flown under the radar. Hutchins 
revealed that her baserunning 
ability makes her a significant 
threat 
deserving 
of 
the 

nickname, not the home runs 
and RBI.

“Her first year, every time I’d 

look up, she’d be on third base,” 
Hutchins said. “She would just 
show up (at third). Before I had 
a chance to send her, she was 
already standing there. So I 
nicknamed her that because she 

is as good a base runner as I’ve 
ever had. She has great instincts 
(and) she has a tremendous first 
step.”

Added 
freshman 
catcher 

Aidan Falk: “She’s so fast, and 
nobody realizes that. And she’s 
unbelievably 
strong. 
Those 

two combinations (make her) a 
lethal player.”

Lawrence has been placed at 

the leadoff spot in the batting 
order for the majority of the 
season, largely due to her agility 
on the base paths. Hutchins 

explained 
that 
she 
has 
an 

incredible ability to set the game’s 
tone early and to get on base by 
beating out infield singles.

So far this season, Lawrence 

has posted 18 stolen bases on 
19 attempts, ranking first and 
fourth in the category for the 
Wolverines and the Big Ten, 
respectively.

“When I get on base, I just 

want to score,” Lawrence said. 
“So any opportunity I have to 
take a base, I take it. It’s always 
come naturally (to me) to be 

aggressive on the bases.”

Yet Lawrence’s intangibles 

often don’t receive recognition. 
Usually, that is reserved for the 
home-.run hitter or the pitching 
ace.

But 
that 

doesn’t bother 
her. She leaves 
that 
for 
her 

teammates, 
embracing 
a 

leadership role 
for 
Michigan 

instead.

In 
an 

inexperienced 
outfield, 
Lawrence 
is 
the 

only starting player to return 
to the lineup from the 2014 
season after the Wolverines 
graduated Lyndsay Doyle and 
Nicole Sappingfield. It’s clear 
that junior right fielder Kelsey 
Susalla and sophomore left 
fielder Kelly Christner have 
benefited tremendously from 
the experience of “The Silent 

Assassin” in the outfield.

“(She has taught me to have) 

confidence,” 
said 
freshman 

infielder Amanda Vargas. “She 
plays with a sense of swagger. 

All 
players 

can tell that 
she’s 
really 

confident. She 
knows 
what 

she’s 
doing, 

and 
even 
if 

she’s having a 
rough 
game, 

you know the 
next 
game 

she’s going to 

be fine.”

Lawrence’s long tenure in the 

outfield has paid dividends for 
the Wolverines on the defensive 
end. She knows where the ball 
is going before batters can even 
make contact, and she reads 
fly balls with ease, a skill that 
has led her to boast a flawless 
fielding percentage.

Lawrence’s 
innate 
ability 

to judge the ball off the bat, 
in 
combination 
with 
very 

impressive arm strength, often 
turns opposing teams’ would-be 
doubles into singles.

She continues to produce the 

numbers that the fans may not 
care about, but as she has aged, 
the stats that fans look for have 
improved as well. Lawrence has 
already matched her 2014 home 
run total, sending nine balls out 
of the park thus far. And she 
is 21 RBI away from matching 
her 2014 total in the respective 
category.

But she has not wavered 

in 
showing 
that 
she 
will 

consistently trade the highlight-
reel play for a tally in the win 
column.

So 
while 
the 
opposing 

pitchers and fielders focus on 
stopping Michigan’s headliners, 
look for Lawrence to do what 
she does best: slip through their 
gazes yet again, and strike like a 
silent assassin.

ROBERT DUNNE/Daily

Junior centerfielder Sierra Lawrence has stolen 18 bases in 19 attempts this season. She ranks first and fourth in the category for Michigan and the Big Ten, respectively.

“Before I had a 

chance to send her, 

she was already 
standing there.”