Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 — 7A
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Senior outfielder Kelsey Susalla hit .380 with 14 home runs last season.
Veteran outfield
to lead Michigan
Lawrence, Susalla,
Christner all return
to pack Wolverines’
prolific lineup
By AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
As
the
No.
2
Michigan
softball team begins its season
this weekend, its outfield will be
crucial to its success.
The Wolverines’ outfield will
lead the team both on offense
and off the field, helping to
motivate younger players. All
three starting outfielders return
from last season’s second-place
finish in the Women’s College
World Series and look to improve
on last season’s performance.
After spending her freshman
year on the bench, only getting
occasional
opportunities
to
pinch-
hit,
junior
outfielder
Kelly
Christner
flourished
in
her first year
as a starter.
She
finished
second
on
the team in
a variety of
categories
including home runs, supporting
an offense that led the nation
with 118.
“My main focus my freshman
year was really (on each) pitch,”
Christner said. “I came in for
pinch-hit at bats, so I really had
to focus on every single pitch.
Last year my main focus was my
confidence, and that really helped
me excel to the next level.”
Playing alongside Christner
in the outfield will be two
seniors,
Kelsey
Susalla
and
Sierra Lawrence.
Like Christner, Susalla also
thrived in her first year with
regular playing time, finishing
third on the team in batting
average and RBI. Susalla also
garnered
tremendous
praise
from Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins about her work ethic
and dedication.
“(Susalla)
didn’t
quite
get
the accolades that (Christner)
did, but she was critical to our
success,” Hutchins said. “She
came from being a walk-on who
had (few) at-bats as a freshman
and sophomore to our starting
outfielder who was on the All-
American ballot and All-Big Ten.”
Lawrence is one of just two
four-year starters on the roster.
Last season, she led the team
in stolen bases and played in
at least 50 games for the third
year in a row. She also was
perfect in the field, not making
a single error.
Lawrence knows the tools
for a successful team, and
along with her fellow seasoned
outfielders, she aims to assist
the younger players, who have
just
begun
their
Wolverine
softball journeys.
“Me and the upperclassmen,
we’ve done great job of coaching
the
underclassmen
and
the
freshmen we have out there,”
Lawrence said. “I think it’s a
big role that we all have to step
up and do, and we have some
freshmen out there who need to
do some learning for when I step
down or if they need to come in
this season.”
Michigan gains two new
freshmen in its outfield corps
this season, Natalie Peters and
Courtney
Richardson,
who
were both named to their all-
conference teams in high school.
Hutchins
enjoys
coaching
freshmen
because
of
their
commitment to improving and
assisting the team.
“Freshmen come every day
excited to be here,” Hutchins
said. “This freshman class, I’ve
loved from the
get-go. There’s
a lot of them,
and they stick
together as a
group. They’re
enthusiastic. I
like that pack
mentality.
They take care
of each other.”
Christner
explained
that the elder players will
do whatever it takes to ease
the challenging transition of
college softball — be it extra
batting practice or a simple
conversation.
Perhaps because she knows
from experience the importance
of taking advantage of every
opportunity, Christner is always
eager to help a young player
with extra reps.
“Sometimes you can just see
the look on people’s faces that
they’re having a bad day and go up
and talk to them,” Christner said.
“I think it helps them calm their
nerves just because they do have a
lot on their plate, and we do know
what it’s like being a freshman
coming into this program.”
When asked about keys to
Michigan’s season, Christner
believes the team must remain
upbeat and enthusiastic. If she
is determined to succeed, she
feels it will carry over to the
other players.
“Whenever I wasn’t confident
last year, that’s when I didn’t do
well,” Christner said. “If I have
energy on the field, I think I
bring everyone else up, and then
we all have energy.”
Hutchins remains confident
in the leadership of her veteran
outfielders. The three will give the
Wolverines the best opportunity
possible to win games.
If
Christner
and
Susalla
can
repeat
their
breakout
seasons and Lawrence remains
consistent, Michigan will have
many wins to look forward to in
the coming months.
“We’ve done
a great job of
coaching the
underclassmen.”
Michigan healthy, stronger
after productive offseason
By COLE ZINGAS
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team
was certainly disappointed to
end last season with a loss to
Louisville at the 2015 Super
Regionals. But with that defeat,
coming
against
a
perennial
contender and the preseason
No. 2 team in the country this
year, Michigan had caught the
nation’s eye and was catapulted
into an offseason in which it has
earned more recognition than
any Big Ten team is accustomed
to seeing.
The Wolverines, ranked 15th
according to Baseball America’s
preseason rankings, have taken
the offseason as an opportunity
to get healthy and stronger in an
attempt to build on last year’s
impressive ending.
Senior left-hander Evan Hill
was forced to miss a large chunk
of last season with an anterior
cruciate
ligament
injury,
appearing in just 11 games. Hill
says the offseason has helped
him tremendously, and that his
knee is 100 percent heading into
the team’s season opener Feb. 19.
Playing on a weakened ACL in
2015, Hill still managed to fan 37
batters in 38 innings of work.
Junior left-handed pitcher/
first baseman Carmen Benedetti,
who was named to the preseason
All-American third team, has also
been trying to improve himself
physically in recent months.
“His growth is impressive,”
said Michigan coach Erik Bakich.
“(Benedetti) was a slow runner
his first year, kind of an average
runner last year, now he’s like a
speedster on the bases.”
Benedetti and Hill, as well
as junior pitcher Brett Adcock,
were able to work on their game
while playing in the competitive
Cape Cod Baseball League over
the summer. All three put up
impressive numbers.
Hill posted a 1.80 ERA and
a 5-0 record for Wareham,
and Adcock helped Yarmouth-
Dennis to a league title, going
3-1 with 26 strikeouts in 37.1
innings.
Benedetti
was able to
work on his
pitching
as
well. He went
to Cape Cod
with
two
pitches
and
came
back
with
three,
adding
a
breaking ball
to go with his changeup and
mid-90s fastball.
When
Michigan’s
players
returned to campus at the end
of summer, normally the team
would have a couple of months
of fall ball before bringing
everything indoors. But this
winter has not been typical.
Mild weather has allowed the
Wolverines to practice outdoors
at Ray Fisher Stadium about 10
to 15 times since their winter
training
started.
That’s
compared
to
last
winter,
in which they
managed
to
scrimmage on
a snowy, half-
frozen field for
two
days
in
January.
“We’ve been
outside more in the last three
weeks than maybe the last three
years combined,” Bakich said.
Bakich and his team are excited
to have had a prolonged fall
season and extra reps outside this
winter, saying it has been a great
benefit for the team. Still, despite
some milder weather, the team
is more than ready to fly down
to Florida and kick off its season
next weekend in the warmth.
“Everyone wants to get out
of the cold a little,” Hill said.
“I think I can speak for all the
returning guys and say that we’re
pretty anxious to get out there.”
There’s been a lot of talk
surrounding
the
Wolverines
so far this year. And after an
already experienced lineup has
taken big strides this offseason,
the publicity is well deserved.
Michigan has been dead set on
working hard and improving,
all through the summer, the fall
and even into the winter. But
now, nine days from the season
opener, Michigan baseball is
ready for spring.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Junior Carmen Benedetti returns as one of Michigan’s top talents on the mound and at the plate.
“Everyone
wants to get
out of the cold
a little.”
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Junior Nicole Artz helped power Michigan to a season-high score of 197.425 by winning the all-around title with a season-high score of 39.550 on Monday.
Artz shines in Michigan’s tri-meet
By LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Writer
Known
for
her
bubbly
personality and energetic floor
routines, junior team captain
Nicole Artz was expected to
make a splash at the Michigan
women’s gymnastics tri-meet.
She didn’t fail to deliver.
With Michigan facing Eastern
Michigan and Maryland, Artz’s
biggest competition came from
fellow Wolverines — junior Talia
Chiarelli, freshman Olivia Karas
and sophomore Brianna Brown.
Despite the strong competition
from
her
teammates,
Artz
maintained her position as a
constant threat. On the floor
exercise, she took first place
with a 9.925.
Artz has a reputation for the
consistency in her dismounts,
and
she
reinforced
this
reputation in almost every event.
She stuck landings throughout
her entire floor routine, as well
as on the bars and beam. She
took a minor step back when
landing her vault, which put
her at a tie for eighth place with
Eastern Michigan’s Kimberly
Ebeyer with a score of 9.800.
“I just like to take it one
thing at a time. You can’t get
ahead of yourself,” Artz said.
“If something
does mess up,
you can’t dwell
on it, you just
have to move
on. So it’s just
staying in the
moment
and
focusing
on
what you did
in practice.”
Despite the
lower ranking
in vault, which was the first
event of the day, Artz was able to
make a comeback and outscore
her opponents with her 9.925 on
floor and a 9.900 on the uneven
bars, where she tied for third.
She also snagged second on the
beam with a score of 9.925, a
season high.
These high scores led to
another all-around first-place
result for Artz, who ended the
meet with an overall score of
39.550. With a previous best all-
around of 39.525, Artz earned
another season best. It was also
Artz’s 20th score above 39.000
in her career —
the 12th-most
in
Michigan
history.
“She
is
a
great
leader
on our team,”
said Michigan
coach
Bev
Plocki,
“because
she
really
does
demonstrate
that work ethic, and the desire
to win, and the competitiveness
and those things that make her
great.”
Artz’s high scores and flooring
routines rarely go unnoticed —
she was named Big Ten Gymnast
of the Week on Tuesday, her
third time gaining recognition
for her dominant performances
in every event. She is also on the
Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch list.
“She
is
driven,
both
gymnastically
and
academically,”
Plocki
said.
“In everything she does, she
is driven, but she doesn’t take
herself too seriously either. It’s
kind of a good mix, because
sometimes if you’re too much of
a perfectionist, you’re too hard
on yourself.
“She’s a really good mix of
she’s got that drive and desire
to want to be perfect, which
means she works really hard,
but she doesn’t take herself too
seriously. She knows how to
enjoy a moment and sometimes
even be silly.”
As the gymnastics season
begins to draw close to an end,
Artz is a big contender heading
into the NCAA Championships.
Her reputation on floor and in
the all-around, combined with
her recent success on bars and
beam, put her in a good position
to dominate the podium at a
national level.
“She is driven,
but she doesn’t
take herself too
seriously either.”