Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 — 7A
Five Things We Learned:
Michigan’s Spring Break
By ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team’s
Spring Break trip did not end
exactly as it would have hoped.
The
19th-ranked
Wolverines’
final two games against UC Davis
were canceled due to the rain,
leaving them with a 3-3 record in
their trip to California.
Despite suffering his first
losses on the season, Michigan
coach Erik Bakich believes there
are teaching moments in every
game. Here are five things we
learned from Michigan’s early-
season trip out west.
1. Michigan’s starting pitchers
are really good …
Sophomore
left-handed
pitcher Oliver Jaskie had another
impressive
outing
for
the
Wolverines. Against Michigan’s
chief opponent, No. 9 California,
Jaskie managed to toss 5.1 innings
of three-hit, no-run baseball.
Bakich praised Jaskie for his work
ethic and performance after his
earlier start against Canisius, but
his stellar start has been a pleasant
surprise for the Wolverines.
Sophomore right-hander Ryan
Nutof suffered his first loss of
the season, but he impressed
nonetheless. Nutof picked up a
victory in his first start of the
season by shutting out Saint
Joseph’s. In his next start against
UC Davis, Nutof surrendered
just two earned runs, but did not
get the necessary run support to
erase the deficit.
Junior lefty Brett Adcock also
took a loss in his start against Cal
Poly. However, his stat line told
another story. Adcock pitched
3.1 innings, striking out seven
batters and not allowing a hit.
Overall, Michigan’s starters
allowed no more than four runs in
any of their games in California,
and the staff is currently boasting
the fifth-best earned-run average
in college baseball at 1.59.
2. … But its defense isn’t.
Despite outstanding pitching
and a serviceable offense, the
Wolverines’ defense has already
cost
them
games.
Michigan
committed errors in every one of
its contests over the break.
Up 3-2 in the sixth inning
against UC Davis, sophomore
infielder Jake Bivens overthrew
a ball to first base. Instead of two
runners on with one out, Nutof
had to pitch in a no-out, bases-
loaded jam. A single and fielder’s
choice gave the Mustangs a 4-3
lead and the eventual victory.
“We made a couple of costly
errors that led to two unearned
runs against UC Davis,” Bakich
said. “Sometimes the growth
comes from learning from your
mistakes.”
A Michigan error also cost a
run against San Jose State to ruin
the Wolverines’ chances at their
fourth shutout of the season. The
Spartans continued to surge with
four runs in the fifth inning to
tie the game, 5-5, but a double by
Bivens in the sixth inning secured
a 6-5 win for the Wolverines.
3. The 7-8-9 hitters are still up
in the air.
While the first six hitters in the
Wolverines’ lineup have remained
consistent in their 10 contests thus
far, the backend of the lineup has
seen a number of changes.
Junior infielder Michael Brdar
has started every game thus far,
but has not solidified a permanent
spot in the lineup. He has seen time
in all of the bottom three spots.
Junior catcher Harrison Wenson
— who leads the team with three
homers so far this season — has
also started every game, but was
the seventh batter in two games in
California. Wenson has typically
hit in the No. 5 spot.
Besides Brdar and Wenson,
Bakich
has
also
shuffled
freshman outfielder Jonathan
Engelmann, freshman infielder
Ako Thomas and junior outfielder
Johnny Slater in and out of the
lineup at the bottom three spots.
4. Michigan has yet to
establish itself.
With 10 games under its
belt, Michigan is yet to build an
identity. Defense, offense and
pitching have all had their ups
and downs, but have rarely all
come together at once.
The same team that swept
Canisius and shut out the top-10
Golden Bears has also suffered
defeats to UC Davis, Santa Clara
and Cal Poly. Each game is a
matter of which Michigan team
decides to show up.
Though disappointed by the
losses, Bakich says that he cares
most about how the team has
handled each loss.
“We’ve got knocked down
a couple times, and we’ve got
back up,” Bakich said. “I think
our guys have done a good job of
responding to small amounts of
adversity we’ve experienced.”
5. Bold Prediction: Michigan
will sweep Hawaii, averaging
at least nine runs a game.
Win
or
lose,
Michigan’s
pitching has been dominant to
start the season. It’s time that
the offense follows suit. Les
Murakami Stadium in Honolulu,
Hawaii, should be a good stadium
for the Wolverines’ offense to
pick up, measuring just 325 feet
to left and right field.
The Rainbow Warriors are
131st in ERA in college baseball
at 4.49, and the Wolverines will
be the biggest challenge that they
have encountered so far.
With
so
much
attention
focused on the pitching staff, it
will be Michigan’s bats that will
shine against Hawaii.
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico’s team should find itself back in the WNIT when the brackets are announced Monday.
‘M’ awaits WNIT fate
By TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
Since the 2012-13 season, the
Michigan
women’s
basketball
team has failed to make the
NCAA Tournament.
And after a short stay in
Indianapolis for the Big Ten
Tournament last week, it looks
like that drought will live on
another year.
The
Wolverines
(9-9
Big
Ten, 17-13 overall) don’t boast
the strongest record, and they
struggled to collect any “big
wins” that could swing the
selection committee into giving
them a shot. The 64-team NCAA
Tournament field will almost
certainly leave out Michigan —
which finished at a tie for seventh
in the Big Ten — so on deck for
the team is the Women’s National
Invitation Tournament.
While the men’s NIT features
just 32 teams, the WNIT includes
a full 64, and the Wolverines
certainly won’t be left out of that.
But exactly where Michigan
falls between No. 65 and No. 128 in
the country is anyone’s guess.
The team has put together a
strong enough season to earn a
high seed in the WNIT, which
potentially would allow them to
host a handful of games.
Instead of playing at neutral
sites, the team that records
a
higher
average
attendance
generally hosts, a feature that
played well to the Wolverines
advantage last year when they
went all the way to the semifinals.
Last year’s WNIT run ended
with a loss to the eventual
champion,
UCLA.
And
even
though it wasn’t the NCAA
Tournament — which is always a
goal for the team — Michigan coach
Kim Barnes Arico mentioned that
the tournament provided the
team, especially then-freshman
guard Katelynn Flaherty, with
invaluable experience.
Thursday,
Flaherty
scored
31 points against Iowa at the
Big Ten Tournament, setting a
single-season scoring record for
Michigan with 677 for the year.
Flaherty’s
record-breaking
season was the biggest reason the
team had a chance of reaching the
Big Dance this year.
Flaherty led the Wolverines to
plenty of almost-wins against top
teams like No. 5 Maryland and No.
9 Ohio State, and the first-team
All-Big Ten selection played a big
role in sweeping a solid Minnesota
team led by Naismith Award
semifinalist Rachel Banham.
Regardless, Michigan couldn’t
build its résumé over the past few
months, and it lost control of its
postseason destiny as the season
wound down.
The following weeks should
determine how the Wolverines
stack up on the national scale,
which
has
been
difficult
to
interpret all year.
The Wolverines’ third straight
WNIT appearance should be
confirmed this coming Monday,
March 14, when the selection
committee
reveals
the
final
bracket a day after the NCAA
Tournament’s Selection Sunday.
The first round of the WNIT
will be held from March 16 to
March 18, and the Wolverines will
expect to play at Crisler Center
sometime in that frame. But as
always, nothing is guaranteed.
All they can do now is wait.
Quick Hits with Michigan
sophomore Tony Calderone
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
Sophomore
forward
Tony
Calderone likes to shoot the puck.
And that was on full display this
past weekend during the home-
and-home Ohio State series.
Calderone’s nine shots led the
Wolverines in that category. He
also led the team with three goals.
His 96 shots on the season slot
him in third on the team, behind
junior forward Tyler Motte and
freshman forward Kyle Connor,
respectively.
Heading into this weekend’s
series
against
Penn
State,
Calderone agreed to join the Daily
for this week’s edition of Quick
Hits.
The Michigan Daily: You
shoot the puck a lot according to
the stats. Do your linemates ever
get angry with you for shooting so
much?
Calderone: (Laughs) No. They
haven’t said anything yet, at least.
I like to think they give me the
puck so I can shoot it.
TMD:
(Junior
defenseman)
Michael Downing seems to shoot
a lot on the power play. Do you talk
to him about that?
Calderone: (Laughs) On our
power play, we like to get the puck
to the net, and I think he does a
good job with it, so I can’t get on
him about it too much.
TMD: When you got here this
season, you were paired with two
freshmen. Was that an insult?
Calderone: Not an insult. They
both had impressive track records
coming in, so I was excited to play
with some fresh guys and show
them the way.
TMD: Who would you least like
to room with on the road?
Calderone:
(Sophomore
forward) Dexter Dancs. I live
with the guy, and he’s a pretty
obnoxious roommate.
TMD: Why? Because he is
dirty?
Calderone: No. He’s just loud.
He plays music a lot. He just is
loud.
TMD: Why do you think
(senior netminder) Steve Racine
has his own room on the road?
Calderone: He needs to stay
mentally focused. He’s a guy who,
if he has too many distractions, he
could lose focus.
TMD:
(Sophomore
defenseman) Cutler Martin was a
forward once again this weekend.
How’d you like that?
Calderone: He did well. He’s
played
that
fourth-line
role,
hitting guys, shooting the puck.
He adjusted to it pretty well.
TMD: You were the first pick of
the United States Hockey League
draft back in the day. What was
that like?
Calderone: It was cool. (My
family) was watching the draft on
our computer and my named pop
up, and it was awesome. It was a
big deal for my family, especially
because I was out the year before.
TMD:
You
grew
up
in
Michigan. Did you play on that
travel team with all the kids on
this team?
Calderone: I played on Victory
Honda
with
Shuart,
Cutler,
(sophomore
forward)
Niko
Porikos,
(sophomore
forward)
Alex
Talcott
and
(freshman
goalie) Chad Catt.
TMD: You must’ve been good.
Calderone: We went to the
state finals and we had norovirus,
so we had just six people on the
bench. I went to the hospital for
four days. It was a mess.
TMD: So when the norovirus
came back to Ann Arbor, what
were you thinking?
Calderone: All the guys, we
joked, “Not again, not again.” It
was horrible.
TMD: Does it surprise you
that (freshman defenseman) Joe
Cecconi would tell his grandfather
to put more money on his debit
card
during
the
norovirus
outbreak because “Ferraris can’t
take regular fuel”?
Calderone: It sounds exactly
like something he would say.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Sophomore forward Tony Calderone has racked up high shot totals all season.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Junior lefty Brett Adcock took a loss despite not allowing a hit over Spring Break.