Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 — 7A

FOOTBALL
Mone back to 100
percent in practice

After broken leg
in 2015 fall camp,
defensive tackle

prepared to step in

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

Already dominant for most

of last season, the Michigan
football team’s defensive line has
yet another contributor healthy
again for 2016.

Redshirt sophomore defensive

tackle Bryan Mone, who missed
all of last season with a broken
leg, is back to 100 percent and
practicing in full during spring
camp.

In fact, he has been practicing

since the team’s Citrus Bowl trip
to Florida and believes he could
have played in
the game, but
by sitting out,
he saved an
extra year of
eligibility.

Seven

months
ago,

Mone was in
the
middle

of his second
fall camp as a Wolverine and
appeared ready to be in the
rotation at defensive tackle as
only a sophomore. When he went
down with an injury last August,
he didn’t initially think it would
keep him out. He told head athletic
trainer Paul Schmidt, “Just strap
me up and I’m good to go!”

It wasn’t that simple, Schmidt

told him. The leg began to swell
up in the days after the injury, and
Mone’s worst fears became reality.

“I really didn’t know it was

going to be a season-ending
injury,” he said.

He then spent the season on

the sideline, watching Michigan’s
defensive line grow into one of the
best in the country. He said that
having to watch the team play gave
him extra motivation to get back
on the field as quickly as he could.

“The thing that hurt me the

most was not being able to help
out the team, especially when
we were struggling,” Mone said.
“And of course, I’ve got too much
love for the game of football.
When you love something and it
goes away, you’re heartbroken.”

After weighing 320 pounds

at the start of last season, he has
slimmed down to 309 and become
faster as a result. He worked back
into his routine in Florida because
he wanted to get one last shot
on the scout team against first-
teamers such as fifth-year senior
center Graham Glasgow, and now
he’s back and ready to go.

“I
feel

amazing,”
he

said. “I’m still
a little rusty on
little stuff like
my technique,
especially my
feet and my
hands. That’s
what I need to
fix the most,

but I feel like I’m stronger, more
explosive, faster.”

By the end of last season,

with players such as Mone and
defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow
injured, the Wolverines were just
trying to plug the gaps on the
interior of the defensive line. Now,
they’re back to having legitimate
competition at those positions.

Even among the returning

contributors, Mone has stuck
out as a viable contributor.

“No rust at all,” said fifth-year

senior
defensive
tackle
Matt

Godin. “He’s played really well.”

“I feel like I’m
stronger, more

explosive, faster.”

Poggi, Hill now at fullback

By JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

The last time Khalid Hill

carried the ball in a game, he was
10 years old and just learning how
to play football.

The carry went for 60 yards

— but not a touchdown — and
it marked the final highlight of
what Hill described as a “great”
but brief career as a youth football
running back.

Now a redshirt junior on the

Michigan football team, Hill —
recruited as a tight end by former
coach Brady Hoke — may soon
find the ball in his hands again.
After a mutual decision between
Hill and current head coach Jim
Harbaugh, sparked in part by
Hill’s performance as an injury
replacement against BYU last
season, Hill will move back off the
line of scrimmage and transition
to the fullback position this year.

He’s not alone in that regard

— former defensive lineman and
fellow redshirt junior Henry
Poggi, who made the switch to
offense last season and played
several snaps at tight end, is
also making a full-time move to
fullback in 2016.

Though playing in the backfield

versus on the line of scrimmage
sounds fundamentally different
on paper, tight ends and fullbacks
don’t function that differently in
Harbaugh’s offense, making the
transition a little more seamless
for two players with tight end
experience.

“They’re basically the same

thing — the tight ends just run a
lot more routes,” Hill said.

Hill, who previously stood tall

on the line and focused on his
routes, has worked extensively
on playing lower and blocking
in the backfield. And of course,
matching up with players like
senior
cornerback
Jourdan

Lewis and redshirt sophomore
safety Jabrill Peppers instead of

defensive linemen brings a new
set of challenges.

“At fullback, you’re four or five

yards deep in the backfield,” Hill
said. “You come out of the backfield
and either you’re in the hole or
you’re going outside to block a
guy. You’ve gotta worry about a
DB or somebody who’s quick or
agile — like Jourdan Lewis is one
of the hardest players to block
because he can
move and dip,
and Jabrill is
another one.”

Neither

Hill nor Poggi
is
averse
to

blocking,
though.
Harbaugh
has
regularly

valued a hard-
hitting style in
his fullbacks — his frequent usage
of then-senior Sione Houma last
season is a prime example — and
the new fullbacks have been quick
to embrace that mindset.

“There’s always gonna be some

sort of physical play during it,”
Poggi said. “I like that a lot. I like
coming downhill and smashing
skulls with guys. (We) get the
ball, too, which is very nice
— something that we’ve been
working on.”

Such is another benefit of

being a Harbaugh fullback — not
only are they frequently used

in
blocking

situations, but
they get their
fair share of
touches as well.
Last
season,

Houma
and

then-fifth-
year
senior

Joe
Kerridge

combined
for

57 carries, 246
yards and six

touchdowns. Houma had never
run the ball or scored a touchdown
in his first three years on the field
at Michigan, but he became a
go-to goal-line option last season,

getting 43 carries and finding the
end zone five times.

Hill and Poggi have zero

combined career rush attempts
between them, but that hasn’t
deterred
them
from
taking

advantage of their chance to see
the field. Kerridge and Houma
have already laid out the model,
and
their
successors
know

they’ll have plenty of chances to
follow it.

“(Harbaugh) gives us a lot of

opportunities,” Hill said. “He
wants everybody out there to get
their chance to go do something
good.

“I feel like replacing those two

guys is gonna be tough, because
they set a standard. Me and Poggi,
(Bobby) Henderson, we’ve all
been working to fill those steps
that they had.”

After 10 years, Hill may not

have another 60-yard run in
him, but if recent history is any
indication, he might just get
another chance to make it to the
end zone.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Redshirt junior Khalid Hill should find himself blocking more after moving from tight end to fullback this season.

“There’s always
gonna be some
sort of physical
play during it.”

Blanco, Montemarano carry
Wolverines to run-rule win

Michigan’s offense
capitalizes late in
rout of Western
Michigan at home

By TYLER COADY

Daily Sports Writer

As
Michigan
junior
right-

hander Megan Betsa watched the
ball land in right centerfield, the
Western
Michigan
bench
jumped
to its feet. A new sense of life
emanated in the Bronco dugout,
but only for a fleeting moment.

Without
hesitation,
Betsa

walked
back
to
the
circle,

received a command from the
Wolverine dugout, and tossed
a first-pitch strike. Before long,
Western Michigan’s Ivy Schaaf
was trudging back to the dugout,
as Betsa struck her out to put an
exclamation point at the end of a
dominant, one-hit performance.

“I think I did a really good job

of staying in my process,” Betsa
said. “I got rid of bad thoughts
really quickly, which is something
I haven’t done very well this
season.”

Betsa’s
14
total
strikeouts

proved more than enough as the
Michigan softball team (22-2)
eased past the Broncos, 8-0, in
six innings at Alumni Field on
Thursday.

The second-ranked Wolverines

started
quickly
as
senior

centerfielder
Sierra
Lawrence

drew a walk and immediately
stole second base.

With Lawrence in scoring

position, senior shortstop Sierra
Romero — who is hitting near
.500 — ripped a double into the
outfield to bring her home.

Whereas
the
Wolverines’

14-1 win over Eastern Michigan
last week featured an outburst
of runs in the early innings,
the offense needed more time
to click at the plate against

Western Michigan (9-13).

“I thought we could have swung

a lot better,” said Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins. “I would like to
see us be more attacking and hit
the ball harder and farther.”

Junior third baseman Lindsey

Montemarano
answered

Hutchins’ call.
The
junior

has struggled
with a batting
average
hovering
below .200, but
she
rectified

her problems
against
the

Broncos.

With senior

pinch runner
Mary Sbonek on second base,
Montemarano laced her fourth
double of the season into left
field to increase the Wolverines’
lead to 2-0.

“I think the biggest competitor

for me is myself and my mind,”

Montemarano said. “I’ve let that
control too much because I want
to do so well, so bad … but I need
to remember the game doesn’t
change, and playing at home
allows (me) to calm down.”

With two outs in the third

inning,
Montemarano
proved

to be a timely
hitter
once

again
as
her

single
scored

senior
right

fielder
Kelsey

Susalla to make
the score 4-0.

“Well,

(Montemarano)
had
to
start

somewhere,”
Hutchins said.

“I told her today, ‘If you want your
batting to go up, swing.’

“We just need her to be more

aggressive, and I was really
pleased she came out swinging at
the first pitch.”

In the fourth inning, sophomore

first baseman Tera Blanco, hitting
a staggering .446, drove in the
ever-on-base Romero and junior
left fielder Kelly Christner.

With a six-run cushion and

a no-hitter in hand, Betsa went
back to work in the fifth and sixth
innings. Strikeouts continued to
pile up, and Michigan’s fielders
had little reason to move.

Though
Betsa
lost
her

no-hitter in the sixth inning, her
commanding outing set the stage
for a run-rule victory.

“A
no-hitter
is
something

difficult to do,” Betsa said. “It was
just one hit, not anything major, so
I just moved onto the next pitch.”

In the bottom of the sixth,

freshman pinch hitter Natalie
Peters started the inning with
a single. Romero advanced on a
fielder’s choice before making
her way to second on an error.
With runners on second and
third, Blanco finished the game
with a double that scored both
Peters and Romero.

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Junior third baseman Lindsay Montemarano snapped out of a slump with two hits and two RBI against Western Michigan.

WMU
MICHIGAN

0
8

“I think the

biggest competitor

for me is myself
and my mind.”

SOFTBALL
Betsa dominates,
twirls one-hitter

By AVI SHOLKOFF

Daily Sports Writer

Early this season, junior right-

hander Megan Betsa struggled to
pitch to the level that made her
an All-American last year with
a 31-5 record and a 1.72 earned-
run average. She walked batters
as often as she struck them out,
struggling at times with her
command and failing to get
hitters out in important moments.

But on Tuesday at Alumni

Field, Betsa seemed to put that
behind her. She pitched a one-
hitter to help lead the No. 2
Michigan (22-2) softball team
to an 8-0 victory over Western
Michigan (9-13).

Betsa dominated every facet

of the game, allowing just two
Broncos to reach base. After
a marathon 10-pitch at-bat in
which Western Michigan second
baseman Melissa Palmer itched
out a walk to lead off the game,
Betsa retired the next 16 hitters
she faced, striking out 12. She
finished her outing with a season-
high 14 strikeouts, just two short
of her career-best mark of 16. Part
of Betsa’s success can be attributed
to her extended rest in between
starts — an eight-day period.

During this time, she continued

her usual drills of spinning the
ball and practicing pitching in the
zone. Both Betsa and Michigan
coach Carol Hutchins explained
that the Wolverines participated
in a special activity this week
because of their earlier-than-
usual game.

“We threw live this week at

practice against our own hitters,
(which is) always challenging,”
Betsa said. “It’s a mentality thing,
so I can get everything feeling
right before I get out there.”

The drill certainly helped.

From the first inning onward,
she showed her authority from
the circle.

Betsa had tremendous control

of the Bronco lineup — of the
20 batters she faced, she got two
strikes on 17 of them. She also

walked only one batter.

Betsa demonstrated poise in

the circle, frequently battling
with the offense as Western
Michigan’s batters refused to go
down easily.

“It feels nice to be able to throw

that many pitches and (the hitters)
see whatever differences they’re
seeing and they’re getting their
swings off and (I’m able to) get
them fooled,” Betsa said. “That’s
what I do best, fool hitters. My job
is to spin it and make ‘em swing
and miss.”

For Hutchins, it is imperative

that Betsa to maintains her
composure throughout the game.
Should she lose it, she’ll struggle
to find the zone.

In some earlier games this

year, Betsa tended to fall behind
in the count and failed to recover,
causing unnecessary walks and
base runners.

“The only time she gets herself

in trouble is when she doesn’t
have confidence or focuses on the
hitter,” Hutchins said. “(Betsa)
was clearly focused on her
pitches today and that’s the kind
of Megan that can have a lot of
success for us.”

Betsa did not allow a hit

through the first five innings and
was one out away from her fourth
career no-hitter until a two-out
double by Palmer.

The Wolverines were well

aware of Betsa’s special moment,
and Hutchins sought to keep her
in the game in order for her to
reach the milestone. Sophomore
right-hander Tera Blanco warmed
up in the bullpen toward the end of
the game, but Hutchins ultimately
chose to leave Betsa in to finish.

Michigan should be excited

that its top pitcher has returned
to her All-American form as the
Big Ten season begins on Friday.

Hutchins, for one, remains

steadfast in her belief in Betsa.

“I have a ton of confidence in

Megan,” Hutchins said. “The
only concern I have is Megan’s
confidence in Megan. That’s the
only confidence that matters.”