The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
March 28, 2016 — 3B
‘M’ takes two of three
By BETELHEM ASHAME
Daily Sports Writer
Seeking to win its Big Ten
opening-weekend series against
Northwestern (1-2 Big Ten, 10-18
overall), the Michigan softball
team couldn’t be halfhearted
heading into its final game against
the Wildcats on Sunday.
After
the
second-ranked
Wolverines
righted
the
ship
Saturday, a strong response after
their disastrous performance in
Friday’s loss, Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins had a clear
mission for her team.
“I just wanted them to come
out and compete,” Hutchins said.
“Sometimes you take a negative
situation and turn it into a positive.
I don’t want a team that ever gets
complacent or lackadaisical, and
when you win a lot of games — I say
this every year — you can get soft
and just think you’re going to win
because you haven’t lost much. ...
I want a team that comes out to be
relentless every pitch of the game.”
The Wolverines (2-1, 24-3)
answered her call to action in
strong fashion, wasting no time
lighting up the scoreboard.
After senior center fielder
Sierra Lawrence led off the game
with a walk and senior second
baseman Sierra Romero reached
base on an error, senior left fielder
Kelly Christner hit a sacrifice bunt
to advance both runners. With
Lawrence and Romero in scoring
position,
senior
right
fielder
Kelsey Susalla did what clean-
up hitters do, smashing an RBI
double to the center-field wall to
bring both runners home and give
Michigan a 2-0 lead.
Taking advantage early has
become a dominant trend for the
Wolverines, and it is something
the team emphasizes.
“A lot of it has to do with our
energy in the dugout, and just
having good pitch selection and
staying within ourselves and in
our process,” Susalla said. “I try
and focus on getting my bat on
the ball and putting the ball in
play, just knowing my teammates
behind me will have my back.”
The Wolverines went right
back to work in the second
inning. With the bases loaded
and no outs, Michigan found
itself in prime position to do
major damage as Romero walked
up to bat. Swinging on the first
pitch, Romero sent a sacrifice fly
to deep center
field, but poor
base
running
turned
the
routine fly ball
into a double
play,
and
Northwestern
tagged
senior
pinch
runner
Olivia
Richvalsky out
at third.
After
the
Wolverines
squandered an opportunity to
break the game open, Christner
took it upon herself to make sure
Michigan extended its lead over
the Wildcats. With two outs in
the inning, Christner slammed
a two-run home run well over
the wall in left field to give the
Wolverines a 5-0 lead.
Having tossed two scoreless
innings heading into the third
inning, fifth-year senior right-
hander Sara Driesenga found
herself in trouble after allowing
a walk and bunt single without
recording an out. But Driesenga
battled back against the next
two batters she faced, relying
on the defense to bail her out of
the jam. Two
back-to-back
groundouts
later, Driesenga
appeared to be
in the clear.
Looking like
she may escape
the
inning
unscathed,
Driesenga
induced a fly
ball to left field
for what seemed to be the final out
of the frame. But on a sunny day
in Ann Arbor, Christner lost sight
of the ball. It hit her glove and
bounced to the ground, allowing
the Wildcat runners to score to
cut Michigan’s lead to 5-2.
Junior
right-hander
Megan
Betsa entered the game in the
fifth to relieve Driesenga, and she
pitched two innings of one-hit,
shutout ball.
Michigan put the game away in
the sixth, when Montemarano’s
solo blast to center gave the
Wolverines a 7-3 lead. Then
Michigan began to pour it on.
A single by sophomore catcher
Aidan Falk and a double by junior
shortstop Abby Ramirez set the
stage for Lawrence to unleash an
RBI double to score both runners
and give Michigan a 9-3 advantage.
Chasing the run-rule margin,
the
Wolverines
remained
in
attack mode. Lawrence advanced
to third on a wild pitch and
Romero walked before Christner
hit a fielder’s choice RBI grounder
that brought Michigan within one
run of the run rule.
After
Susalla
flied
out,
the Wolverines had only one
out remaining, but that’s all
sophomore first baseman Tera
Blanco needed. Continuing her
stellar weekend at the plate,
Blanco launched a walk-off RBI
double to the gap in right center,
scoring Christner all the way from
first base to seal Michigan’s 11-3
run-rule victory.
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Senior right fielder Kelsey Susalla gave Michigan an early 2-0 lead Sunday with an RBI double against Northwestern.
“I don’t want a
team that ever
gets complacent
or lackadaisical.”
SOFTBALL
Montemarano
emerges in win
By TYLER COADY
Daily Sports Writer
As
the
Michigan
Alumni
Band rose to its feet and started
its rendition of “The Victors,”
Lindsay Montemarano rounded
third base with a jump in her step
and a horde of teammates waiting
eagerly for her arrival.
It was a familiar sight all
weekend, as the junior third
baseman
escaped
from
the
doldrums of inconsistency to
emerge as the Wolverines’ most
potent offensive force against
Northwestern
during
the
weekend series.
“(Michigan
coach
Carol)
Hutchins gave me a tip earlier
in the week, that if I want to see
more success, that I should swing
the bat more,” Montemarano said.
Montemarano’s
willingness
and ability to take advantage of
early-in-the-count pitches proved
a lethal combination against the
Wildcats. She registered four
hits and drew three walks in the
three-game series.
“Sometimes I take too many
pitches,” Montemarano said. “I
wanted to swing and I wasn’t
looking for the perfect pitch, I was
just looking for something to hit.”
Three of those hits left Alumni
Field, as Montemarano upped
her home-run total to six on the
season. On Sunday, Montemarano
smacked two homers — a towering
shot over left field and the other a
line drive to centerfield.
“The less I try to hit home
runs, the more it happens,”
Montemarano said.
While
her
stats
suggest
she is a boom or bust hitter,
Montemarano’s approach at the
plate is far from one-dimensional.
“My strength coach jokes about
it and he always says, ‘Doubles or
dingers or outs,’ ” Montemarano
said. “I am not trying to be a
power hitter, and I don’t really
think of myself as one … but the
ball happens to be going over.”
Montemarano’s
newfound
power stroke out of the seventh spot
only compounded Northwestern’s
problems on Saturday and Sunday,
as the Wildcats simply had no easy
outs in any half-inning. Senior
centerfielder
Sierra
Lawrence
and
senior
second
baseman
Sierra Romero were always on
the basepaths. Senior right fielder
Kelsey Susalla hit two home
runs at the cleanup spot, and
sophomore first baseman Tera
Blanco had six RBI on Saturday. At
the bottom of Michigan’s lineup,
proceedings got even tougher as
a newly confident Montemarano
surfaced as a towering presence at
the plate.
While her recent power surge
represents a marked development
in her evolution as a more well-
rounded hitter it is only one
component of Montemarano’s
growing stature on the team.
Though she laments taking
too many pitches, patience was
a virtue against the Wildcats, as
she drew five walks and scored on
two of them.
A slick-fielding third baseman,
Montemarano was largely able
to
neutralize
Northwestern’s
small-ball style. Their leadoff
hitters employed a bunt- and
slap-hitting-heavy
approach,
but
due
to
Montemarano’s
adept play at third, Michigan’s
pitching staff had more security
when dealing with the middle of
Northwestern’s lineup.
She’s always been one of the
most vocal Wolverines, but
now she’s raising her play to a
comparable level. Combining
her
contagious
energy
with
an
emerging
skillset,
Montemarano is positioning
herself for a highly productive
month of April and beyond.
MEN’S TENNIS
‘M’ earns split
vs. ranked foes
Wolverines outlast
Penn State at home
but fall short at
Ohio State
By JARED BERSON
For the Daily
In one of its longest matches of
the season, the No. 23 Michigan
men’s tennis team fought of No.
25 Penn State for a 5-2 home
win. Less than 48 hours later,
the Wolverines couldn’t pull off
an upset at Ohio State on Sunday,
losing 7-0.
Against Penn State, Michigan
clinched the doubles point as
juniors Jathan Malik and Kevin
Wong won on a double fault at
4-5, 40-40, and sophomores
Alex Knight and Runhao Hua
dominated, 6-3, behind Knight’s
huge service games.
Malik
played
No.
1
for
Michigan against Penn State, and
there was early controversy, with
both players disputing the chair
umpire’s calls. Penn State senior
Leo Stakhovsky became visibly
upset after Malik called one of his
shots out, and when the umpire
confirmed,
he
approached,
screaming
and
motioning
violently with his hands.
On his way back to the service
line, he threw a tennis ball at the
wall, and Malik capitalized on his
opponent’s lack of focus to win
the first set, 6-3.
After that, Stakhovsky seemed
to move past his early outburst,
and he broke Malik at love in the
first service game of the second
set and cruised to win the set, 6-1.
In the third, he broke Malik at
1-1, and again seized momentum,
defeating Malik, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Junior Davis Crocker obtained
the easiest point of the day for
Michigan, winning the first set on
a volley winner at 5-4, 40-40, and
breaking early in the second set
for a 6-4, 6-3 win.
At No. 2, Knight won the first
four
games
before
dropping
serve, but his opponent, Constant
De La Bassetiere, fought back to
5-5. At 5-6, De La Bassetiere was
awarded a controversial point
at 15-30 on a ball that appeared
to be wide, forcing a tiebreak in
which Knight overpowered his
opponent, winning 7-0. Knight
fell behind 3-1 in the second set,
but broke back when he called a
second serve out at 30-40.
Angered by the call, De La
Bassetiere
and
Penn
State’s
coaching staff argued with the
umpire throughout the entire
changeover. De La Bassetiere
rebounded to knot the match at
a set apiece. He broke Knight at
1-1 in the third set, and went on to
win, 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-2.
Freshman
Myles
Schalet
grinded out a victory to earn the
Wolverines their 3rd point and
extend their win streak at the No.
6 spot to nine matches.
Sophomore Runhao Hua won
the longest match of the day, 7-6
(5), 4-6, 7-6 (5), ending nearly a
half hour after Michigan clinched
the match.
“You don’t want to know
(what’s going on in my head during
a match like this),” said Michigan
coach Adam Steinberg on Friday.
“The big part is that I want them
to stay a team throughout a three
and a half hour match.”
The Wolverines dropped the
No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches
to Ohio State on Sunday.
Jathan Malik did not play
singles against for Michigan.
Knight dropped his match at No.
1 singles, 3-6, 1-6, to the nation’s
No. 2 player, Mikael Torpegaard.
Crocker dropped his Sunday
match, 4-6, 3-6, against Ohio
State junior Ralf Steinbach.
Michigan’s win streak at the
No. 6 spot ended on Sunday, when
Schalet lost to Ohio State’s Martin
Joyce, 6-3, 6-3.
Following
the
weekend’s
results, the Wolverines’ away
record stands at 3-4, and their
record at the Varsity Tennis
Center has improved to 10-0.
Michigan falls apart in blowout loss
Colorado trounces
Wolverines in
final game before
conference play
By MATTHEW KENNEDY
Daily Sports Writer
For 15 minutes Sunday, things
looked good for the Michigan
women’s
lacrosse
team.
Its
defense
held
Colorado
scoreless
and thanks to a diving, side-
armed goal by junior attacker
Natalie Carti, the Wolverines
held
a
1-0
lead
over
the
Buffaloes.
Then, it all unraveled.
Colorado
took
control,
thumping Michigan, 11-4, in the
final game before the Wolverines
begin conference play.
Michigan’s woes began at
the 14:39 mark of the first half,
when
sophomore
attacker
Mae Tarr received a yellow
card, giving Colorado a two-
minute man advantage. Though
the Buffaloes were unable to
generate sustained pressure in
Michigan’s defensive zone up to
that point, they suddenly found
new life, scoring a minute later
to tie the game at one.
Just six seconds later, the
Wolverines continued to cause
themselves
harm.
Junior
defender Kelly Kubach earned
the yellow card, and Colorado
had another two-minute man
advantage.
Once again, the Buffaloes
capitalized on the situation,
scoring
with
12
minutes
remaining in the half to take
their first lead of the game.
“I wasn’t upset with the
yellow cards,” said Michigan
coach Jennifer Ulehla. “It was
really unfortunate.”
Things didn’t get any better
for the Wolverines after the
goal. The Buffaloes won the
faceoff, charged down the field,
and after setting up for two
minutes, scored yet again to
surge to a 3-1 lead.
Michigan
fought
back,
though. Junior midfielder Anna
Schueler scored off the faceoff
to narrow the lead back down
to 3-2.
The Wolverines’ hopes for
a rally were
short-lived,
though,
as
only a minute
later,
an
unassisted
Colorado goal
stretched
their
deficit
back to two.
“The
defense
we
were running
— all of our line defenders
played incredibly well,” Ulehla
said. “They dealt with adversity
well. It’s our offense that we
have to get back on track.”
After entering the second
half down two, Ulehla made a
personnel change in the cage,
replacing junior Allison Silber
with freshman Mira Shane.
But the decision backfired,
as the Buffaloes scored four
goals in the first 13 minutes
of the second half. Following
Colorado’s eighth goal, Ulehla
reversed her decision, taking
Shane out and
putting Silber
back in.
Still,
the
situation
did
not
improve.
Michigan
was unable to
establish
any
substantial
presence in the
Colorado zone,
and even when
they did, the Wolverines were
unable to connect more than a
few passes away from the net.
Two more goals followed
after the final goalie change
to make it 10-2 and the game
was all but over. Michigan and
Colorado traded goals in the
final 10 minutes, but in the
battle between two three-year-
old programs, the Buffaloes
reigned victorious.
Despite Michigan’s recent
scoring
problems
—
the
Wolverines haven’t scored 10
goals in a single game since
March 1 — the team is still
excited for the upcoming Big
Ten season.
“If you can’t get excited
about playing Ohio State next
weekend, then I don’t think
you’re a Michigan Wolverine,”
Ulehla said. “That’s in our
blood, and we’re really looking
forward to that and have been
looking forward to that all year.
I think from a morale standpoint
that helps our focus, (that) the
big games are now coming.”
Still,
though,
all
the
excitement in the world couldn’t
cure
Michigan’s
offensive
issues Sunday. And against
Ohio State, the Wolverines will
soon be facing a team that has
won seven straight games and is
looking to defeat them by even
more than they by lost today.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Natalie Carti and the Michigan women’s lacrosse team were unable to keep pace with Colorado’s offense on Sunday.
COLORADO
MICHIGAN
11
4
“It’s our offense
that we have
to get back
on track.”