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.”