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Thursday, May 26, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Big Ten Tournament preview
By ETHAN WOLFE
Summer Managing Sports Editor
The Michigan baseball team’s
season took a turn for the worst after
it lost seven of its last eight regular-
season games, five of which were
against Big Ten foes.
But if the Wolverines (14-10
Big Ten, 35-19 overall) learned
anything from last season’s Big Ten
Tournament championship run, it
was that this tourney will give them
the opportunity to start with a clean
slate and battle for a spot at an NCAA
Regional.
Here’s what to watch for as
Michigan prepares for the Big Ten
Tournament.
1. Everyone in the lineup except
Jake Bivens ...
The sophomore third basemen is
the only player in the Wolverines’
batting order who hasn’t shifted
from his spot in the lineup. In 207
at-bats, the leadoff hitter leads the
team with 75 hits and a .362 batting
average.
With Michigan hampered by
injuries, including a broken arm
for left fielder Matt Ramsay and a
concussion for utility player Carmen
Benedetti, Michigan coach Erik
Bakich has been forced to rely on
bench players such as Johnny Slater
and Jonathan Engelmann to pick up
slack in the outfield and at the plate.
The emergence of players like
fifth-year senior Dominic Jamett
has also resulted in several changes
to the lineup amidst the Wolverines’
struggles. The order that Bakich will
use against the Buckeyes will likely
be the same throughout the Big Ten
Tournament.
2. ... especially junior catcher
Harrison Wenson
Wenson,
Michigan’s
most
prolific power-hitter, has endured
an uncharacteristic slump in the
Wolverines’ season-ending skid. In
the past eight games, he is just 3-for-
32 — the only bright spot is two home
runs in that span.
His lackluster performance has
relegated him to as low as No. 7 in
the batting order in some contests as
opposed to his typical residency in
the cleanup spot.
If Michigan hopes to repeat as
the Big Ten Tournament champion,
it must be able to get its consistent
hitting back from its usual suspects
rather than rely on the pitching staff
or any outlying play from the bottom
of the lineup.
3. Middle-inning relievers
Despite
a
few
hiccups,
the
Wolverines’ starting pitchers have
been getting the job done, boasting a
3.76 earned-run average and striking
out nine batters a game, good for 14th
in the country.
The same cannot be said about the
middle-inning relievers. In almost
every one of its last eight games,
Michigan’s bullpen has given up at
least one run without fail. Against
Illinois on May 20, all four Wolverine
relievers allowed at least one run,
tallying nine total to blow a 7-2 lead.
No part of the Wolverine squad
has played without mistakes, but
when the starting pitching or the
offense gets going, it’s not being
backed up in tight contests. Michigan
must be able to maintain late leads —
something that has been a season-
long struggle — if it hopes to advance
in the tourney.
4. The rest of the Big Ten
Before
the
season
began,
Michigan was widely projected as
the frontrunner to win the Big Ten.
Though the Wolverines are coming
into the tournament with a better
record than last season, they finished
a disappointing fifth place in the
conference standings, a decline
from being a No. 3 seed in the 2015
tournament.
Yes, Michigan has improved upon
last year’s Big Ten Tournament
championship team, but so has
the rest of the Big Ten — by a lot.
Minnesota’s
batting
average
of
.326 ranks fourth in the country,
Michigan State’s 2.71 ERA is also
good for fourth and Ohio State,
which the Wolverines will be
facing Wednesday, has the nation’s
11th-best ERA.
Even if the Wolverines can get
past the Buckeyes, who they were
swept by earlier this season, the
tournament won’t get any easier
for Michigan. The Wolverines must
improve in all facets of the game to
repeat what they accomplished in
last year’s miraculous run.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
The Michigan baseball team has been mired in a slump recently, losing seven of its last eight games.
‘M’ loses in Elite
Eight to Stanford
Michigan’s season
ended after its loss
to the Cardinal.
By PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
No player would want to be in
the position that Kate Fahey was in
Saturday during the quarterfinals
of the NCAA Tournament.
The freshman was in a third
set tiebreaker that would not only
decide who won her match, but
decide if her team’s season would
continue.
Though Fahey and the No. 11
Michigan women’s tennis team
nearly pulled off a comeback win,
No. 12 Stanford proved to be too
much for the Wolverines, and
Michigan’s season ended with a
4-3 loss.
Fahey’s
match
didn’t
start
as close as it ended. Stanford’s
Caroline Doyle dominated Fahey
in the first set, but Fahey refused to
go down without a fight. She easily
won the second set and leveled the
playing field once again.
Neither opponent showed any
sign of slowing down, forcing the
third set into a tiebreaker. Doyle
immediately jumped out to a 5-0
lead, and Fahey was unable to close
the deficit. After a long rally during
match point, she hit her ball into
the net and lost the tiebreaker, 7-4,
and the match, 2-6, 6-2, 6-7.
Michigan got off to a quick start,
winning two out of three doubles
matches. Sophomore Mira Ruder-
Hook and freshman Brienne Minor
clinched the doubles point for the
Wolverines, giving Michigan an
early 1-0 lead. The No. 1 doubles
pair won, 7-5, after four straight
double faults from Stanford.
Then, a win from senior Ronit
Yurovsky and losses from both
sophomore Alex Najarian and
freshman Teona Velehorschi tied
the match at 2-2.
Ruder-Hook, Fahey and Minor
all forced their matches to third
sets and things were finally looking
up for Michigan. Just two of them
needed to win for the Wolverines
to advance.
A win from Minor and loss from
Ruder-Hook shined the spotlight
on Fahey, who couldn’t pull off the
comeback.
“I’m really proud of our team
and the year we’ve had,” said
Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein.
“We made it to the Elite 8 and
having a chance to go to the Final
Four was exciting, but it just
WOMEN’S TENNIS
No part of the
team has been
flawless during
its losing streak.
“I’m proud of
our team and
the year we’ve
had.”
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Ronit Yurovsky kept Michigan in the match in its loss to Stanford.