The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, February 8, 2017 — 7A

Michigan must move on

Entering the 2017 season, the 
Michigan baseball team has a 
daunting task ahead of it: the 
Wolverines must figure out how 
to move forward after losing 
players to both the MLB Draft and 
graduation. 
Roster 
turnover 
proves 
particularly difficult in sports like 
baseball, where college athletic 
careers of core players are often 
cut short due to the MLB draft. 
Michigan is no exception as it faces 
the lofty obstacle of replenishing 
its roster after several significant 
departures.
The Wolverines lost three key 
talents to the 2016 MLB Draft – 
junior pitcher Brett Adcock, junior 
first baseman Carmen Benedetti 
and senior pitcher Evan Hill. In 
addition to the draftees, Michigan 
graduated four seniors – including 
2016 
batting 
average 
leader 
outfielder Cody Bruder, stolen base 
leader outfielder Matt Ramsay and 
team captain catcher Dominic 
Jamett.
Led by the eventual draftees 
and now graduated seniors, the 
Wolverines 
found 
moderate 
success in 2016, finishing with a Big 
Ten record of 13-10 and an overall 
record of 35-19. Their consistent 
play earned them the fifth seed at 
the Big Ten tournament, where 
they were eliminated by Ohio State 
in the first round.
Losing significant starters may 
be detrimental to the production of 
both the offense and the pitching 
staff 
this 
season. 
However, 
Michigan is used to this sort 
of turnover. In 2015, Michigan 
had three players drafted and 
graduated seven seniors. Michigan 
coach Erik Bakich recognizes that 
constant rebuilding is just a part of 
the sport.
“[The MLB Draft] is the nature 
of the beast in quality programs,” 
Bakich said. “You try to build the 
best program that you can build. 
One of the impacts of that is the 
players have opportunities to move 
onto professional baseball.”

Even with some players gone, 
junior infielder Jake Bivens is 
confident that Michigan can fill 
these voids.
“We lost some key contributors,” 
Bivens said. “Definitely guys have 
to step up. But we have a great 
group that can step right into 
those roles and fill those spots 
immediately.”
While the production of those 
players and their positions in 
the lineup can be replaced, the 
elements that don’t show up in the 
box score — experience, chemistry 
and locker room leadership — are 
harder to replicate.
The Wolverines must overcome 
losing the experience of seven 
veterans 
and 
the 
leadership 
of a trusted captain in Jamett. 
Continuing 
these 
intangibles 
will be necessary for Michigan to 
continue its success and elevate to 
the next level.
Drew Lugbauer isn’t worried, 
though. The junior infielder feels 
the closeness of the current roster 
will carry the team.
“[The team’s chemistry] is 
probably the best since I’ve been 
here,” Lugbauer said. “Everyone’s 
really tight. We all get along with 
each other. It’s a good locker room.”
Junior pitcher Oliver Jaskie 
added: “There’s not one guy on 
this team that I wouldn’t call a best 
friend or a brother.”
In order for the team to succeed 
this 
season, 
the 
Wolverines’ 
chemistry and new leadership 
will prove vital. Michigan will 
look for leadership from senior 
catcher Harrison Wenson and 
senior pitcher Jackson Lamb, both 
of whom were selected in the 2016 
MLB draft, but elected to stay at 
Michigan for their senior seasons.
Despite losing seven players 
total, 
the 
Wolverines 
return 
12 
upperclassmen. 
With 
the 
returning players’ experience and 
talent, Michigan expects a strong 
season.
“There’s high expectations,” 
Jaskie said. “But we’re ready for 
it. We’re just focused on going out 
there and playing as hard as we 
can.” 

Penalty kill fails ‘M’

Ohio State’s first power-play 
goal came from forward Tanner 
Laczynski, but the Michigan 
hockey team still had a two-goal 
lead. Not much, but enough to 
keep the crowd at Yost Ice Arena 
from panicking on Friday night. 
Two 
goals 
from 
the 
Wolverines 
later, 
Michigan 
entered the third period sitting 
on a 5-1 lead. But the 12th-ranked 
Buckeyes still had 1:21 remaining 
of 
a 
second-period 
power 
play, and six seconds into the 
third, forward Nick Schilkey 
capitalized.
Within the next few seconds, 
they scored again, and later in 
the period once more to put the 
game within tying distance. 
Although it wasn’t enough to 
secure an impressive comeback 
and win the game, it was enough 
to scare the Wolverine fan base.
On Saturday, though, Ohio 
State managed to do exactly 
what it needed to, scraping past 
Michigan, 6-5.
Out of the Buckeyes’ 10 goals 
this past weekend, seven of 
them came during power plays. 
While Ohio State is notable for 
its power play — after the series, 
it’s ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten 
— Michigan’s penalty kill wasn’t 
shaping up into what it needed to 
be. In Saturday’s game, it could 
have made all the difference. 
“I’m giving the other team’s 
power play their due,” said 
Michigan coach Red Berenson. 
“They’re a good power play, but 
they’re not that good. They’re 
not a 50 percent power play. We 
shouldn’t be giving up four goals 
on seven chances or three on 
six. That’s what we did over the 
weekend. That’s on us.”
Earlier 
in 
the 
season, 
Michigan 
was 
ranked 
10th 
in the penalty kill. But after 
their 
recent 
performances, 
the Wolverines have dropped 
to the bottom of the Big Ten. 
The penalty kill almost cost 
Michigan the game on Friday — 
and it did on Saturday.
For the Wolverines, it isn’t just 
the penalty kill that’s coming up 
short. There are compounding 

issues that lead to such high-
scoring games. The number 
of penalties Michigan took on 
Saturday was too many to give to 
a team with such an established 
power play.
“If our forecheck is doing 
well, right away that helps us 
out,” said freshman goaltender 
Hayden 
Lavigne. 
“If 
our 
forecheck isn’t doing that great 
but we’re shutting them down 
real quick when they get into 
the zone then once again, it’s 
fine. But it was kind of one of 
those things where we weren’t 
doing a good job forechecking 
the whole time, we didn’t really 
track back hard. We just kind 
of let them set up into their 
structure easily.”
The number of penalties and 
the execution of the penalty kill 
weren’t good signs for Michigan. 
Both factors contributed to the 
close nature of the weekend’s 
games despite arguably two of 
its best offensive games this 
season.
But the issues aren’t just 
stemming from the execution of 
the penalty kill, either.
“First and foremost, I think 
it starts with the faceoff,” said 
freshman forward Jake Slaker. 
“Including myself, I think the 
centermen haven’t been the best 
in the defensive zone in faceoffs 
during the penalty kill. That 
right away loses possession, 
and they get an easy start to the 
power play, so that’s definitely a 
frustrating thing I think we can 
improve on.
“It’s 
one 
thing 
leads 
to 
another. Guy taking a penalty, 
centerman loses the faceoff, the 
guys not executing on the ice. It 
definitely builds up.”
There’s 
no 
doubt 
the 
Wolverines stepped up their 
offensive game this past weekend 
against Ohio State. With junior 
forward Tony Calderone — who 
is leading in goals with 10 — and 
senior forward Alex Kile and 
junior forward Cutler Martin 
out of both games, the tables 
easily could have been turned.
But a win on Saturday could 
have resulted in Michigan’s first 
sweep of the season — something 
that won’t come anytime soon if 

Hutchins confident in underclassmen to step up

After 32 seasons as the coach 
of the Michigan softball team, 
Carol Hutchins knows the trials 
and tribulations that come with 
being an underclassman in college 
softball — especially for those who 
are asked to contribute early in 
their careers. 
Gone are the days of second 
baseman Sierra Romero, outfielder 
Sierra Lawrence and the rest of 
one of the most accomplished 
senior classes in school history. 
And the onus to fill that void may 
have to fall on the shoulders of the 
underclassmen on the roster.
“The game doesn’t know if 
you’re a freshman or a senior,” 
Hutchins said. “When you get the 
opportunity to be out there, you 
need to be ready to go, and not ‘Oh, 
I’m a freshman.’ To push everyone 
every day, period — that’s what we 
want our freshmen to do.”
The Wolverines lost three of the 
top four hitters in their lineup from 
last season — Romero, Lawrence 
and outfielder Kelsey Susalla — 
all to graduation. Between them, 

Michigan is losing 41 home runs, 
179 RBI and 195 runs scored. The 
trio accounted for 42 percent of the 
total runs scored by last season’s 
prolific offense, which finished 
second in the country in offense at 
7.90 runs per game.
Granted, it’s unfair to expect 
any three individuals to step in 
and match that type of production, 
especially for the untested players 
who Hutchins expects to be 
thrown into the fire early. 
Sophomore Faith Canfield, who 
Hutchins dubbed “the leading 
candidate” to play second base, 
will likely have the unenviable task 
of replacing Romero. Freshmen 
under Hutchins tend to play 
sparingly, but last season Canfield 
was an exception to the norm, 
carving out a role as a utility player. 
She appeared in 44 out of 59 games, 
managing a .268 batting average 
and scoring 22 runs. Those are 
hardly eye-popping numbers by 
traditional standards, but certainly 
commendable for a freshman on a 
senior-laden team.
Lawrence and Susalla will be 
equally difficult to replace in their 
corner outfield spots. Perhaps 

nobody knows that better than 
senior outfielder Kelly Christner, 
who spent the last two seasons 
manning the outfield with the duo.
“Between 
me, 
Sierra 
and 
Kelsey, we kind of knew how each 
other worked,” Christner said. 
“We kind of vibed really well. We 
worked together really well for two 
straight years, so it is hard to work 
with different people.”
But as a senior leader, Christner 
knows it is incumbent on her to try 
and emulate that chemistry, even 
if it takes the form of a different 
identity. 
She 
recognizes 
the 
inherent challenge of working with 
— and leading — new players.
“I think (the challenge is) more 
just letting the girls know that are 
going to be playing now how we 
work out there, and really focusing 
on communication between the 
three of us,” Christner said. “I 
think this fall we’ve worked really 
well together, and I’m excited to 
get out there.”
One of those new outfielders 
will 
almost 
undoubtedly 
be 
sophomore Natalie Peters, who 
Hutchins spoke glowingly of in her 
season-opening media day. 

Despite little experience, Peters 
— whose game is predicated 
on contact and speed — will be 
counted on toward the top of the 
order. In just 16 at-bats last season, 
Peters managed a .313 batting 
average, with all five of her hits 
being singles. In an expanded role, 
Peters will be counted on heavily to 
set the table at the top part of the 
order.
“She came back a new woman 
from freshman to sophomore 
year,” Hutchins said. “And she had 
some good experience last year, but 
she’s been a very consistent player 
for us since she got back in the fall.”
The other outfield spot seems 
less certain, but it, too, will likely be 
manned by a younger player. Only 
one other outfielder on the roster is 
older than a sophomore.
But while Hutchins knows 
she’ll need production from some 
unproven players, that dependence 
hardly seems to concern her.
“We don’t know what’s going 
to happen with the unseasoned 
players, but we need some of the 
unseasoned players to step up,” 
Hutchins said. “The pleasant part 
of the job is somebody does step up 
usually.”
And if history is any indication, 
that unknown boost could be 
expected to come from one of the 
sophomores. 
Under 
Hutchins, 
the 
freshman-to-sophomore 
transition traditionally comes with 
the biggest statistical leap.
Christner’s 
production 
ballooned during her sophomore 
season: increasing her average by 
94 points, hitting 18 more home 
runs and knocking in 50 more runs 
than the year prior. Blanco slugged 
312 points better during her 
sophomore season. Even Romero 
saw her average increase 112 points 
from her freshman to sophomore 
campaign. And the list could go on.
With the heart of the order gone 
from last season, the pressure will 
undoubtedly be on the entire team 
to step up its production to try to 
make up for those losses. Yet for 
the Wolverines, the better question 
may not be if someone will step up, 
but rather who.

MARINA ROSS/Daily
Sophomore utility player Faith Canfield is expected to face the unenviable task of replacing Sierra Romero at second.

LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Editor

MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Writer

Wolverines set for first game as ranked team

The No. 21 Michigan women’s 
basketball team has enjoyed 
nothing more than playing at 
home this season. Following a 
72-70, comeback victory over 
Iowa, the Wolverines are now 
12-0 at Crisler Center.
But all teams must play on 
the road sometimes. Michigan, 
who is 5-4 in true road games 
this season, will travel to West 
Lafayette to take on Purdue 
on 
Wednesday 
night. 
The 
Boilermakers, winners of three 
of their last four games, will 
present a formidable challenge 
for the Wolverines (8-2 Big Ten, 
19-5 overall).
Despite being ranked 95th in 
the Ratings Percentage Index, 
Purdue (6-4, 15-9) boasts the 
Big Ten’s best scoring defense, 
allowing just 58.0 points per 
game, which is 39th nationally. 
The Boilermakers rank fourth 
in the conference in 3-point 
defense, 
with 
opponents 
making just 38 percent of their 
shots from beyond the arc.
“Purdue was a team that had 
a slow start, had some young 
kids,” said Michigan coach Kim 
Barnes Arico on WTKA. “But 
they are playing extremely well 
as of late. They are a team that’s 
coming on strong in our league. 
It’s going to be a tough matchup 
for us.”
Statistically 
though, 
Michigan presents a defensive 
unit that is almost as strong. 
The Wolverines have held their 
opponents to 59.3 points per 
game and 38.2 percent 3-point 
shooting — second and fifth 
in the Big Ten, respectively. 
Sophomore 
center 
Hallie 
Thome has also contributed 48 
blocks to the defensive effort 
this season.
Due to the prowess of both 
defenses, 
a 
relatively 
low-
scoring contest may be in the 
cards in West Lafayette. 
Michigan 
does 
hold 
a 
significant 
advantage 
over 
Purdue 
with 
its 
offense, 
though. The Wolverines rank 
third in the conference and 14th 
nationally in scoring offense, 
averaging 79.7 points per game. 

Michigan’s biggest offensive 
strength is its 3-point shooting, 
as the Wolverines are second 
only to Connecticut nationally, 
making 40.7 percent of their 
3-pointers.
The 
Boilermakers, 
meanwhile, rank 10th in the 
Big Ten in scoring offense, 
as 
they 
are 
averaging 
just 
66.9 points. This 
gap in offensive 
firepower 
may 
very 
well 
be 
Michigan’s 
key to victory 
Wednesday.
The 
Wolverines’ 
offensive 
success is due 
in 
large 
part 
to the familiar trio of Thome, 
junior guard Katelynn Flaherty 
and newcomer freshman guard 
Kysre Gondrezick, who are all 
scoring at least 14 points per 
game. Gondrezick is coming off 
her best week yet, combining 
for 42 points, 10 rebounds and 

10 assists in two contests.
“To be a freshman and 
to 
make 
the 
impacts 
that 
(Gondrezick) 
has 
on 
an 
experienced team, I think just 
speaks volumes to the type of 
player that she is.” Barnes Arico 
said.
But 
Michigan 
has 
also 
benefitted from 
production 
off 
the bench as of 
late. Sophomore 
guard 
Nicole 
Munger scored 
seven 
points, 
including 
the 
game-
winning 
field 
goal, 
against 
the 
Hawkeyes 
on 
Sunday. 
If 
Munger 
can 
continue to perform like she did 
Sunday, it will provide a major 
boost to the Wolverines.
“Nicole 
was 
incredible,” 
Barnes Arico said. “She was 
all over the place. She provides 
such a spark for us. She’s been 
battling an injury all year 

long, so we’re really aware of 
how many minutes she’s been 
playing, and we’re trying to be 
smart about it.”
Though Michigan will be 
the favorite against Purdue, 
there is another factor the 
Wolverines will have to deal 
with — Wednesday will mark 
the first time in any of the 
current players’ careers that 
they will play as a ranked team. 
Michigan was last ranked the 
week of Jan. 21, 2013.
“I talked to our kids a little 
bit yesterday after the game,” 
Barnes Arico said. “I said, 
‘Hey, now we’re the team that 
everyone puts a circle around.’ 
We’re a ranked team. They’re 
going to have an opportunity 
to beat a ranked opponent. So 
that’s different and it’s not a 
position we’ve been in before. 
We need to make sure that we 
continue to improve and really 
focus on one game at a time.”
This Wolverine squad has not 
been like past ones, though, and 
they will look to continue that 
trend in West Lafayette.

ICE HOCKEY

BASEBALL

NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer

EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Sophomore guard Nicole Munger scored the game-winning basket against Iowa to help Michigan enter the AP top 25.

“ ‘Now we’re 
the team that 
everyone puts a 
circle around’ ”

HUNTER SHARF
For the Daily