The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, February 10, 2017 — 7
‘M’ to begin season
at USF Tournament
The
road
to
Michigan’s
potential third-straight Women’s
College Softball World Series
begins in the same place it has
since 2013.
The sixth-ranked Wolverines
will play five games in three days
at the USF Wilson-Demarini
Tournament
in
Tampa
Bay,
Fla., starting with back-to-back
contests against Delaware and
Illinois State on Friday.
But Saturday poses the toughest
matchups for Michigan, as it
opens the day with a showdown
against No. 4 Florida, followed
by an evening affair with No. 25
South Florida.
The
Gators
defeated
the
Wolverines in game three of
the 2015 championship, leaving
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
short of her program’s first title
since 2005. Last year’s season-
opening tournament saw Florida
tear through that wound viciously
with an 8-0 mercy-rule victory.
Despite the history with the
Gators, senior right-hander Megan
Betsa refuses to treat Saturday’s
matchup any differently than she
would against another opponent.
“I’m sure everyone is going to
tell you the same thing: it doesn’t
really matter who we’re playing,”
Betsa said. “It’s the first weekend,
so we’re just going to learn how
to go out there and be better. It
doesn’t really matter if we’re
playing Florida.”
In the same afternoon of the
Florida beatdown last year, the
Wolverines turned around to
wallop USF, 11-2, in five innings.
Saturday gives Michigan another
chance
at
those
opponents,
especially — admittedly or not —
at the Gators.
While the warm weather and
quality competition are benefits
of early-season tournaments, they
do pose two challenges for the
Wolverines: fatigue and managing
the pitching staff. Playing the
weekend’s five games in less than
48 hours forced Hutchins to alter
her usual practices.
“Going into this week, we
had to be just as concerned with
being fresh on the weekend,”
Hutchins said. “We have to taper
our swings, we have to taper our
pitches and really shore our game
up and shorten up practice. The
first weekend is rough, they’re
not in game shape. I can tell you
they’ll be sore and tired on Sunday
morning.”
This means Betsa — the only
established pitcher returning from
2016 — and junior Tera Blanco
will share duties in the circle for
Michigan, with sophomore Leah
Crockett potentially joining them.
Betsa, who posted a 1.98
earned-run average and threw
over 200 innings last season, will
get the ball Friday in the final
opening day of her career. When
Blanco gets the opportunity to
pitch, her usual spot at first base
will likely be taken by junior
Aidan Falk. But Hutchins remains
firm that the lineup has not been
etched in stone.
“I’ll have to see how they look,
and I don’t have a set lineup,”
Hutchins said. “We’re going to see
who gets it done when it matters
and go from there. It’s definitely
an evolution.”
Even
with
the
collective
accolades of Michigan’s senior
class, Hutchins sees the team’s
motivation deriving from the fact
that 2017 is a new chapter in a
storied program’s history.
“This is team 40,” Hutchins
said.
“We
don’t
have
any
championships — they’ve done
nothing. What teams 31-39 have
done are on our history boards
— they have no bearing for team
40. We motivate them with ‘Who
are you, and what are you going
to accomplish?’ We’re zero and
zero.”
SOFTBALL
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Writer
New faces make up
Michigan’s rotation
Just two of the Michigan
baseball team’s four starting
pitchers from last year will be
returning to the mound next
week when the season begins.
The Wolverines have no
reason to worry, though. Junior
left-hander Oliver Jaskie will
still lead the pitching staff
after an impressive sophomore
season, and he has plenty of
teammates capable of playing
alongside him.
Jaskie finished the 2016
season with a 3.19 earned-run
average and seven wins in 14
starts. He was second on the
team with 69 strikeouts and
will enter his junior season
with the most experience in
Michigan’s pitching rotation.
As a veteran player, he will
be able to take advantage of this
leadership role to help shape
the Wolverines’ new staff.
“Anybody on our pitching
staff is going to be able to
handle a lot of different types
of roles,” Jaskie said. “We are
just, top to bottom, filled with
guys that throw a lot of strikes
and love to compete on the
mound, so I’m really excited for
what this pitching staff has to
bring this year.”
With the departure of former
pitchers Evan Hill and Brett
Adcock due to graduation and
the MLB Draft, respectively,
holes were left to fill on the
mound.
Fortunately for Michigan,
there is no lack of potential
candidates
to
fill
these
positions.
Junior right-hander Ryan
Nutof’s role varied last season.
He started 11 games but also
contributed to the team as a
reliever in 10 other contests. He
ended his sophomore season
with a 3.67 ERA through 54
innings. He boasts the second-
highest strikeout total of the
returners with 50.
Nutof will look to capitalize
on his versatile abilities and
establish himself as a regular
starter on this year’s squad.
But, he will have to compete
with junior right-hander Alec
Rennard – a transfer from
Santa Rosa Community College
– whose accolades speak for
themselves. He concluded his
sophomore season with a 1.4
ERA and 90 strikeouts.
After
the
2016
season,
Rennard was named Big-8
Conference
Pitcher
of
the
Year and was a First Team
All-American, all after leading
his team to a California State
Championship title.
“He’s
got
a
winner’s
mentality,”
said
Michigan
coach
Erik
Bakich.
“He’s
definitely one of our top four
starting pitchers and he’ll be
in our rotation somewhere.
Where he fits on the weekend,
we’ll see.”
Nothing is set in stone,
though.
Junior
left-hander
Michael
Hendrickson
was
injured last season but is now
healthy and ready to take a spot
in the starting lineup, yet that
likely won’t be an easy task.
After pitching just 10.2 innings
last year, his experience level
lacks in comparison to Jaskie
and Rennard.
In addition, senior right-
hander Keith Lehmann started
two games last year and could
make a push to start more this
season, while freshman right-
hander Karl Kauffman also
aims to be in the rotation as
well.
If Kauffman doesn’t make
an appearance this year, he is
definitely one to watch for in
the future. He was the No. 1
recruit in the state of Michigan
after his senior high school
season.
With so many new faces –
and a few old ones – Bakich has
not yet finalized any decisions.
Next weekend’s game will be
the first opportunity to see
who can handle the pressure on
the mound for the Wolverines.
BASEBALL
Michigan to face Spartans in “Duel in the D”
For Cooper Marody, Joe Louis
Arena represents the home of
some of his favorite moments from
his childhood. The sophomore
forward recalls attending Detroit
Red Wings games with his father
and even a few Great Lakes
Invitationals — while growing up.
He always dreamed of playing
at “The Joe,” and Friday night,
along with the rest of the Michigan
hockey team, he will play there
for a final time during the regular
season.
Adding
even
greater
significance, the Wolverines will
face off against in-state rival
Michigan State, as both are looking
to claim the Iron D Trophy.
“My whole life I’ve been a die-
hard Michigan fan,” Marody said.
“I obviously didn’t like State, so
every time you play these games
there’s higher emotion, the whole
crowd gets into it. There’s a lot on
the line and we’re gonna try to play
the best we can.”
Added senior goaltender Zach
Nagelvoort: “In the past, you
could say ‘Oh it’s the last time (for
me) at Michigan, but maybe you’ll
be playing against the Wings in
the coming years’. But this year’s
different.”
As a senior, Nagelvoort will
relish one of his last opportunities
to play at the arena when the Big
Ten Tournament begins in mid-
March. But after this season, the
“Duel in the D” will move to Little
Caesars Arena, and Joe Louis
Arena will become a memory of
the past.
This week, former Michigan
defenseman
Zach
Werenski
published
a
letter
online
detailing his favorite memories
and experiences at the arena.
Nagelvoort and some of his
teammates read the letter and
couldn’t help but feel a similar
nostalgia.
“ … It’s always been really cool
to have the opportunity to play
there,” Nagelvoort said. “There’s
a lot of people who make negative
comments about what the facilities
are like at the Joe. I personally
love it. It’s one of my favorite rinks
that I’ve had the opportunity to
play at, besides Yost of course. It’s
exciting to get to play there again
tomorrow. I know I’m gonna enjoy
it, it’s gonna be interesting to catch
myself looking around, enjoying
the moment because it’s a really
cool venue to play games at and it’s
sad that it’s the last time.”
The weekend series could also
be one of the last times Nagelvoort
and his fellow seniors will play
against
their
counterparts
from East Lansing. He grew up
playing with certain members
of the Spartans’ roster, and now,
after nearly four years of playing
against each other, Friday and
Saturday night could be the the
last time. There won’t be another
GLI or “Duel in the D” — just two
more matchups this weekend and
perhaps an opportunity in the
postseason.
Though given where Michigan
and Michigan State currently sit in
the standings — second to last and
last, respectively — a matchup in
the postseason is unlikely.
“Some of the kids (on Michigan
State) I grew up playing against
and playing with,” Nagelvoort
said. “Guys like (Spartan forward)
Joe Cox, we played our entire
childhood together, we’re really
good friends. On the ice, we hate
the guys, it’s a fun rivalry, it’s a
really intense game. But that all
ends when you get off the ice.
“It’s a fun game to be a part of
and it’s gonna be really exciting,
especially because it’s one of the
last two games we play against
each other at Michigan. For it to be
at the Joe is really cool.”
In this final series against
Michigan State, the Wolverines
will look to build upon their
offensive
performance
last
weekend. For the first time all
season, it seemed as if their offense
finally came to life. They outshot
an opponent consecutively — a
first — and scored five goals in
both games.
Still,
Michigan
ended
the
weekend with only one victory,
something that Michigan coach
Red Berenson believes may have
stemmed from struggling special
teams play. In the last six games,
the Wolverines have scored just
three goals on the power play while
allowing eight on the penalty kill,
a margin that Berenson believes
is imperative to improve should
Michigan wish to compete in the
upcoming stretch of the season.
“I couldn’t have told you before
the weekend that we would
give up seven power play goals,”
Berenson said. “On the other side,
I couldn’t have told you that we
would’ve scored 10 goals at home.
We’ve only scored five goals once
all year. You never know those
things going in. You play hard, you
play the right way, and then some
good things happen.”
An added bonus for Berenson
is the re-emergence of Marody,
who, after missing the first half
of the season due to academic
ineligibility, notched his first-
career hat trick Friday and
added another goal in Saturday’s
game.
“I think he’s motivated, he
couldn’t wait to play,” Berenson
said.
“He
was
practicing
in
October,
November
and
December. He couldn’t wait to play
in the GLI. Then, he was rusty, he
wasn’t as quick, he wasn’t as sharp
from practicing as he needed to be
in games. I think every game he’s
shown glimpses of what he can
do, and last weekend he finally
got some offensive things going.
That’s the player that we were
seeing in practices, but we didn’t
see it in the first few games.”
Friday, for one of the last times
in their careers, Marody and
Nagelvoort will play at Joe Louis
Arena. Marody will reminisce
about the times with his father and
Nagelvoort will recall the three
GLIs he played in at the arena over
the years.
But as a whole, Michigan will
play a game against a bitter rival
and hope to emerge from its last
regular season game at a historic
arena with a victory.
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Senior goaltender Zach Nagelvoort will play one of his last games at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Friday night.
Behind Enemy Lines: James Blackmon Jr.
The Michigan men’s basketball
team certainly got its revenge.
After losing to Michigan State,
70-62, in East Lansing on Jan.
29, the Wolverines welcomed the
Spartans to Crisler Center and
sent them home with a 29-point
loss.
Derrick Walton Jr. led the way
for Michigan, finishing with a
game-high 20 points on 7-for-10
shooting while also contributing
eight assists and five rebounds.
With his stat line, the senior guard
became just the third person in
program history — behind Jalen
Rose and Gary Grant — to record
1,000 points, 400 rebounds and
400 assists in their Wolverine
careers.
But Walton and the rest of his
team don’t have much time to
dwell on the milestone.
With a matchup against Indiana
at Assembly Hall on Sunday,
the Wolverines are looking to
notch their first road win of the
season against the Hoosiers. The
matchups away from Crisler have
not been kind to Michigan, as it
has lost by an average margin of
10 points on the road — including
three blowouts at South Carolina,
UCLA and Illinois.
Indiana,
though,
seems
to
be the perfect candidate for the
Wolverines to get over that hump.
In the first matchup between
the two, Michigan cruised to a
30-point victory, and the Hoosiers
have lost four of their last five
games.
Still, they have played No. 7
Wisconsin and No. 16 Purdue
competitively, losing to each by
just five points.
And Assembly Hall also can’t
be forgotten, as it has always
been a notoriously difficult venue
to play in — something that is
reflected in the Hoosiers’ 13-2
home record.
Perhaps the biggest advantage
Indiana will have, though, is the
return of James Blackmon Jr. The
junior guard has been sidelined
since sustaining a lower-leg injury
during the first meeting with
Michigan, but he made his return
Thursday night against Purdue.
Though he scored just 11 points
on 3-for-14 shooting, he did notch
a team-high 32 minutes, so all
signs point to him being fully
healthy as his team prepares for
the rematch with the Wolverines.
If he can return to his usual form
— averaging 17.6 points and 4.9
rebounds — Blackmon could help
send Michigan home still winless
on the road.
The Daily sat down with
Blackmon at Big Ten Media Day
in October to talk about the ACL
injury he sustained during the
2015-16 season, his decision to
not enter the NBA Draft and his
role on the team following former
Hoosier guard Yogi Ferrell’s
departure.
The Michigan Daily: You’re
coming off an ACL injury that kept
you out of the Big Ten season last
year. How are you feeling?
James Blackmon Jr.: Yeah
definitely. I think I’m ready to
play. I feel better than I did before.
I feel more athletic and a lot
stronger as an all-around player,
and I feel like that’s completely
from my rehab.
TMD: Are you excited for
the Big Ten season this year
considering the fact you couldn’t
play last year?
JB: Definitely. Missing the
season is so hard, so coming into
this season, that’s one of the things
I’m most looking forward to.
TMD: You thought about
heading to the NBA like your
teammate
Thomas
Bryant,
what do you think of the NCAA
allowing players to test the waters
of the NBA Draft before they
decide whether or not they want
to enter?
JB: I think it’s a good rule. It
gives players a chance to chase
an opportunity and a dream. But
at the same time, they can also go
back to school. So you’re not losing
anything, and you’re taking full
advantage of your opportunities.
TMD: Yogi Ferrell has not been
liked by Michigan fans over the
past couple years. What was it like
playing with him?
JB: It was good because every
day he got the most out of me,
and I did the same for him. We
pushed each other every day and
that’s what you need. You want a
competitive guy to push you.
TMD: Now that he’s gone, the
point guard position is open. Is
that a position you’re looking to
play?
JB:
Yeah,
I’m
definitely
comfortable with playing the point
guard. But I think anyone can take
that role on the team. It’s not just
me.
TMD: Being a leader on a team
with such high expectations, how
do you shoulder those expectations
and play under that pressure?
JB: I don’t think it’s really
pressure. If you put in the work
everyday and prepare, it should
just come.
MARINA ROSS/Daily
Indiana guard James Blackmon Jr. returned to the court Thursday night after sustaining a lower-leg injury.
MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
The Daily sat down with Indiana’s junior guard at Big Ten Media Day in October
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor