6A — Thursday, February 16, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The good and bad of Michigan’s opening weekend

With just five contests from the 

Wilson-Demarini 
Tournament 

under its belt, the No. 11 Michigan 
softball team (3-2 overall) is at 
the onset of its regular season. 
And in the words of coach Carol 
Hutchins, the fairly young team 
has some growing to do. 

The 
Wolverines’ 
opening 

weekend featured a constant battle 
of ups and downs, underscored by 
two tough losses on Saturday — 
including a relatively unexpected 
6-4 loss to USF. One constant, 
though, was senior center fielder 
Kelly Christner, who batted .533 
with eight hits on the weekend.

Though it’s far too early to 

coin anything a trend, certain 
aspects of the weekend shouldn’t 
be ignored as the team moves 
forward this season.

The unpredictable performance 

of the pitching rotation, which 
demonstrated 
both 
great 

strengths and faults in the span of 
three days, proved to be one of the 
main areas of focus. Senior right-
hander Megan Betsa provided an 
unwavering presence, posting a 
0.41 earned-run average, striking 
out 15 against Delaware — just 
one K short of her single-game 
record. Fanning 27 over the course 
of the weekend, the pitching ace 
currently ranks eighth nationally 
in total strikeouts.

“I was pretty happy with my 

overall performance, other than 
the number of pitches I threw,” 
Betsa said. “Hutch told me on 
multiple occasions that I’m better 
than almost everyone I face, and I 
just need to believe that and trust 
my pitches and attack each hitter.”

For her dominance in the circle, 

Betsa received recognition as the 
Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for 
the seventh time in her career. 
Though Michigan eventually fell 
to Florida, 2-1, in its first Saturday 
loss, Hutchins credits Betsa with 
keeping the Wolverines in the 

game during the 10-frame contest, 
as she allowed only one earned run 
while striking out 12 batters.

Junior 
right-hander 
Tera 

Blanco had a packed weekend as 
well, starting a game each day on 
the mound. She earned two wins in 
three games pitched, highlighted 
by tossing eight strikeouts against 
Illinois State.

Despite their accomplishments, 

both 
Betsa 
and 
Blanco’s 

performances were also marred. 
Besta was displeased with the great 
deal of pitches she fired in her two 
outings in the circle, throwing 190 
against the Gators alone.

“We threw a lot of pitches and 

we gave up a lot of free bases in 
the (Florida) game,” Hutchins 
said. “And they were turning their 
lineup over for the third time 
when we had just finished going 
through once.”

Blanco, still relatively new to 

the collegiate pitching climate, 
experienced 
a 
fair 
share 
of 

inconsistency 
last 
weekend. 

Facing South Florida on Saturday, 
she allowed six runs off nine hits, 
yet she retired seven straight 
batters the day before.

The lack of sharpness and 

consistency from the circle will 
have to be amended in order for the 
rotation to obtain the depth it seeks.

Before 
the 
season 
began, 

Hutchins 
— 
unsure 
of 
how 

Michigan’s first contests would 
go — made it clear that the need for 
unseasoned players to step up this 
year was imperative, and she had 
no doubt her players would rise to 
the occasion.

Her call was answered by 

four 
Wolverine 
sophomores. 

On the first day of competition, 
second baseman Faith Canfield, 
right fielder Natalie Peters, left 
fielder Courtney Richardson and 
catcher Alex Sobczak spearheaded 
Michigan’s 
offensive 
efforts, 

accounting for 12 of Michigan’s 19 
hits and eight runs batted in.

Richardson was Friday’s leading 

hitter, driving in a three-run 
homer against Illinois State. While 
she had only one hit last season, 
she saw five in the past weekend 
alone, batting an impressive .417.

Last year, Peters saw 16 total 

at-bats and obtained five hits. 
During her time in Florida, she 
surpassed those numbers with 18 
at-bats from the leadoff position 
and six hits.

“(Peters) was really one of our 

steadiest performers over (last) 
weekend,” Hutchins said.

These 
underclassmen 
all 

started a majority of the games 
throughout the weekend, and 
proved 
themselves 
as 
both 

reliable fielders and batters for 
the Wolverines, exactly what 
Hutchins had trusted they would 
be able to do.

Both the evolution of the 

pitching rotation and the growth 
of Michigan’s underclassmen will 
be key elements for the team as it 
seeks to find success this season.

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Senior right-hander Megan Betsa earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after striking out 27 batters in the tourney.

Wolverines start 3-0

The Michigan men’s lacrosse 

team was on a quest to start their 
season 3-0 for the first time in 
program history on Wednesday 
against Detroit Mercy.

With 
sophomore 
Brent 

Noseworthy and senior Ian King, 
who each tallied four goals on 
the night, leading the charge, 
that mission came to fruition in a 
15-10 win over the Titans. But the 
match was more hard-fought than 
the score indicated.

The Wolverines (3-0 overall) 

had a rocky start to the game, 
finding themselves playing catch-
up throughout the first half. 
Detroit (0-2), in contrast, scored 
43 seconds into the game and 
looked poised to secure its first 
win of the season. 

But 
Michigan 
responded 

quickly, scoring just a minute 
and a half later off the stick 
of sophomore attacker Rocco 
Sutherland. Sutherland — who 
scored only one goal last season 
— has four goals through three 
games this year.

Throughout the first quarter, 

the 
Wolverines 
proved 
their 

resilience as they never let the 
Titans’ lead grow larger than one, 
and ended the quarter down 3-2.

They kept that effort going 

in the second quarter. Defender 
Dickson Smith scored just 27 
seconds into the frame — the first 
goal of his Michigan career after 
transferring from Virginia as a 
graduate student.

The Wolverines and Detroit 

Mercy went on to trade goals the 
rest of the half, ending in a 5-5 tie.

Just 
13 
seconds 
into 
the 

third quarter, senior defensive 
midfielder 
Christian 
Wolter 

scored the first goal of his four-
year career to give the Wolverines 
the lead, one they wouldn’t 

relinquish the rest of the night.

After Wolter’s goal, Michigan 

found its stride, shutting out 
Detroit, 7-0, to open up a huge 
12-5 lead.

“We 
came 
off 
slow, 
we 

weren’t really playing our game,” 
Sutherland 
said. 
“We 
really 

came together at halftime as an 
offensive group and defensive 
group and really just buckled 
down and focused on our game 
plan and what we usually did in 
the prior two games and started 
to play our game.”

The Wolverines received a 

huge spark from King, who netted 
three goals in the third quarter 
alone. Just three games into the 
season, King is seven goals away 
from setting Michigan’s all-time 
record for goals and four points 
away from setting the all-time 
point record.

“No question, we are good 

transition team when we get those 
opportunities,” 
said 
Michigan 

coach John Paul. “It’s what 
sparked us in the third quarter. 
We have guys who can score when 
given the opportunity, and our 
defense played well — they just 
have to learn to play well for a full 
60 minutes.”

The fourth quarter continued 

in similar fashion for Michigan, as 
its defense continued its second-
half dominance and the offense 
received another boost — this time 
from Noseworthy, who scored 
three goals in the quarter to bring 
his season total to a team-high 11. 

Given 
their 
unprecedented 

start to the season, the Wolverines 
are 
currently 
in 
uncharted 

territory, but they know not to get 
overconfident for their Saturday 
matchup against Bellarmine (0-1).

“I think the most important 

thing with a quick turnaround 
like this is making sure we stay 
healthy and keep our legs fresh for 
Saturday,” Paul said. 

MEN’S LACROSSE

JAKE UCHITELLE-COHEN 

For the Daily

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer