The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, February 17, 2017 — 7

‘M’ looks to respond in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

The last time the Michigan 

softball team entered the second 
weekend of its season with 
multiple losses was 2006. 

But after dropping two close 

games in Tampa, Fla. last weekend, 
the Wolverines fell from No. 6 to 
No. 11 in the national rankings and 
now find themselves in uncharted 
waters heading into the ACC/Big 
Ten Challenge this weekend in 
Raleigh, N.C.

Still, 
the 
calendar 
reads 

February, and for Michigan coach 
Carol Hutchins and her team, that 
means prioritizing progress over 
results. For one of the longest-
tenured coaches in college softball, 
a couple of opening-weekend 
losses hardly phase her.

What does concern Hutchins, 

though — which she emphasized 
this week in practice — is 
consistency 
throughout 
her 

lineup, particularly with runners 
in scoring position.

Last weekend, the Wolverines 

hit .314 as a team, but managed an 
average below .200 with runners 
in scoring position. There are 

several potential explanations for 
that disparity, both physically and 
mentally.

“A lot of it was our mindset,” said 

senior shortstop Abby Ramirez. 
“We didn’t get the timely hits we 
needed, so we’ve been working 
on hitting with runners in scoring 
position and not making it too big 
of a deal in your head. Just taking 
it as a normal at-bat.”

That struggle may also be a 

product of the lack of experience. 
Entering last weekend, only five 
players on the roster had earned 
over 100 at-bats in their careers. 

Sophomores 
Natalie 
Peters, 

Courtney 
Richardson, 
Alex 

Sobczak and Faith Canfield — all 
expected to be major contributors 
on offense this season — entered 
the season with a combined total 
of 182 at-bats in their careers, with 
most coming in blowouts, pinch-
hit appearances or other lower-
leverage sitations. For context, 
senior outfielder Kelly Christner 
had nearly that many (179) on her 
own last season.

“We spent most of yesterday 

free-swinging, working on drills 
that help untie us. We’re a little 
tied-up, a little tight,” Hutchins 

said. “And they look like they’re 
swinging a little better, but 
obviously we’ll see this weekend.”

Granted, this weekend will not 

mount the same type of challenge 
to the young lineup that now-No. 
1 Florida was able to provide last 
weekend.

Michigan will go up against 

NC State and Notre Dame — each 
twice — in this year’s ACC/Big 
Ten Challenge. The Wolfpack 
and Fighting Irish went 2-3 and 
3-2, respectively, in their opening 
weekend tournaments.

These two games will be just 

the fifth and sixth matchups all-
time between Michigan and NC 
State — the Wolverines have won 
all four of their previous contests. 
If Michigan can focus on keeping 
the ball in the ballpark, it should 
have a good chance to take both 
games against the Wolfpack. 
Last season, NC State finished 
11th in the country in home 
runs per game (1.29), despite 
managing just the 179th best 
batting average in the country 
(.270 average). 

Notre Dame, on the other hand, 

is a more well-known opponent.

“I know we’ll have our hands 

full (with the Fighting Irish),” 
Hutchins said in an interview with 
WTKA on Thursday. “We always 
have great competitive matchups 
with Notre Dame, they’re a very 
familiar team, as we see them 
often in our postseason.” 

Most 
recently, 
Michigan 

topped the Fighting Irish last 
May, 6-2, to advance to the NCAA 
Super Regionals. That day, then-
junior right-hander Megan Betsa 
neutralized 
the 
Notre 
Dame 

lineup, limiting it to just two runs 
in a complete-game performance. 

Most notably, though, Betsa 

did not walk a batter and threw 
just 93 pitches. While she has 
been outspoken about wanting to 
pitch to contact more this season, 
Betsa threw over 300 pitches and 
walked 10 batters in 17 innings last 
weekend. 

Though she was named Big 

Ten Pitcher of the Week for the 
dominance — to her credit, the 
0.41 earned-run average and 27 
strikeouts speak for themselves — 
Hutchins knows that in order to 
maximize the number of innings 
Betsa can throw this season while 
still maintaining her health for a 
postseason run, Betsa will have to 
be more efficient.

“It’s not lost on her that the 

more pitches she throws in a 
game, the less available she’s going 
to be,” Hutchins said. “We’re 
very cognizant of (her workload). 
She just needs to attack hitters. 
You don’t pitch to not get hit, you 
pitch to beat them, and she’s very 
capable of that.”

While the theme of the week 

was improving the consistency 
of the offense, perhaps the most 
important aspect to watch this 
weekend will be the pitching staff. 
If Betsa and junior right-hander 
Tera Blanco can be more efficient 
and effective in their outings, that 
could bode well not only for this 
weekend, but for the rest of the 
season.

The calendar may read February 

— and for Betsa the results may 
continue to be good — but it’s those 
types of gradual improvements 
that may be beneficial come May.

Michigan falls to Indiana

At 
halftime, 
the 
No. 
20 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team appeared dead in the water. 
Michigan 
trailed 
Indiana 
40-22 — its 
lowest point total this season — 
while shooting just 12.5 percent 
from 3-point range. The Hoosiers 
looked to be running away with 
the contest.

But the Wolverines managed 

to fight back in the second half. 
Michigan went on an 11-0 run in 
the fourth quarter and trimmed 
the deficit to just eight points. 
It wasn’t enough, though, as 
Indiana held on for a 72-61 win. 
The Wolverines made just 21.3 
percent of their three-point shots 
in the game. 

“Coming into tonight, we 

needed to remind ourselves that 
Indiana is a good team,” said 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico. “They’re a team that’s 
experienced and a team that 
plays well at home. It just felt like 
anything we were throwing at 
them, they were scoring on.”

With 7:31 to go in the fourth 

frame, Michigan (10-3 Big Ten, 
21-6 overall) found itself in a 
65-46 hole until freshman guard 
Kysre Gondrezick made her first 
3-pointer of the night. Junior 
guard Katelynn Flaherty and 
freshman forward Kayla Robbins 
followed Gondrezick up with a 
pair of layups before Gondrezick 
made a two-point jumper. The 
comeback effort was on for 
Michigan.

Reality then set in for the 

Wolverines, as Hoosier guard 
Tyra Buss made a layup with 
2:18 to go that put Indiana (8-5, 
18-8) ahead by double-digits once 
again. The Wolverines never 
recovered from the 68-57 deficit, 
as they scored only once in their 
final four possessions.

“We had a legitimate shot 

in the fourth quarter,” Barnes 
Arico said. “Then we kind of got 

stagnant. We got some stops, but 
we weren’t able to get scores. 
We haven’t lost in a long time. 
It’ll be interesting to see how we 
respond.”

Most 
of 
the 
game 
was 

dominated 
by 
the 
Hoosiers, 

especially the first quarter.

Indiana outscored Michigan 

13-0 over the last six minutes of 
the first frame, which allowed the 
Hoosiers to take a 23-8 lead. Buss 
led the charge for Indiana, scoring 
nine points. The Wolverines, 
meanwhile, made just three of 
their 11 shots in the quarter.

Michigan continued to implode 

in the second stanza, as the 
Hoosiers rode an 8-0 run to their 
40-22 halftime lead. This time, it 
was guard Karlee McBride who 
abused the Wolverines, putting 
up seven points in the frame. 
Michigan further hindered its 
cause by turning the ball over six 
times while Indiana coughed it 
up just thrice.

“We couldn’t get stops early 

on, and I think that frustrated 
us,” Barnes Arico said. “I think 
that forced us to take some bad 
looks on (the) offensive end.”

Life was marginally easier 

for the Wolverines in the third 
quarter, as they made 53.3 
percent of their shots. Michigan 
even managed a 6-0 run thanks 
to 
back-to-back 
3-pointers 

from sophomore guard Nicole 
Munger and senior guard Siera 
Thompson.

But it was nowhere near 

enough to erase the Wolverines’ 
deficit. The Hoosiers shot 56.3 
percent and commanded a 61-42 
edge at the end of the third. The 
hole proved to be too much for 
Michigan to crawl out of. 

Despite 
the 
defeat, 
the 

Wolverines remain two games 
ahead of Indiana for third place 
in the Big Ten standings. They 
can clinch the third seed in the 
Big Ten Tournament with a win 
over Michigan State on Sunday, 
but after falling to the Hoosiers 
on Thursday, they will also need 
an Indiana loss to achieve their 
season-long goal.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ICE HOCKEY
Michigan set for tough 
series with Wisconsin

The last time the Michigan 

hockey team played on an 
Olympic-sized rink, it struggled 
defensively, allowing nine goals 
in two games to Minnesota.

Since then, the Wolverines’ 

defense has continued to be 
a trouble spot, giving up two 
goals or fewer in only one of six 
games since playing the Golden 
Gophers.

This 
weekend, 
Michigan 

will face another offensive-
minded team on a larger sheet 
of ice when it takes on No. 20 
Wisconsin.

The 
Badgers 
boast 
the 

seventh-best offense in the 
country 
and 
showed 
their 

ability to score goals in their first 
game against the Wolverines, 
exploding for seven goals.

Though the larger ice rink 

can sometimes pose a challenge 
for opposing defenses, Michigan 
knows what it has to improve 
upon to be ready for Wisconsin.

“I think the forecheck is 

going to be really important,” 
said senior defenseman Nolan 
De Jong. “Because the faster 
we can take away their time 
and space in the offensive zone, 
obviously the less we’ll have it 
in our zone.

“For the defense, kind of 

staying between the (faceoff) 
dots. You see these teams, 
they’ll try to spread you outside 
the dots and try to find that lane 
to the middle. Wisconsin’s a 
team that’s going to try to sneak 
guys behind you and try to 
score on breakaways and kind 
of quick, fast transitions.”

Offensively, the Wolverines 

seemed to be improving, but 
they 
struggled 
again 
last 

Saturday 
against 
Michigan 

State. Though senior forward 
Alex Kile remains sidelined 
with an injury, Michigan hopes 
to show its offensive potency on 
the larger ice.

One reason for optimism 

could be freshman forward 
Will Lockwood. His scoring has 

slowed down after a hot start 
to the season, but with more 
room to skate this weekend, the 
freshman’s speed and offensive 
ability could be on display. He 
was unable to make the trip to 
Minneapolis due to an injury of 
his own, so this will be the first 
time he has an opportunity to 
make an impact for Michigan 
with extra space on the ice.

According 
to 
Michigan 

coach Red Berenson, his team’s 
competitiveness 
and 
puck 

security will be key.

“We didn’t have all of our 

speed in the lineup (against 
Minnesota),” 
Berenson 
said. 

“This is a skater’s rink, but 
you still have got to compete. 
Wisconsin’s a skilled team, and 
they skate. They’re one of the 
better offensive teams in our 
league, especially on the power 
play.

“But we’ve got to take care 

of the puck. That’s one thing 
I thought we did poorly on 
Saturday at home. We got the 
puck, and then we’d turn it 
over, and then we’d be chasing 
it again. And in a rink like this, 
you’re going to be chasing all 
night if you don’t take care of 
the puck.”

In net, the Wolverines will 

turn to freshman goaltender 
Jack LaFontaine. After not 
playing much in the middle of 
the season, LaFontaine started 
Saturday against the Spartans 
and started strong before an 
injury forced him to leave the 
game early.

Michigan 
is 
heading 
to 

Madison in the midst of a rather 
rough stretch, losing five of 
its last eight games. But the 
Wolverines are still optimistic, 
according to De Jong.

“I think we’re pretty upbeat 

right now,” De Jong said. “I 
think we know we got a bit of a 
wakeup call last Saturday. That 
wasn’t an acceptable effort. But 
I think we had a really good 
practice out there today, and I 
think we’re excited to go and 
excited to get another game 
under our belt.”

Wolverines to open season against Seton Hall 

With so much of the same 

personnel returning for the 
Michigan 
baseball 
team, 
it 

seems fitting that its 2017 
season will begin in the same 
place the 2016 campaign did.

The Wolverines, who were 

recently picked to finish second 
behind Maryland in the Big Ten 
Preseason Coaches Poll, will 
take on Seton Hall in a four-
game series in Port St. Lucie, 
Fla. beginning on Friday. The 
trip marks the ninth time in 10 
years that Michigan has played 
in Port St. Lucie, the spring 
training home of the New York 
Mets.

Michigan was ranked 15th 

in the country at the start of 
last season, and justified that 
placement 
with 
a 
season-

opening 
four-game 
sweep 

of Canisius in Florida. The 
Wolverines 
will 
begin 
this 

season unranked, however, due 
to the loss of key contributors, 
such as utility player Carmen 
Benedetti 
and 
left-handed 

pitcher Brett Adcock, as well as 
their struggles down the stretch 
last season. After a 34-12 start, 
they lost nine of their final 
11 games and failed to reach 
the NCAA Tournament. Still, 
Michigan coach Erik Bakich’s 
expectations for his veteran-
laden squad remain high.

“(This 
team 
has) 
been 

training as hard and with 
as much intent as possible,” 
Bakich said. “There’s as much 
anticipation for this particular 
group as any team I’ve been a 
part of.”

For the pitching staff, junior 

left-hander Oliver Jaskie is 
effectively locked in as the 
Wolverines’ top starter after 
compiling a 7-3 record with a 
3.19 earned-run average last 
season. 
Sophomore 
right-

hander Alec Rennard, a junior 
college transfer from Santa 
Rosa Community College, is 
all but assured of a rotation 
spot as well. Behind them, a 
number of veterans will look to 
assert themselves. Junior right-
hander Ryan Nutof and left-
hander Michael Hendrickson 

are 
currently 
leading 
the 

competiton to fill out the 
rotation.

Michigan’s 
strength 
on 

offense 
centers 
around 
an 

experienced 
and 
versatile 

infield 
that 
returns 
four 

starters, all of whom are capable 
of filling a number of roles if 
necessary. Juniors Jake Bivens 
— a .356 hitter last season — and 
Drew Lugbauer — second on 
the team with seven home runs 
— will man the corner infield 
spots. Senior shortstop Michael 
Brdar and sophomore second 
baseman Ako Thomas, who 
aren’t as prolific at the plate as 
Bivens or Lugbauer, will serve 
as anchors up the middle.

“Brdar and Ako Thomas 

are really skilled defensively,” 
Bivens said. “(Senior catcher 
Harrison Wenson) and Drew 
and 
(sophomore 
infielder 

Jimmy Kerr) can play any 
position, 
so 
obviously 
that 

experience will be important 
for us.”

Added Bakich: “It’s not very 

often you get the entire infield 
back. (Bivens) has played plenty 

of shortstop in his time here 
and even Lugbauer got a little 
time at shortstop last fall. I feel 
very confident about our infield 
talent.”

Accentuating this versatility 

is Wenson, Michigan’s leader 
in home runs and runs batted 
in last season with eight and 
56, respectively. Not only will 
he occupy a spot in the middle 
of the order as the Wolverines‘ 
primary 
power 
source, 
but 

he has proven himself to be 
dependable as a backstop.

“He gives us not only a good 

presence behind the plate, but 
allows us to get our best offense 
on the field,” Bakich said.

Similar to Michigan, Seton 

Hall missed out on an NCAA 
Tournament berth last season 
despite a solid 38-20 record. 
With a lineup anchored by Mike 
Alescio, a preseason All-Big 
East selection at catcher, the 
Pirates will likely implement a 
small-ball approach predicated 
on baserunning and defense. 
Seton Hall hit just 11 home runs 
with a .273 average last season, 
far below the Wolverines’ 28 

home runs and team batting 
average of .299, but the Pirates 
led the nation in stolen bases at 
183.

While Seton Hall may not 

hold an offensive advantage 
over 
the 
Wolverines, 
the 

Pirates do boast an experienced 
pitching staff which posted 
a 3.21 ERA last year. Shane 
McCarthy 
— 
a 
unanimous 

selection to the All-Big East 
first feam — and Cullen Dana 
both recorded sub-3.00 ERAs, 
while closer Zach Schellenger 
struck out 70 batters in just 45.2 
innings.

Despite the bitter end to 

last season, excitement and 
optimism 
around 
Michigan 

baseball remains high, and a 
quality opponent in Seton Hall 
will provide an experienced 
Wolverine squad with their 
first big test in their quest to 
return to the postseason. 

“We have a great group of 

guys that know how to handle 
the pressure,” Bivens said. “It’s 
been exciting to play with them, 
and it’s going to be a great time 
going down South.” 

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Michigan coach Carol Hutchins geared practice toward the offense in preparation for this weekend’s tournament.

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Writer

NATHANIEL CLARK

Daily Sports Writer

MICHIGAN
INDIANA 

61
72

MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor

EVAN AARON/Daily

Junior infielder Jake Bivens will provide a steady presence at the plate and in the field for the Wolverines this season. 

JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer

