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Sports
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 — 7A
Lewis shines in Wolverine debut
Miles Lewis may be new to
the Michigan baseball team,
but he isn’t new to college
baseball.
After
transferring
from
the
University
of
North Dakota, the redshirt
sophomore left fielder wasted
no time in making his mark for
the Wolverines.
As a Fighting Hawk, Lewis
finished the 2016 season as the
Western Athletic Conference
Freshman of the Year and a
freshman All-American. At the
end of the season he had a .360
batting average and 63 hits.
The Wolverines’ new left
fielder faced the transition
to Michigan due to North
Dakota’s decision to cut its
baseball
program,
leaving
some uncertainty for players
like Lewis. He didn’t allow this
to affect his game, though.
If anything, he’s only gotten
better.
In all likelihood, it was
disappointing for Lewis when
the Fighting Hawks’ program
got cut, but fortunately for
Michigan, it received what
could be its most prolific threat
on offense this season.
“We were fortunate enough
to get him, he was a heck of a
player last year,” said Michigan
coach Erik Bakich. “He brings
that impact ability to come in
and solidify an outfield role
and hit towards the top of the
order and I think you’ll see
good things out of him.”
Lewis
boasts
a
lot
of
accomplishments already in
his career, and if this weekend
is any indication, he will earn a
lot more as a Wolverine.
This
weekend,
Michigan
traveled to Port St. Lucie,
Fla. to battle Seton Hall, and
though the Wolverines split
the four-game series with the
Pirates, Lewis provided a nice
silver lining.
After
a
shaky
start
in
Michigan’s
season
opener
Friday, in which Lewis failed to
get a single hit in five at-bats, he
finished the weekend strong.
In the first game of Saturday’s
doubleheader,
both teams were
locked at seven
runs
apiece,
forcing
the
game into extra
innings. Lewis,
though,
would
have none of it.
In the bottom
of
the
10th
inning,
Lewis
knocked
the
first pitch he saw into shallow
right field for a walk-off single,
proving he could handle the
pressure.
In that first game, Lewis had
the hot bat, leading the team
with four hits and driving in
his game-deciding run.
His experience showed as he
spearheaded the Wolverines’
comeback late in the game. He
began Michigan’s fifth inning
rally with a single to right field
and later would score on an
RBI single from
senior
catcher
Harrison
Wenson.
Lewis
used
his momentum
to
carry
him
into the second
game.
He
notched
two
hits
in
three
at-bats, but more
importantly for
Michigan, he earned these hits
with men on base – driving in
three runs in the third game of
the weekend.
Though Lewis’ best day was
Saturday, he proved once again
Sunday that he could come in
clutch when the Wolverines
needed it the most.
With Michigan down by a
run in the bottom of the third,
Lewis led the offense to a four-
run inning. After sophomore
second baseman Ako Thomas
singled and stole two bases, he
stood at third base with Lewis
up to bat.
Lewis singled to right center,
nothing
particularly
fancy,
but it did the job, bringing
Thomas home. After that, the
runs just kept coming, with the
Wolverines scoring three more
times.
“Main thing is falling back
on the training this fall, a lot
of mental toughness training,”
Lewis said. “That’s what our
coaches prepared us for.”
After a stellar first weekend,
Lewis leads Michigan with
a .389 batting average and
seven hits. With only one
weekend under his belt, it will
be exciting to see how Lewis
grows with his new program.
SOFTBALL
Michigan thriving
behind home runs
With a runner on first in the top
of fifth inning, senior outfielder
Kelly Christner shifted the force
from her back leg to the front side
of her body, reached her arms out
over the plate and blasted the ball
over the center field wall. North
Carolina
State
pitcher
Harli
Hubbard could barely turn around
in time to see the pitch descend out
of sight, but she didn’t need to look
to know the ball was gone.
It was Christner’s third home
run in Friday night’s 12-0 rout of
the Wolfpack, becoming the first
Wolverine since 2009 and the
fourth all-time to homer three
times in the same game. She was
honored the Big Ten Player of the
Week on Monday for the effort.
“(Christner) was on fire that
game,” said Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins. “She really resonated
with some of the timing things we
had done in practice throughout
the week.”
The blast proved to be a
microcosm of the ACC/Big Ten
Challenge for Michigan. The
weekend’s four games saw the
team tally a total of 10 home runs
from six different players.
Sophomore second baseman
Faith Canfield was one of those
Wolverines. After ending Saturday
night’s rematch against NC State
with a grand slam, she struck again
with a home run Sunday morning
to help Michigan avenge an earlier
loss to Notre Dame. Canfield, who
was moved back to the cleanup
spot in the team’s last two games,
collected three hits and seven runs
batted in during the second half of
the weekend.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,”
Canfield said. “But then again, you
can’t get too high on the highs or
too low on the lows.”
The
performance
demonstrated
a
strong
early
improvement for the sophomore,
who hit just three home runs in
44 games last season.
“All my freshman year, (power
hitting) was the coach’s main focus
for me,” Canfield said. “Coming in,
I never really saw myself as a power
hitter. I think that just buying into
the coach’s plan of getting bigger
and attacking harder with my
swing and just looking to drive the
ball has really been a huge focus.
It’s really nice seeing all my hard
work pay off.”
The
weekend’s
offensive
production also proved to be an
improvement for the entire team
from the week prior, when the
Wolverines averaged just 5.6 runs
per game and hit only one home
run in five contests.
But
hitting
homers
wasn’t
necessarily the focus of last week’s
practices.
“Timing has been our focus,”
Hutchins said. “Last weekend we
barely hit the ball out of the infield,
so I was very pleased to see our
timing improved tremendously. It
is still a work in progress, but we
are hitting (for) power a lot better.”
As with any team that finds a
burst of success at the beginning
of the season, finding production
with regularity will be crucial
for the Wolverines during two
tournaments in California over
spring break. Naturally, that’s a
focus for Hutchins this week.
“Certainly, we’re going to come
together and get more of our kids
to be consistent,” Hutchins said.
“That’s a goal: to have more of the
kids consistent throughout the
lineup.”
Getting that power in addition
to consistent contact from players
throughout the order will make
the Michigan’s lineup even more
potent moving forward.
So early into the season, if
nothing else, the dominance of
the long ball is a sign of offensive
improvement that will turn heads
faster than Hubbard needed to on
Christner’s home run Friday.
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Writer
In its five-year history, the
Michigan men’s lacrosse team
has never seen a season start
like this one. After their 13-5
victory over Bellarmine (0-2),
the Wolverines (4-0) remain
undefeated for the first time in
program history.
More than 10 minutes of
the first quarter passed before
either
team
could
manage
a goal. It took until the 4:17
mark for Michigan sophomore
attacker
Brent
Noseworthy
to
break
the
stalemate.
His
goal
was
quickly
followed
by
three more for
the Wolverines,
courtesy
of
sophomore
midfielders
Nick DeCaprio
and
Decker
Curran
and
freshman
midfielder
Avery
Myers.
Michigan’s
4-0
scoring
run was briefly halted in the
second period by the Knights’
Tucker Cisseau, but Curran
and Noseworthy tacked on
two more goals to give the
Wolverines a 6-2 halftime lead.
Michigan continued to pad
its lead through the remainder
of the competition. In the third
period, Noseworthy continued
the success he has seen all
season, notching three more
goals for the Wolverines, two
of which were assisted by
sophomore
attacker
Rocco
Sutherland.
While the Wolverines’ senior
class dominated on defense and
helped set up the offense, it was
the underclassmen who found
the scoring opportunities.
“Offensively, there’s a group
of sophomores right now —
Rocco
Sutherland,
Decker
Curran — who are all a big part
of our offense,” said Michigan
coach John Paul. “Brent’s the
beneficiary of what all of the
other guys are doing. … We
have a couple veteran guys out
there, but we’re relying heavily
on some of the younger guys,
and they’re getting the job
done.”
It wasn’t just the sophomores
who
played
well,
though.
Senior attacker Ian King tied
the school record of 113 career
points, previously set by former
Wolverine Kyle Jackson, and
added two assists.
Defensively,
Michigan
played its best game of the
season, allowing just five goals
on 31 shots and winning 13 of 21
faceoffs. Redshirt sophomore
goalie
Tommy
Heidt made 11
saves
on
the
night.
“I
thought
it
was
more
of
a
team
performance
today,”
Curran
said.
“The
offense
has
really
been
clicking, putting
up some pretty big numbers
on the (offensive) side. For any
team, when the defense steps
up, it allows the offense to just
get going, and I think that’s
what we did today.”
As
impressive
as
their
record may be, the Wolverines
have yet to face some of their
toughest
competition.
That
will change soon as they look
ahead to a meeting with No. 4
Notre Dame next week.
“We’re not prepared yet,
we’ve got a lot of work to do,”
Paul said. “Something we’re
going to be working on is just
getting back to some really
competitive
practices
we
haven’t been able to do for a
week.”
Still, with the way Michigan
has
played
through
the
first part of its season, the
Wolverines believe they can
compete with the Fighting
Irish.
“I think this team is a really
talented group,” said junior
attacker Patrick Tracy. “We
know what to expect and we’re
really excited for Notre Dame.”
MEN’S LACROSSE
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Erik Bakich and the Wolverines will benefit from Miles Lewis’ transfer from North Dakota.
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
“We were
fortunate
enough to get
him”
‘M’ remains perfect
AZALEA HINOJOSA
Daily Sports Writer
“We’re not
prepared yet,
we’ve got a lot
of work to do”
Michigan falls in close matchup with N.C. State
The No. 16 Michigan and
No. 7 N.C. State wrestling
teams both sport top-ranked
wrestlers in multiple weight
classes, but the lineups from
both teams in their dual meet
meant that bonus points and
a few close matches would
ultimately decide the outcome.
The
Wolverines got
off to a strong
start in their
last dual meet
of the season.
They
started
in the heart of
their
lineup,
with
three
straight
wins
starting
at
the 157-pound
weight
class.
Ninth-ranked
senior Brian Murphy delivered
a 7-4 decision to put Michigan
up 3-0. No. 2 redshirt freshman
165-pounder
Logan
Massa
nearly got a technical fall in
the final seconds of his match,
but could not secure his final
takedown, putting Michigan
up
7-0.
No.
8
freshman
174-pounder
Myles
Amine
had a dominant finish to his
match, riding out his opponent
the entire third period to a 5-2
decision.
After the first three matches,
the Wolverines had a 10-0
lead, but then the Wolfpack
stormed
back.
N.C.
State’s
No. 11 184-pounder Michael
Macchiavello started to swing
the momentum with an 18-7
major decision.
One of the closer matchups
of the dual came at the 197-
pound weight class, between
redshirt
freshman
Jackson
Striggow and N.C. State’s No.
25 Malik McDonald. Striggow
captured an early lead, but
McDonald
outlasted
him
for a 9-5 win, narrowing the
wolfpack’s deficit to three.
In the heavyweight class,
junior
Payne
Hayden
was
quickly pinned by N.C. State’s
Mike Kosoy. Hayden was slow
to get up, and clearly shaken,
but it was unclear how he was
injured.
Kosoy’s
dominant
show
against
Hayden
put
Michigan down 10-13.
The closest match occurred
in
the
125-pound
match
between 18th-ranked Michigan
senior
Conor
Youtsey
and
N.C. State’s 12th-ranked Sean
Fausz. Youtsey had a 3-0 lead
heading into the third period,
but Fausz scored a last-second
takedown
to
force
overtime.
Youtsey
shot
a single leg at
the
start
of
overtime,
but
Fausz scored on
a counterattack,
to
give
the
Wolfpack a 16-10
lead.
With
the
momentum
firmly in favor of NC State after
earning 16 unanswered points,
Michigan’s No. 7 freshman
Stevan Micic had to deliver to
keep the match close (against
No. 18 Jamal Morris). He did
just that, with a dominant win,
securing the technical fall with
a feet-to-back trip in the final
moments of the match.
“It was pretty loud in there,
the place was pretty packed
and everyone was screaming,”
Micic said. “But I was pretty
focused on what I had to do.”
Micic kept Michigan in the
match, as the
Wolverines
trailed by only
one
leading
into
redshirt
freshman
Sal
Profaci’s
match.
Profaci had
a tough task
ahead of him,
wrestling
second-ranked
Kevin Jack from N.C. State, and
he fell 19-5. The final match
was very close for redshirt
sophomore Zac Hall, and was
ultimately decided on riding
time in favor of N.C. State. This
put the final score at 23-15.
“They were a good team.
They had proven it over the
season,” said Michigan coach
Joe McFarland. “If maybe a
few things hadn’t happened,
a few things gone our way, we
could’ve come away with it.
But in the end we competed
hard, and that’s what matters
as we shift into
tournament
mode.”
Michigan
will be headed
to the Big Ten
Championships
in three weeks,
and
soon
after
that to the NCAA
championships.
But
if
the
Wolverines
want to be successful heading
forward, they will need to
make a few more things go
their way.
MAX KUANG/Daily
Freshman Stevan Micic kept things close for Michigan, but the Wolverines ultimately fell short against N.C. State.
“But in the end
we competed
hard, and that’s
what matters”
“But I was
pretty focused
on what I had
to do”
ALEX SAYLOR
For the Daily