8 — Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Canfield powers Michigan on offense, defense

Faith Canfield spent Friday 

morning in class jotting down 
notes instead of taking batting 
practice 
before 
the 
No. 
19 

Michigan softball team opened 
Big Ten play against Penn State. 

This 
lack 
of 
game-time 

preparation didn’t matter for 
the sophomore second baseman. 
While her teammates rocketed 
balls over the fence during 
warmups, Canfield was one of few 
who consistently found success 
when it counted.

The 
Garden 
Grove, 
Calif., 

native hit a combined 6-for-9 
this weekend against the Nittany 
Lions, racking up six RBI, five 
runs and five extra-base hits — 
including three doubles, a triple 
and her team-leading fifth home 
run of the season. Canfield’s bat 
was hot throughout the Penn State 
series, offsetting the Wolverines’ 
unpredictable production at the 
plate.

Michigan 
coach 
Carol 

Hutchins believes Canfield has 
given the underwhelming lineup 
a much-needed spark when the 
Wolverines have needed it most.

“Faith has been just working 

hard and improving,” Hutchins 
said. “I think she plays with a 
great energy, which I think helps 
you play better. … She has great 
rhythm and is swinging well. So, 
she is making it look kind of easy. 
I’d like to think that that inspires 
the group — that ‘You can do it, if 
I can do it.’

“She’s certainly been solid 

for us,” she concluded while 
grinning.

With the graduation of one 

of Michigan’s all-time greats, 
Sierra Romero, Canfield won the 
starting job at second base. And 
the decision to insert her in the 
lineup is paying dividends in both 
aspects of the game.

Canfield boasts a .359 batting 

average, and leads the team in 
home runs with five, 59 total 
bases and 29 runs. She also 
ranks among the top three on the 

team in doubles, RBI, steals and 
slugging percentage.

Coming into college, Canfield 

was a go-to utility player and 
an undeveloped power hitter, 
looking instead to make contact 
and get on base. But hard work to 
get “bigger” during the offseason 
has led to the sophomore already 
doubling her home run total from 
last year.

Canfield also attributes her 

newfound power to the fine-
tuning of her technique in the 
batter’s box and hitting off her 
backside. Then there’s the mental 
aspect to her approach, one 
Hutchins engrains into all her 
players. She purely focuses on the 
outcome of each at-bat by hitting 
the back of the ball, or at least 
making contact to put it into play.

“It’s in my confidence, trusting 

my process and just keeping it 
simple,” Canfield said. “Honestly, 
not making it too big. The game 
doesn’t know who you’re playing 
or what your batting average is, 
so you just have to go up to every 
at-bat looking to hit the ball hard.”

Though Canfield made her 

name known last year after 
flashing 
offensive 
potential, 

primarily 
entering 
games 
as 

the designated player, she has 
earned a reputation this year as a 
reliable defensive player¬¬. This 
weekend, her sometimes flashy — 
but always consistent — glove got 
her pitchers out of jams, inspiring 
her teammates in the process. She 
has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding 
percentage this season and leads 
the team with 45 assists, along 
with 28 putouts.

Canfield believes her backup 

role for most of last season taught 
her to be more appreciative of all 
the chances she gets to display her 
natural fielding abilities.

“I love going out there,” 

Canfield said. “… I think just going 
out there and enjoying it and 
realizing that every day we get 
to play is a great opportunity (is 
important). I think that whether 
you’re up or down, being grateful 
definitely helps me keep a positive 
energy.”

For her teammates, watching 

Canfield’s prowess and dedication 
to the game is motivational, 

impacting their own play.

“She’s improved so much from 

last year and I’m so proud of her 
because of her work ethic and 
honestly, how hard she goes for 
this sport,” said junior designated 
player Amanda Vargas.

Added 
senior 
right-hander 

Megan Betsa: “She comes every 
day, she works hard and she has 
great at-bats. I know throwing to 
her in practice, it’s always a tough 
battle, so I think she gives us life 
and she gives us the spark that we 
need, especially in the two-hole.”

With a dominant weekend 

showing, 
Canfield 
solidified 

herself as a major force on a 
shockingly subdued Wolverine 
offense this season, and is primed 
to catalyze Michigan in upcoming 
Big Ten play.

“At batting practice today, we 

hit about 100 balls over the fence, 
and apparently we used them all 
up,” Hutchins said after Friday’s 
“fortunate” 3-0 win. “We only 
had six well-hit balls and Faith 
had three of them. And she wasn’t 
even at batting practice today.”

But imagine if she was.

SOFTBALL
Scoring first equals 
playing loose for ‘M’

Jogging off the field after 

escaping a second-inning jam 
against Penn State last Friday, 
junior right-hander Tera Blanco 
was met by an enraged Michigan 
coach 
Carol 
Hutchins. 
As 

Hutchins’ voice boomed toward 
Blanco, echoing around Alumni 
Field, the game’s urgency grew. 
The Wolverines were stuck in 
a scoreless contest against a 
program that they had beaten in 
their last 25 tries. 

It was obvious Hutchins’ team 

wasn’t playing to her standards. 
She yelled at her hitters to be 
more aggressive at the plate from 
the third base coach’s box, using 
demonstrative swings and hand 
motions to illustrate her point.

Despite Hutchins’ animated 

reaction, Michigan didn’t raise 
its level of play. In a game left 
scoreless until the fifth inning, 
the Wolverines were unable to get 
timely hits until errors and walks 
by Penn State eventually gave the 
game away.

Those first four innings of 

scoreless softball have largely 
represented what the Wolverines’ 
season has been thus far: playing 
tensely but not particularly well 
at times, despite posting a 22-7-1 
record. In more high-pressured 
games against ranked opponents, 
Michigan is just 2-6-1.

“I think when the kids feel 

the pressure, they try too hard,” 
Hutchins said during the Judi 
Garman Classic in early March. 
“That’s exactly what is going on 
with them.”

On Friday — though not against 

a nationally ranked team — the 
Wolverines certainly felt the 
pressure, causing a lackluster start 
to a series though they ultimately 
won the game, 3-0.

But there’s a remedy for that 

tightness: getting on the board 
first. That’s what Michigan did 

against those same Nittany Lions 
on Sunday, pushing across five 
runs in the opening frame and 
winning 17-0 behind a no-hitter 
from senior right-hander Megan 
Betsa.

The 
Wolverines 
enjoyed 

themselves, leaving the field with 
smiles and giving high-fives to 
each other while vocal support 
came from the dugout.

Hutchins believes that these 

three aspects — early leads, 
scoring first, and playing loose — 
are all interconnected.

“Certainly in a game like that 

when you jump on them and you’re 
up by five, you don’t feel tight,” 
Hutchins said. “When you’re not 
tight, you do play better.”

Opening the scoring could be 

Achilles’ Heel for her team.

When Michigan scores first, 

it has a 22-1 record this season. 
When 
the 
Wolverines 
don’t, 

they’re a meager 2-5-1.

Of course, the first team to 

cross home plate maintains the 
innate benefit of purely scoring 
a run. But in Michigan’s case, 
scoring first aids the team’s ability 
to stay relaxed.

“Once we were ahead, we got 

a lot of good swings,” Hutchins 
said. 
“We 
weren’t 
as 
tight. 

Especially when you’re up in the 
series, they’re just trying to get a 
game from you. (Scoring in the 
first inning) puts a stake in it. 
You could feel that Penn State 
was pretty deflated after the first 
inning.”

And as her team poured it 

on the Nittany Lions on Sunday 
afternoon, Hutchins’ face became 
more relaxed from that third 
base line. She wasn’t aggressively 
swinging her hands or shouting at 
players with the same ferocity as 
she did Friday.

That’s because it proved to be 

no longer necessary. Thanks to an 
early lead, the Wolverines — for 
one of the few times this season — 
simply played loosely.

Butt tackles pay for play debate

Jake Butt tore his ACL during 

his last Michigan football game 
against Florida State on Dec. 31, 
risking millions of future signing 
dollars to help his team attempt to 
win the Orange Bowl. But instead 
of discussing whether he should 
have skipped the game to stave 
off injury when questioned at 
Michigan’s Pro Day, he changed 
the conversation to something 
that mattered more — NCAA 
policies.

“I should be the example of 

why college athletes should be 
getting paid in college,” Butt said.

While Butt has commented 

on his issues with the NCAA in 
the past (especially on Twitter), 
he used his platform at Pro 
Day to raise new awareness to 
his concerns. He believes that 
athletes who are bringing in 
huge amounts of revenue for 
their 
universities 
should 
be 

compensated for their efforts.

“When it first hit me was when 

I was getting $900 a month and 
my rent was 700 bucks,” Butt 
said. “I see my name being used 
to profit someone else, and I got 
$200 for food, gas, cable, water.”

As 
he 
alluded 
to, 
Butt’s 

scholarship was hardly enough 
to cover basic living expenses: 
his $700 rent didn’t even cover 
utilities. With a full course load 
and an intense practice schedule, 
there was no way to get a job, so 
Butt was left with only one option.

“I had to call my dad,” Butt 

said. “And thankfully I’m lucky, 
my dad was able to help me out 
a little bit, but there’s plenty of 
people that don’t have families 
that can send them a couple bucks 
to help them cover everything 
else.”

Butt admits that his situation 

wasn’t nearly as bad as it could 
get.

“Some people can’t call their 

parents,” Butt said. “Some people 
are sending their money home to 
their parents.

“There’s one example last year 

of a guy, someone was giving 
him money — his family money 
— because his mom can’t pay the 
bills,” Butt said. “A millionaire 

guy is giving his mom a couple 
hundred bucks a month to help 
her pay her bills. When this guy is 
sacrificing his body… I don’t see a 
problem with that.”

One of the issues, according 

to Butt, is that his likeness can 
be used without his consent, and 
profited off of hugely. Meanwhile 
he is still forced to look for 
funds elsewhere, though other 
people are making a indefinite 
amounts of money off of his 
name, face and signature. He has 
even seen people wearing shirts 
emblazoned with “I like Jake Butt 
and I cannot lie.”

The ability to profit off Butt 

is not limited to the NCAA, 
though. Anyone on the street can 
sell his signature too, but Butt 
can’t use his own name for any 
special benefits — not even a free 
breakfast.

“I see those mini helmets going 

for like 340 bucks with like me 
and Jabrill’s signatures on Ebay,” 
Butt said. “There’s something 
not adding up here. ‘They’re 
protecting us.’ They at least 
should come up with something 
better. They’re not protecting us.”

He would like athletes to be 

compensated 
somehow, 
and 

while he repeated that he didn’t 
need a paycheck, it seems that 
education isn’t always enough.

“I’m 
grateful. 
(I 
had 
a) 

wonderful education here at 
Michigan,” Butt said. “But there’s 
something missing here. …I’m 
looking at how much money this 
March Madness is bringing in 
… oh, but the basketball players 
get an education? How are they 
getting an education if they’re 
missing the whole entire month 
of March?”

According to him, Butt doesn’t 

plan on giving up his cause after 
he starts his career in the NFL. 
He will keep speaking out and 
advocating for the rights of 
student athletes. And while Butt 
hasn’t come up with a concrete fix 
for the issues he’s raised, several 
suggestions were thrown out.

“What would happen if we 

didn’t play? Damn,” Butt said. 
“Think about how much money 
the NCAA is losing if we didn’t 
play.

“I 
think 
these 
kind 
of 

conversations 
are 
important. 

Someday, something needs to 
change.”

Wolverines prep for midweek tilts

The Michigan baseball team (1-2 

Big Ten, 17-6 overall) opened up 
conference play at Maryland last 
weekend, but it will now return 
to Ray Fisher Stadium to host two 
non-conference midweek contests.

The Wolverines will face Toledo 

(0-3 Mid-American Conference, 
5-18 overall), which is fresh off a 
weekend series against Northern 
Illinois, on Tuesday. Michigan 
played the Huskies two weekends 
ago.

The Rockets lost all three games 

to the Northern Illinois, with the 
Huskies outscoring Toledo 32-9.

When Northern Illinois and the 

Wolverines battled in Ann Arbor, 
Michigan took two out of the three 
games due to an offensive surge 
by junior third baseman Drew 
Lugbauer – including a walk-off 
home run and a grand slam.

The 
Rockets’ 
most 
prolific 

threat on offense is outfielder AJ 
Montoya who currently sports a 

.291 batting average and leads his 
team in runs batted-in with 17. 
Toledo currently has zero players 
batting over .300, while Michigan 
has three players over that mark 
in — redshirt sophomore left fielder 
Miles Lewis, sophomore second 
baseman Ako Thomas and senior 
shortstop Michael Brdar.

When the Wolverines host 

Central 
Michigan 
(10-13) 
on 

Wednesday, though, the task will 
be much tougher. The Chippewas 
recently earned two wins against 
Missouri State, but have posted 
mixed results this season against 
other Big Ten opponents. 

Central 
Michigan 
took 

three out of four games against 
Northwestern, but then fell 11-2 to 
Michigan State just two days later.

Midweek contests may prove 

difficult for Michigan since the 
Wolverines may not receive regular 
rest, but the Chippewas have a deep 
lineup — with every player seeing 
the field so far this season — and 
just two have started and played in 
every game.

Infielder 
Alex 
Borglin 
and 

outfielder Daniel Robinson have 
started in all 23 games this season. 
They have combined for 37 RBI 
so far and are boasting a .351 and 
.327 batting average, respectively. 
Michigan has made a habit of 
starting off slow and with the 
pair batting high in the order, the 
Wolverines will need to ready from 
the first pitch.

These midweek matchups also 

mean that all of the teams will be 
without their usual starters on the 
mound. Junior right-hander Jayce 
Vancena will most likely pitch 
for Michigan after a stellar start 
during the Wolverines’ previous 
midweek game against Western 
Michigan.

But the Wolverines can expect 

to see a lot of fresh faces on the 
hill, such as freshman right-hander 
Karl Kauffman and sophomore 
left-hander William Tribucher.

Two midweek game victories 

may give Michigan confidence 
before its Big Ten home opener this 
weekend. 

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Senior tight end Jake Butt used his platform at Pro Day to voice his position.

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer

PAIGE VOEFFRAY

Daily Sports Writer

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield hit a combined 6-for-9 last weekend and has a perfect fielding percentage.

