The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, April 5, 2011 — 7A
In search of validation
T
he Michigan softball
team left the John
Cropp Classic in
Lexington, Ky. teetering on
the brink of disaster.
Following a swift 5-1 defeat
to No. 19 Kentucky on March
12, its record dropped to 14-7-
1 — the worst 22-game start
since 2006.
“We’re not playing the game
of softball,” said Michigan
coach Carol Hutchins after
that game. “Just play the
game of softball, not who do
you play, not who’s ranked,
not who’s supposed to win.
You’re just supposed to play
the game, and we are very
inconsistent in that category.”
Its 2-6-1 record against
ranked opponents — averaging
just two runs per game in
those nine matchups — raised
serious concerns about an
unproven lineup, and whether
it would ever find its form
against the type of quality it
would face.
The Wolverines were
reeling, in search of answers
to major questions on both
sides of the ball.
Since then, Michigan has
won 12 in a row, and done so
in a fashion that hints at some
semblance of sustainability.
Since allowing five runs
to Kentucky, senior right-
hander Megan Betsa has not
allowed a run and thrown two
no-hitters. With a changed
approach aimed at attacking
hitters, Betsa has blossomed
into the dominant ace who had
been missing at the beginning
of the year. In the 48-inning
span, she walked just 11
batters after walking 31 in her
first 77.1 innings this season.
In turn, Betsa became
the senior leader — in
performance and demeanor
— that Hutchins believes has
been coming for awhile now.
“I really think her mental
game is consistent. It’s been
really consistent during this
period,” Hutchins said. “She’s
just trusting what she’s doing
is good enough. She really sets
a great example and she sets
a good tone for us, and this
is sometimes when we’re not
offensive.
“She’s really been the best
I’ve seen her in her career.”
The Wolverines’ lineup has
seemingly turned a corner,
as well. Since the Kentucky
game, Michigan has averaged
6.75 runs per game, with
contributions coming from a
plethora of sources.
Junior infielder Amanda
Vargas has thrived in her
newfound role in the three
spot in the order. Second
baseman Faith Canfield
has continued her breakout
sophomore campaign,
boasting a .356 average, and
tied for the team lead with
five home runs. And the
two slap hitters — senior
shortstop Abby Ramirez and
sophomore outfielder Natalie
Peters — have combined for
70 hits on the season, adding
necessary depth to a lineup
that had become all-too reliant
on senior centerfielder Kelly
Christner.
With the rotation becoming
a dominant force and the
lineup starting to solidify, the
12-game win streak seems a
tell-tale sign of a team that has
found its groove.
But this weekend we find
out if that change is real.
The six opponents the
Wolverines have faced since
that tournament in Kentucky
have an average RPI of 127,
and five of the six sport
records below .500.
They did what they were
supposed to do at Alumni Field
— beat up on inferior teams
during its long homestretch.
This weekend in
Columbus, Michigan runs
into an offensive buzzsaw,
an unfamiliar contender that
is quietly putting the Big
Ten on notice. Coming off
its first NCAA tournament
appearance since 2010, No.
25 Ohio State is emerging
as a serious contender in
the uncharacteristically
competitive Big Ten.
The Buckeyes come into the
series surging — their only loss
in their last 16 games coming
at the hands of No. 5 Auburn.
Its offense has posted 84 runs
in its last seven games, with
its top-three home run hitters
— Lilli Piper, Alex Bayne and
Emily Clark — totaling more
home runs (25) than the entire
Michigan team (24).
And they will be motivated.
In a matchup that signifies a
rivalry in many other sports,
Ohio State has dropped
18-straight matchups to the
Wolverines, dating back to
2010.
It’s time to find out whether
Betsa can mow through a top-
caliber lineup the way she did
the Big Ten bottom-dwellers.
It’s time to find out whether
junior right-hander Tera
Blanco’s “pitch-to-contact”
style will hold against a team
with 37 home runs on the
season.
And, most importantly,
it’s time to see whether
Michigan’s offense — which
has shown a pulse against the
likes of Eastern Michigan,
Penn State and Northwestern
— can replicate its production
when faced with adversity on
the road, against an array of
quality pitching.
Without No. 7 Minnesota
on the schedule until,
presumably, the Big Ten
Tournament, the Wolverines
will use road visits to Ohio
State and Wisconsin as their
major measuring sticks.
On Friday, the Wolverines
will head to Columbus to find
out who they are.
On Sunday, they will come
home a different team, for
better or worse.
Marcovitch can be reached
at maxmarco@umich.edu or
on Twitter @MMarcovitch10.
Defensive line in search of depth
To say the bar is high would be
an understatement.
For the Michigan football team’s
new defensive line, that bar might
as well be scratching the surface of
the moon.
In 2016, there weren’t many
questions
to
be
answered.
Defensive
line
coach
Greg
Mattison had three fifth-year
seniors and one true senior at his
disposal in Chris Wormley, Ryan
Glasgow, Matthew Godin and Taco
Charlton, with a plethora of talent
surrounding them.
Now, after their departures,
things aren’t that simple.
But even though the personnel
has changed, Mattison’s philosophy,
as always, has remained the same.
The seventh-year coach, and the
Wolverines’ staff as a whole, has
always been steadfast in the belief
that rotations on the defensive front
are necessary.
“We always talk about (how) you
earn the right to rotate,” Mattison
said. “Two things can happen — if
you don’t earn the right to rotate,
now you’ve got four guys playing
the whole time and they’re never
gonna play as good as if you have
guys to rotate for them.
“That’s a big thing for us, that
some of the guys behind them have
got to close that gap fast.”
It’s easy to see why — injuries
are part of the territory that come
with playing in the trenches. In
2015, Bryan Mone missed his
entire sophomore season after
sustaining a leg injury in fall camp.
Last season, Charlton missed two
games against Central Florida and
Colorado, while Maurice Hurst
missed Michigan’s opener against
Hawaii.
As the focus shifts to the
Wolverines’ next season opener,
establishing that rotation has
become an even more pressing
issue.
Mattison is already optimistic
about the first unit, one that
will likely feature Hurst, Mone,
sophomore Rashan Gary and
senior
Chase
Winovich.
Last
season, those four were staples
in the second unit, accumulating
valuable snaps and racking up a
combined 27 tackles for loss and
10.5 sacks.
“(They’re)
very
important,
because unlike them last year —
when they were right there behind
that first group — now they’re
there as a group of guys that have
played,” Mattison said. “There’s
a little bigger gap, so they have to
always show the right way to do it.
It can’t be, ‘Now that’s OK.’
“It’s gotta be right, it’s gotta be
championship-type effort, it’s gotta
be championship technique. … The
spotlight is on them a little bit more
because there’s a real young group
behind them.”
In that same young group,
Michigan finds the bulk of its
unknowns heading into the 2017
season.
Mattison praised sophomore
defensive end Carlo Kemp and
freshman defensive end Donovan
Jeter for their work in spring
practices thus far, while also giving
credit to Lawrence Marshall, Ron
Johnson, Carl Myers and Michael
Dwumfour at tackle.
Still, none among them have
tallied significant minutes, and
while — according to Mattison
— the talent has been on display,
he has yet to see it on a consistent
basis.
“I think the biggest thing in the
depth is that these guys behind
them have to move faster toward
that level than the last group did,”
Mattison said. “The last group had
been right on that verge, and they
were that.
“This group hasn’t been in
the playing time — they’ve been
out redshirted or they’ve been
freshmen — so they haven’t really
been on that field, so they’ve got to
take a bigger step to get up to that
level, to be able to rotate.”
Regardless, the fact remains
that the days of Wormley, Glasgow,
Godin and Charlton are growing
farther in the rearview mirror by
the day. Fortunately, for a team
searching to establish depth in the
coming months, their impact may
last a little longer.
“I don’t know if they’ll ever
appreciate as much as they should
of what they had when they had
Glasgow, Godin, Wormley and
Charlton, in that room, leading that
room,” Mattison said. “That was a
special group. For them to be part
of that kind of gives them that thing
that, ‘We wanna be that way too.’
“OK, well now you’ve got to
work to be that way. That’s kind
of the bar now, that you want to be
like they were and play like they
did, and that’s what we’re shooting
for.”
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Writer
On Softball
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison has to replace much of his unit.
Wolverines claw back to beat Notre Dame
It didn’t take long for the No.
18 Michigan baseball team to
fall back into comeback mode in
Tuesday night’s game against
Notre Dame. In the first inning,
Fighting
Irish
centerfielder
Matt Vierling skyrocketed a
ball over the left-field wall at
Ray Fisher
Stadium
to
give
Notre
Dame a three-run lead.
Still, the Wolverines (4-2 Big
Ten, 23-6 overall) managed to
stave off Notre Dame (4-8 ACC,
10-17 overall) in the showdown
thanks to four runs in the third,
fourth, fifth and sixth innings
that led to a 4-3 victory.
“They know they’re going
to come back, I know they’re
going to come back,” said
Michigan coach Erik Bakich.
“It’s just part of our deal, we
just come back.”
After the scorching start by
the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame
kept the pressure on junior
right-hander
Alec
Rennard,
who was on the mound for the
Wolverines.
While the Fighting Irish’s
bats were hot in the first
inning, they cooled off just as
quickly. Notre Dame failed to
score for the remaining of the
game.
While the Wolverines were
hitless going into the third
inning,
they
kept
getting
contact and looked poised to
break out of their scoreless
drought.
Sophomore
designated
hitter Nick Poirier started the
hitting barrage for Michigan
in the third inning with a
single to right field. Following
him up was Engelmann, who
immediately singled to left.
“I think offensive baseball
is contagious,” said sophomore
right
fielder
Jonathan
Engelmann. “Guys start to
get hits, other guys feel more
obliged to do so.”
With
two
walks
from
sophomore second baseman
Ako
Thomas
and
senior
centerfielder
Johnny
Slater
and a sacrifice bunt from senior
catcher Harrison Wenson, the
Wolverines cut
their deficit to
two.
In the bottom
of
the
fourth
inning,
the
Fighting
Irish
pulled
their
starting
left-
hander
Scott
Tully, who had
clearly
been
inhibiting
Michigan’s
offense.
“He did a good job mixing
in off-speed,” Engelmann said.
“He was a guy you have to set
your rhythm later for.”
Notre
Dame’s
Charlie
Vorsheck relieved Tully, and
Engelmann
immediately
jumped on him, lofting a ball
into shallow right field for
an RBI triple, cutting Notre
Dame’s lead to only one.
The
Wolverines
faced
another
scare
in
the
bottom of the
fifth
inning,
as Notre Dame
managed
to
load the bases
with one out.
Freshman
southpaw
Tommy
Henry
entered in the
middle of the
inning, though, and forced a
groundout and a strikeout to
end the inning.
Michigan finally got the
equalizer it had been looking
for in the bottom of the fifth
inning, when Slater hit a
sacrifice flyout to left field that
brought in Thomas — who had
reached third base after an
overthrown ball sailed over the
second baseman.
The core of the Wolverines’
offense came from Poirier and
Engelmann, who, in the bottom
of the sixth inning, carried
the team to its first lead of
the game. Engelmann lined
a double past the diving first
baseman to send a sprinting
Poirier home from first, giving
Michigan a 4-3 lead. Despite
Notre Dame multiple chances
to regain the lead n the eighth
and ninth innings, the Fighting
Irish couldn’t execute.
“It’s
pivotal,”
Engelmann
said. “Coming out with a ‘W’
after this and getting a win
over a great ACC team.”
BASEBALL
Brdar extends current
hit streak to 15 games
Through the first 29 games
of the season, a strong case can
be made that shortstop Michael
Brdar has been the most valuable
player for the No. 18 Michigan
baseball team (4-2 Big Ten, 23-6
overall).
The senior ranks third on the
team in home runs with three,
second in batting average at .325,
runs with 24, doubles with six
and slugging percentage at .478.
He is also first in hits with 38 –
which ranks fourth in the Big Ten.
Additionally, Brdar has played
stellar defense with a .982 fielding
percentage,
making a handful
of web gem plays
in the field.
Heading into
Tuesday night’s
game
against
Notre
Dame
(4-8 ACC, 10-17
overall),
Brdar
was
riding
a
14-game
hit
streak.
In the bottom of the fifth,
Brdar stepped up to the plate
for the third time. After fouling
off several pitches and working
a 3-2 count, Brdar blasted a line
drive up the middle for a single,
extending his hit streak to 15
games.
During the streak, he has
recorded 25 hits, helping the
Wolverines to a 12-3 record.
When asked what has propelled
his hit streak, Brdar unselfishly
credited his teammates for getting
on base and giving him motivation
to follow suit.
Brdar finished the night 1-for-4
in Michigan’s 4-3 victory. Despite
his merits as a batter, Brdar’s
biggest contributions were with
his glove.
In the fourth inning, Brdar
backhanded a one-hopper to
prevent a hit from Fighting
Irish leadoff batter Nick Podkul.
Michigan coach Erik Bakich
credits the play for stopping a
Notre Dame rally.
Four innings later, with the
Wolverines up 4-3, Brdar cut off a
throw by redshirt sophomore left
fielder Miles Lewis and threw out
the game-tying run at the plate.
“It was a tough play because
it was a short hop and he had
to make an accurate throw in
traffic,” Bakich said. “But if there’s
anyone who you want to have the
ball (in a pressure situation) it’s
(Brdar). It was a huge play, it really
saved the game”
Brdar currently bats third for
Michigan
–
a
spot
typically
designated for a
team’s best all-
around
hitter
– however, he
didn’t start the
season near the
top of the order.
Throughout the
first few weeks
of the season, he
was
generally
penciled in at the sixth or seventh
spot. However, consistent play at
the plate moved him all the way to
the third spot on March 19 against
Northern Illinois – and he has
been there ever since.
In his first year as a Wolverine
last season, Brdar batted .250
with 44 hits, one home run and 16
runs batted-in. Brdar has already
surpassed that RBI total with 21,
and is just six hits shy of tying his
previous total hit mark.
Despite his boost in the lineup
and his improved play at the plate,
Brdar’s approach remains the
same.
“I try to stick to what I do up
there,” Brdar said. “We try and
keep the lineup moving with
quality at-bats the whole game.
Just trying to do my job each time
I get to bat.”
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Sophomore right fielder Jonathan Engelmann lined a double past the first baseman to score the game-winning run.
ROBERT HEFTER
Daily Sports Writer
“It’s just part
of our deal,
we just come
back.”
NOTRE DAME
MICHIGAN
3
4
HUNTER SHARF
Daily Sports Writer
“Just trying to
do my job each
time I get to
bat.”