8A — Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan aims for 
another win streak 

After its 14-game win streak 

was snapped Sunday at the 
hands of No. 25 Ohio State, the 
No. 18 Michigan softball team 
(8-1 Big Ten, 28-8-1 overall) is 
determined 
to 
start 
a 

new 
string 

of 
victories 

as it squares 
up 
against 

Michigan 
State (5-4 Big 
Ten, 
21-12 

overall) 
on 

Wednesday 
night. 

The 

midweek 
game between 
the 
two 

in-state rivals 
was originally 
scheduled to be in East Lansing 
— the first of a home-and-home 
series over the next two weeks 
— but floods from the Red 
Cedar River left the softball 
facilities unusable, forcing the 
game to be relocated to Ann 
Arbor.

Following 
a 
seven-game 

winless skid, the Spartans have 
rebounded, winning six of their 
last seven contests. Five of 
those wins have come against 
Big Ten schools — including a 
sweep of Maryland and two of 
three against Penn State.

Seven players on Michigan 

State’s squad that have 62 or 
more at-bats under their belt 
post a batting average of .300 
or higher. Junior outfielder 
Lea 
Foerster 
stands 
out 

among them, boasting a .420 
batting clip and a .870 slugging 
percentage.

However, 
the 
Spartans’ 

recent 
success 
looks 
meek 

compared to the Wolverines’ 
impressive 
play 
the 
past 

month. Michigan has won 14 of 
its last 15 games, and is 8-1 in 

Big Ten play — tied with No. 6 
Minnesota for the best record 
in conference play.

Sophomore second baseman 

Faith Canfield continues to be 
the top offensive producer for 
the Wolverines, as she went 
7-for-10 
during 
Saturday’s 

doubleheader. 
She 
was 

complemented by four hits 
apiece from senior shortstop 
Abby 
Ramirez 
and 
junior 

first 
baseman 
Aidan 
Falk. 

Despite that hitting explosion, 
Michigan failed to score a 
single run in the final game of 
the series Sunday, registering a 
mere three hits in a 5-0 defeat 
to the Buckeyes.

Though there are no specific 

indications about how a short 
lead-up to the Michigan State 
matchup will alter practice 
routines, Michigan coach Carol 
Hutchins continues to preach 
the importance of consistent 
improvement — notably, higher 
quality swings, especially with 
runners in scoring position. 
She believes in approaching 
every game with the same 
mental fortitude, regardless 
of the opponent’s ranking and 
skill.

“My goal is for us to just keep 

getting better,” Hutchins said. 
“We’ve gotten a lot better in the 
last month and two months, but 
I thought we took a step back 
(Sunday). We can’t ever think 
that we’re done getting better.”

Added Canfield: “We’ll work 

on going out there every game 
to attack, and not giving in so 
easily.”

Hutchins also says excelling 

in the face of adversity is 
important to work on, which is 
something she didn’t see out of 
her squad against Ohio State on 
Sunday.

“We get our toughness when 

things don’t go our way, not 
just when things go our way,” 
Hutchins said. “And we need to 
be tougher when things aren’t 
going our way.”

ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily

Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield has led Michigan’s offense of late.

Michigan 
State at 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Michigan State 
5-4 Big Ten, 
21-12 overall; 
Michigan 
8-1, 28-8-1

When: 
Wednesday 
5 P.M. ET

Where: 
Alumni Field

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer

With strong defensive effort, Wolverines 
outlast Eastern Michigan in extra innings 

With a man on second 

base, sophomore right fielder 
Jonathan Engelmann hit a ball 
deep to centerfield. It appeared 
it might leave the park for a 
walk-
off home 
run, but it 
bounced 
off the wall instead. Still, the 
hit was enough to bring junior 
first 
baseman 
Jake 
Bivens 

across the plate for the game-
ending double. 

It may have taken 13 innings, 

but 
the 
No. 
13 
Michigan 

baseball 
team 
secured 
the 

win over Eastern Michigan on 
Tuesday afternoon, 2-1.

The Wolverines were the 

first on the board after Bivens 
and 
sophomore 
designated 

hitter Nick Poirier both hit 
identical 
singles 
past 
the 

first 
baseman. 
Engelmann 

followed it up by grounding 
into a double play, but it was 
enough to bring Bivens home. 
After putting up the run in 
the second inning, the offense 
slowed considerably until the 
Engelmann RBI finally ended 
the game.

After Michigan fell into 

early holes in multiple games 
against 
Illinois 
over 
the 

weekend, the Wolverines made 
a point to avoid that against 
the 
Eagles. 
Junior 
right-

hander Jayce Vancena wasted 
no time in the first inning, 
striking out the side with ease. 
He’s normally not a pitcher 
known for strikeouts, but tied 
his career high of six in the 
midweek outing.

Along with fanning batters, 

Vancena’s 
usual 
style 
of 

pitching into ground balls was 
in full swing Tuesday, and his 
teammates behind him did not 
disappoint.

In such a low scoring game, 

the defense made a point to be 
sharper than ever.

“I 
think 
the 
defense 

definitely won us the game 
today,” said sophomore second 
baseman 
Ako 
Thomas. 
“It 

was tough out 
there, 
a 
lot 

of line drives 
that didn’t fall. 
Today we had to 
scrap, and that’s 
what we did and 
we came out on 
top.”

The 
defense 

was 
on 
full 

display in the 
fourth 
inning 

when 
Eastern 
Michigan’s 

designated 
hitter 
Brennan 

Williams hit a double to the 
right field wall. Engelmann 
collected it off the wall and 
relayed it to Thomas, who 
then made the throw to senior 
catcher Harrison Wenson to 

tag an Eagle out at the plate.

That 
would 
have 
been 

Eastern Michigan’s first run 
of the game and would have 
changed the situation of the 
inning completely. The play 

meant 
that 

there was one 
out and a man 
on second, as 
opposed to no 
outs, a run and a 
man on second. 

“That in itself 

was 
a 
huge 

momentum 
shift 
in 
our 

favor,” 
said 

Michigan coach 

Erik Bakich. “But the execution 
of the relay from Engelmann, 
to Ako, to Wenson with the 
good catch-tag, it was perfectly 
executed.

“That’s exactly like they’ve 

trained to do and they did it 
perfectly.”

Through 13 innings, seven 

Wolverines came out of the 
bullpen to help keep Michigan 
in the game. Senior right-
hander 
Jackson 
Lamb 
— 

normally just the ninth-inning 
closer — pitched 2.1 innings 
and struck out four batters. But 
it was freshman right-hander 
Karl Kauffman who picked up 
the win after striking out two 
batters and forcing a pop up 
in just 13 pitches in the 13th 
inning.

“We have a pitching staff 

that can shut any team down,” 
Bivens said. “We’re going to try 
and score runs on offense, but 
we know our pitchers always 
have our back.”

While the players in the field 

and on the bump may have 
won this game for Michigan, 
the Wolverines will need to 
rediscover 
their 
offensive 

prowess before they face No. 18 
Oklahoma on Thursday. 

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Sophomore second baseman Ako Thomas helped execute a crucial throw to the plate to save a run in a close game. 

PAIGE VOEFFRAY

Daily Sports Writer

“The defense 
definitely won 
us the game 

today”

EASTERN MICH
MICHIGAN 

1
2

Pitching, defense lead to victory for ‘M’

With a runner on first in 

the 
fourth 
inning, 
Eastern 

Michigan 
designated 
hitter 

Brennan 
Williams 
lashed 
a 

liner into right field. Michigan 
sophomore right fielder Jonathan 
Engelmann caught up to the ball 
at the warning track, and turned 
around to see Eagle centerfielder 
Jeremy 
Stidham 
barreling 

around second base, showing no 
signs of slowing down. 

Without 
hesitation, 

Engelmann fired the ball to 
sophomore 
second 
baseman 

Ako Thomas, whose relay throw 
reached senior catcher Harrison 
Wenson a split-second before 
Stidham slid home.

“It needed a good throw from 

Engelmann and Ako, and it 
needed a good catch and a hard 
tag from Wenson,” said Michigan 
coach Erik Bakich. “We got all of 
them.”

The successful relay preserved 

a 1-0 lead for the No. 13 Michigan 
baseball team (6-3 Big Ten, 26-7 
overall), and proved even more 
crucial after Eastern Michigan 
(4-2 Mid-American, 12-20) tied 
the game in the seventh inning. 
Without a stellar effort on the 
mound and in the field, the 
Wolverines wouldn’t have been 
able to grind out a 13-inning, 2-1 
win against the Eagles.

While Michigan’s offense – 

which has averaged 8.3 runs 
over its last 11 games – has 
received most of the attention 
recently, its defense has been just 
as spectacular. After Tuesday 
night’s error-free performance, 
the Wolverines now rank 10th 
in the nation with a fielding 
percentage of .983.

In the outfield, Engelmann, 

redshirt sophomore left fielder 
Miles Lewis and senior center 
fielder 
Johnny 
Slater 
have 

recorded 171 putouts without an 
error. Meanwhile, the infield of 
Thomas, junior first baseman 
Jake 
Bivens, 
junior 
third 

baseman Drew Lugbauer and 
senior shortstop Michael Brdar 
have combined to commit just 
nine errors on the year.

Bivens, last season’s third 

baseman, crossed the diamond 
to first base this year due to 
offseason Tommy John surgery 
which 
limited 
his 
throwing 

ability, while Lugbauer moved 
from 
first 
to 
take 
Bivens’ 

place. The pair’s versatility – 
both played shortstop in high 
school – has given Michigan 
exceptional 
athleticism 
from 

the corner positions, where this 
type of athleticism isn’t always 
prioritized. 
Against 
Eastern 

Michigan, Bivens highlighted 
his 
performance 
by 
leaping 

high to snare a high-bouncing 
grounder in the second inning, 
while Lugbauer’s arm strength 
consistently made tough throws 
seem routine.

“When you think about corner 

guys, you don’t necessarily think 
of them as premium athletes,” 
Bakich said. “But we feel like 
we’ve got four shortstops on the 
infield, which gives us a lot of 
range and athleticism and allows 
a lot of playmaking abilities.”

Meanwhile, 
Michigan’s 

pitching staff has fed right 
into the defense’s strengths 
– thriving with an increased 
emphasis on attacking hitters 
and pitching to contact. Against 
Eastern Michigan, Wolverine 
pitchers walked just two of the 
48 batters they faced, and threw 

68 percent of their pitches for 
strikes.

“We just want to let the defense 

work,” Bakich said. “Something 
we struggled with last year was 
nibbling and avoiding contact. If 
there are a lot of lulls every single 
inning, you get caught on your 
heels sometimes and you don’t 
play as good defense.

“When the pitching staff is 

relentlessly attacking the strike 
zone and forcing a lot of contact, 
and the pitchers are trusting 
that defenders are going to make 
those plays, those defenders 
stay engaged. It’s easier to play 
behind pitchers that are just 
attack, attack, attack.”

Tuesday night’s starter, junior 

right-hander Jayce Vancena, is 
one of those pitchers. He was 
ruthlessly 
efficient 
against 

Eastern Michigan, throwing just 
62 pitches in five innings, striking 
out five and allowing three hits. 
Perhaps 
most 
impressively, 

Vancena did not surrender a walk 
– in 29 innings this season, he has 
yet to do so.

“In the infield, we don’t want 

to be standing out there all day,” 
Thomas said. “Jayce is known 
for working quick and getting 
everybody ground balls.”

Added Bivens: “He’s been 

attacking the zone all year. He’s 

a great pitcher – we just love 
playing behind him. We trust in 
him and we believe in him.”

When Vancena exited after 

the fifth inning, the bullpen 
picked up right where he left off, 
striking out 10 batters in eight 
innings and allowing just five 
hits. While senior right-hander 
Jackson Lamb highlighted the 
group by striking out four in a 
career-high 2.1 innings, it was 
freshman 
right-hander 
Karl 

Kauffman who picked up the win 
with two strikeouts in the 13th 
inning.

“We knew we had some older 

guys that had some experience,” 
Bakich said. “We also knew we 
had some very talented freshmen 
coming in with (left-hander 
Tommy) Henry and Kauffman 
and even (right-hander) Jack 
Weisenburger in that mix. But 
we have a lot of depth – that’s an 
area that’s a huge priority in our 
program.”

All season – and especially 

against 
Eastern 
Michigan 
– 

Michigan has proven it has the 
talent and mentality on defense 
to win low-scoring slugfests. 
Even if its offense can’t push 
runs across the plate, if Tuesday 
night’s game is any indication, 
the Wolverines will be in good 
shape.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Junior first baseman Jake Bivens and his fellow infielders have combined to commit just nine errors on the season.

JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer

