12 Thursday, May 4, 2017 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com In its 10th annual “Pink Game” to raise awareness for breast cancer, the Michigan softball team capped off an undefeated regular season home record with an 8-0 run-rule victory over Western Michigan Tuesday. The win gave the Wolverines (38-10-1 overall, 17-3 Big Ten) a perfect home record of 17-0 to end the season, a feat it hasn’t accomplished since 2009. Western Michigan (21-26, 9-12 Mid-American) entered the game hoping to play spoiler, as winners of five of its last six. But in a swift, one hour and sixteen minute affair, Michigan emphatically took care of its business against its MAC foe, pairing 11 hits and five extra-base hits with a shutout start from Tera Blanco. The junior right-hander shut down the Broncos in efficient fashion, allowing just four baserunners and needing to throw just 63 pitches to put the Broncos away. Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield sparked the blowout early with her seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the first. With the first two runners on base, Canfield took an 0-2 pitch on the outside corner and shot the ball to right- centerfield on a line, just clearing the fence. And it was off to the races for a Michigan offense that has barely left the track in nearly two weeks. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, senior third baseman Lindsay Montemarano skied a high fly ball down the left field line which landed in the bullpen just right of the foul pole. The power could be a welcome sign for Montemarano, who is now hitting .500 in her last nine starts after hitting .226 prior to that stretch. The senior attributes that improvement to her emphasis on the lower body. “I’ve been working on getting some whip in, using my legs a lot more than I had been in the beginning of the season,” Montemarano said. “I was using way too much upper body, I formed a couple of bad habits due to a couple of things going on. “But I feel really loose and really strong in my lower half, and I’ve been working really hard on getting some whip back. I’m seeing the ball well and trusting the work that I’m putting into it.” Added Michigan coach Carol Hutchins: “(Montemarano’s) working. She’s coming in early, and she’s accepting constructive criticism, and she’s accepting ideas. She’s had better energy, and I think as you play better, you get better energy. Hopefully hitting her stride. Good time to hit it.” Sophomore catcher Alex Sobczak capped the game off with a solo home run to right- centerfield in the bottom of the fifth. The sophomore has forced her way back into the lineup after losing the catcher battle to start the season to sophomore Katie Alexander. “Alex is another one who just stayed on course even though things didn’t go her way throughout a good period of the year,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. “I’m happy some of her hard work is paying off, because she’s worked hard.” With three more home runs Tuesday, the Wolverines have now hit 11 in their past 4 games, and 14 over the past six games, with production coming throughout the lineup. The next time Michigan will play at Alumni Field will be the end of next week, for the Big Ten Tournament. And for the first time possibly all season, Hutchins thinks her team is ready. “I want consistency in our offense,” Hutchins said. “And I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I sure feel like I’ve seen it these past couple of weeks.” Wolverines beat Western Michigan ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily The Michigan softball team tallied 11 hits and five extra-base hits in a 8-0 run-rule defeat of Western Michigan. MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Writer Michigan run-rules Broncos in final regular season home game Michigan falls in Big Ten Championships After a long rally, freshman Chiara Lommer changed the direction of the ball and hit an inside-out forehand across the court. But the ball landed just wide, ending the Michigan women’s tennis team’s chance of winning the Big Ten Tournament Championship. The Wolverines overcame Indiana and Northwestern in the early rounds of the tournament, winning 4-0 and 4-1, respectively. However, Michigan fell in the final to Ohio State, 4-0. Michigan had its best results when it got out to an early lead. Against both the Hoosiers and the Wildcats, the Wolverines clinched the doubles point easily. Lommer and sophomore Brienne Minor handily took care of their Indiana opponents, dusting them 6-0. But it was the No. 3 doubles pair of junior Mira Ruder-Hook and freshman Valeria Patiuk who clinched the point for the Wolverines. After losing the first two games, the duo rallied to win five straight games, eventually taking the match, 6-3. Ruder-Hook and Patiuk were the first off the court against Northwestern, but it was sophomore Kate Fahey and junior Alex Najarian’s turn to win the doubles point against the Wildcats. Fahey and Najarian charged the net, forcing the Wildcats to sail the ball long. When it came to singles play, Michigan didn’t slow down. Najarian dropped the Wolverines’ lone singles match, but she still managed to force it to three sets. Fortunately for the Wolverines, Minor and Fahey battled to win their three-set matches to send Michigan to the finals. Earlier in the year, the Wolverines faced the Buckeyes as part of their non-conference slate. Ohio State came out in top form, winning the matchup 5-1, and Sunday’s final was no different. After taking the No. 3 and No. 2 doubles matches, 6-2 and 6-3, respectively, Michigan was in an early hole. “We knew the doubles point was going to be important and we unfortunately came out on the wrong side of it,” said Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein. “There was a big deuce point at No. 2 that we didn’t win that could have gotten that match back on track. With the way doubles works now, you have to get a good start and we came out of the gates a little slow.” The Buckeyes continued their domination into singles play by winning all six first sets. Perhaps the most anticipated match of the day was the No. 1 singles contest between Fahey and top- ranked Francesca Di Lorenzo. The pair kept the match close, exchanging breaks back and forth. But it was eventually Di Lorenzo who claimed the first set, 7-5. The match was abandoned, however, after Lommer’s loss gave Ohio State their fourth point. The second point came against Patiuk, who dropped the first set, 6-0, and fell into a 5-1 hole in the second, but still managed to fight off two match points. But a driving forehand down the line from the Buckeyes’ Ferny Angeles Paz sealed the match. The next Wolverine off the court was Najarian. She approached the net and attempted to hit her opponents’ return cross court, but sent it into the bottom of the net to put Ohio State within one point of the championship. At the conclusion of the contest, the three remaining matches were abandoned. Ruder-Hook had just won the second set, Minor managed to force a third set, and Fahey was in a 3-0 hole in the second set. Things may have turned around for Michigan, but it was all too little too late. “We had our work cut out for us in singles and we weren’t able to get it done,” Bernstein said. “(Fahey) hung in there at No. 1 and played a great match. (Minor) and (Ruder-Hook) were able to stay on court with wins in their second sets. “We played well in some spots and not so great at some others, but it is a team sport and you need to win at multiple spots.” While the Wolverines didn’t manage to win the Tournament, they will likely still have a chance to continue their season in the NCAA Tournament. They will learn their fate on May 2 and can hopefully learn from the loss to the Buckeyes. “As much as this hurts, we still have a lot of tennis left this season,” Bernstein said. “We have a really good chance of hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and we are looking forward to that. We will get back to practice this week and get ready for the rest of the postseason.” PAIGE VOEFFRAY Daily Sports Writer WOMEN’S TENNIS SPORTS