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SportsMonday
Monday, March 5, 2018 — 3B
Abdur-Rahkman gets much-deserved recognition
NEW
YORK
CITY,
NY.
—
Muhammad-Ali
Abdur-
Rahkman wasn’t sweating his
team’s upcoming matchups with
powerhouses No. 2 Michigan
State and No. 8 Purdue.
He was playing Xbox —
Fortnite, specifically. He had time
to learn the challenging game and
win while he was in New York.
You can’t fault the laid-back
attitude.
Michigan,
perhaps
the hottest team in the country,
proceeded to pummel both teams
with relative ease to win back-
to-back Big Ten Tournament
Championships. The senior — as
he has always done — was just
trying to lay low each night.
But with constant buzzing
in Madison Square Garden and
rainbow
confetti
veiling
the
top of their Champion hats two
days later, the captain could no
longer fly under the radar — he
was literally center stage on
the championship platform at
midcourt.
Throughout
four
Big
Ten
Tournament
games,
Abdur-
Rahkman led the Wolverines
with 15 points per game on
54-percent
shooting
and
averaged 3.5 boards, 2.8 assists
and a steal each contest. Despite
winning the championship last
year, the glitz and glam victory
felt even sweeter now.
“It’s a little more exciting this
year because I am the captain so
I have a bigger hand in it than
last year,” he said. “You always
envision (being a leader) until
you step on campus and actually
see what’s going on and what you
have to do to get to this point.”
Abdur-Rahkman’s
sound
statline warranted a place on
the
All-Tournament
Team,
a designation that came as a
pleasant surprise to him. When he
heard his name called, he didn’t
realize what it was for. When he
did, he smiled and posed for the
cameras. The 6-foot-4 guard was
finally noticed.
“I just had that chip on my
shoulder all season and ever
since I got on campus,” Abdur-
Rahkman said. “I’m glad to see
that the hard work is paying
off. I’m kind of a guy that goes
unnoticed a lot so when you get
that recognition it feels good.”
Beyond just his nickname on
the team — “Rahk” — Abdur-
Rahkman
was
Michigan’s
figurative rock all season.
Whether it was his game-
winning free throws to top
Maryland, his double-double and
late triple to conquer Texas or his
unconscious shooting displays
at Maryland and Purdue, the
Wolverines needed him to win.
The
tournament
was
no
exception.
Abdur-Rahkman squashed the
Spartans’ comeback attempt with
a late three that swirled around
the rim before sinking through.
When Purdue gave its last-ditch
effort in the finals, his mid-range
jumper hit the iron, climbed over
and in to halt the Boilermakers’
momentum. And each game, he
shut down his opponent on the
defensive end.
Abdur-Rahkman’s
confusion
of being on the All-Tournament
team really shouldn’t have been
confusion at all. It was proof of
how a quiet captain gripped the
reins of his team and flourished.
He knows he’s not a vocal
provocateur like fellow captain
Moritz Wagner or a rambunctious
personality like freshman Jordan
Poole, but his presence is still
palpable and loud in its own right.
“Man, he’s been the most
consistent player we’ve had all
year,” said assistant coach Saddi
Washington. “But
it’s not surprising
because
if
you
look at his career,
he’s just grown
a little bit every
year, every game.
And this year, he
had to take the
responsibility
of
turning
into
Batman and stop
being Robin.”
But even Batman would try to
conceal his true identity. While
his natural ability was no secret
to his teammates, his consistent
play
perplexed
defenses
all
season. He was, as Washington
calls him, the “silent assassin.”
“You see how throughout this
entire year he’s been stepping and
being big for us, making big time
shots,” Poole said. “And it hasn’t
been a fluke, he’s been super
duper consistent.”
Abdur-Rahkman
and
consistency pair together like
peanut butter and jelly. They have
essentially acted as synonyms,
a benchmark for the rest of the
team to work for.
With
an
unusually
long
break between the Big Ten
Tournament
and the NCAA
Tournament,
the Wolverines
will
have
to
strategize how
to
continue
their hot streak
into
March
Madness
—
staying
consistent,
if
you
will.
Abdur-Rahkman,
despite
garnering
attention
and
accolades, will fill the time
between now and then the best
way he knows how — laying low.
“I think I’ll just stick to
playing Xbox. A little Fortnite
and Call of Duty.”
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was named to the All-Big Ten Tournament Team.
“It hasn’t been a
fluke, he’s been
super duper
consistent.”
Blanco feels right at home
There’s no place like home.
Tapping her heels together,
those magical words enabled
Dorothy to go full circle in her
journey — from Kansas to Oz, and
then back to Kansas.
For Michigan utility player
Tera Blanco, no words could have
described the situation better as
she recorded her second home
run of the season against No.
8 Baylor at the Judi Garman
Classic held Friday in Fullerton,
Calif — a meeting ending with a
6-3 Wolverine victory.
Watching the ball sail past the
fence, she made her way across
the bases towards a familiar
place.
First base. Second base. Third
base. Home.
Blanco — a California native
from Huntington Beach — is no
stranger to hitting home runs. A
former All-American, the senior
had a career total of 26 home
runs coming into the season. She
produced a .404 batting season
her sophomore year.
Despite
her
production
dropping last year, Blanco proved
against the Bears that she still
has it with her first at bat of the
game. Coming up to bat, she
walked to the home plate she had
been accustomed to for years.
Growing up less than 30 miles
from Fullerton, Blanco attended
the very event
that she would
take part in years
later,
playing
for the team she
found
herself
watching
time
and time again.
Now she had
the
chance
to
do what she had
always dreamed
of as a child.
Standing at the plate, Blanco
readied herself to face a Baylor
pitcher and staff that had only
allowed more than two runs in a
game once all season.
An early run was essential for
instilling confidence in offense
that
had
been
inconsistent
throughout the season.
“We give our kids certain,
‘front-line focus,’ we call it,” said
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins.
“Front-line focus is a military
term and to focus on, you know,
the message, which is to simplify
the game for them. Most games
we have a plan where there’s a
certain pitch to hit, where there’s
a certain way to stand in the box
and that’ll change from game to
game, and really from pitcher to
pitcher, but they embraced and
they believed in it and so they
executed it well.”
Front-line focus was what
the Wolverines needed to build
consistency.
Just before Blanco came up
to bat, junior second baseman
Faith Canfield led off the game
by hitting a single. With a runner
at first, junior outfielder Natalie
Peters hit a ball toward third base
that was mishandled by the Bears
third baseman, allowing the two
to advance a base.
Standing at home plate with
her family in the crowd, Blanco
watched as two pitches flew by
in front of her. Both were called
balls. Cocking back her bat for the
third pitch, she could tell right
away it wasn’t going to be the
same as the last two.
And the home run proved it.
Her
eyes
trailed the ball
as it flew past
left field, and she
grinned
while
making
her
way around the
diamond.
With
an
entourage
waiting to meet
her
at
home
plate, and her
hometown
and
family close by, she tapped her
heels not against each other, but
against the plate — feeling right
at home.
SOFTBALL
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
Front-line focus
was what the
Wolverines
needed.
‘M’ sweeps Judi Garman Invitational
Music blared out of a portable
speaker in the dugout. The
Michigan softball team began to
dance.
With their game against No.
8 Baylor in a rain delay, the
25th-ranked Wolverines used
the break to stay loose and
have a little fun. That attitude
paid off as Michigan went 5-0
in the Judi Garman Classic in
Fullerton, Calif., this weekend
to raise its overall record to 13-6.
At
first,
the
Wolverines’
offense seemed rife with the
same inconsistencies that had
plagued them all season as they
struggled to climb out of an
early 2-0 hole against Loyola
Marymount.
Luckily, Michigan had Tera
Blanco.
With a runner on third base
and the Wolverines trailing, 2-1,
the senior utility player smacked
a single down the left field line
to tie the game. Two innings
later, with runners on first and
second, she hit a walk-off single
that gave Michigan the win, 3-2.
Throughout the tournament,
Blanco
and
junior
second
baseman Faith Canfield served
as catalysts for the Wolverines.
In Thursday’s second game, a
5-0 win over Charlotte, Blanco
got the win on the mound while
Canfield had three RBIs.
Blanco continued her hot
streak the next morning. She
stepped up to the plate in the
first inning with two on and
nobody out against the Bears,
then smacked a home run to give
Michigan a 3-0 lead with one
swing of the bat. That was when
the offense flipped a switch. The
Wolverines put up three more
runs — including one on a home
run by Canfield — for a 6-3 win.
“We saw (our upperclassmen)
step up,” said Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins. “ … And the
confidence that it gave our team,
we carried through the whole
weekend.”
No. 18 Louisiana Lafayette
couldn’t quiet Canfield, as her
home run and two-run single
provided the Wolverines with
all the runs they needed in a 3-1
win.
And on Saturday against Cal
Poly, the offense truly let loose
and put up 11 runs in a blowout.
Senior utility player Aidan Falk
had three RBIs, including a two-
run home run, while Blanco
added a two-run double.
“We just try to simplify
things,” Canfield said. “We
felt like in Texas (last week)
we were trying to do a little bit
too much and so (we) just came
to play it and have some fun. …
When we have fun (we) just play
better.”
But
Michigan’s
offensive
outburst
didn’t
just
come
from the seasoned veterans.
Freshman utility player Lou
Allan came up clutch with a
pinch-hit two-run single to open
the scoring in the game against
the 49ers. And on Saturday,
sophomore
catcher
Abby
Skvarce hit a game-ending two-
run homer against the Mustangs
— the first of her career.
“Sometimes they’re trying
too hard,” Hutchins said, “but
I liked our groove. I liked our
confidence and it gave us some,
they were a little more loose in
the end.”
The
usually-dominant
pitching, meanwhile, did just
enough to secure wins for the
Wolverines.
Freshman
left-
hander Meghan Beaubien gave
up runs in all three of her starts
— against the Lions, Baylor and
Cal Poly. But she also escaped a
jam against the Mustangs after
re-entering with runners on
second and third and one out
and took over in the seventh
inning against the Ragin’Cajuns
to earn the save.
Blanco picked up two wins.
One came in a start against
Charlotte
—
in
which
she
pitched five scoreless innings
with five strikeouts — and
the other against Louisiana
Lafayette, where she was tasked
with keeping the Ragin’ Cajuns
off the board with runners on
first and second and Michigan
clinging to a 3-0 lead.
And though Hutchins used a
quick hook with her, freshman
right-hander
Sarah
Schaefer
continued getting looks. She
allowed only one run across
three appearances, though she
recorded four walks with no
strikeouts.
“Our approach is just to get
outs and focus on one pitch at a
time,” Blanco said. “Just do our
part and be effective.”
For a team that has at times
seemed tight and tentative,
the Judi Garman Classic was a
completely new look. And if this
weekend was any indication, a
fun-loving approach could be
what sparks the Wolverines to
more wins.
And if it does, they’ll have
plenty more to dance about.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
FILE PHOTO
Faith Canfield was a catalyst for Michigan’s offense over the weekend.
A spring break tour that was so
promising two weeks ago finally
came to an end Sunday as the
Wolverines (3-8 overall) lost to
No. 8 Stanford (11-1) by a score of
7-4.
The trip had not only offered
Michigan the chance to finally
play some meaningful baseball
after
a
long
offseason,
but
also to escape from the winter
weather. After a quick three
game series in Florida against
Army, the Wolverines traveled
west to California, where they
participated in the Tony Gwynn
Legacy tournament, played a
game against San Diego State
and then wrapped up with a four
game series against the Cardinal.
The Californian portion of
the trip was particularly dismal
for the Wolverines, with the 3-1
series loss to Stanford capping off
a tough start to the season.
Michigan only recorded two
hits in a 7-0 shutout loss Friday.
Striking out twelve times and
stranding all three of their
baserunners,
the
Wolverines
weren’t able to get anything going
offensively
against
Stanford’s
starter Tristan Beck.
If you can’t score you can’t
win. Michigan’s pitching staff
faced an uphill battle all night
long. With that being said, the
Wolverines’ number one, senior
Alec Rennard, didn’t pitch his
best game. In five innings of
work, he let up six hits and had
four earned runs. Junior reliever
Troy Miller also saw time,
allowing two runs on two hits.
Saturday’s early matchup was
a much closer affair though.
In fact, Michigan was up 2-0
heading into the bottom of the
ninth,
when
freshman
Jeff
Criswell gave up a walk-off
three run homer to Stanford’s
Tim Tawa. The ending wasn’t
indicative of the Wolverines’
overall performance. Sophomore
lefty Tommy Henry allowed only
five hits in seven shutout innings.
Coming off the back of the
demoralizing loss earlier in the
day, Michigan bounced back to a
degree in Saturday’s second game.
Sophomores Karl Kauffman and
Jack Weisenburger showed just
what the Wolverine pitching
staff is capable of, allowing three
hits combined as they shutout the
Cardinal in a 5-0 win.
“Tommy
Henry
and
Karl
Kaufmann pitched really well
Saturday,” said Michigan coach
Erik Bakich. The most important
thing for them is to throw their
off-speed pitches for strikes.
When you get in to an extended
outing, for Tommy and Karl to
pitch deep into the game they
need to throw multiple pitches
for strikes, and that’s exactly
what they did. Very encouraging
signs for sure.”
Offensively,
shortstop
Jack
Blomgren had two RBIs on two
hits, while senior catcher Brock
Keener scored twice. Michigan
also took advantage of four
errors on the part of the Cardinal
defense.
If Saturday’s second game
showcased
the
best
of
the
Wolverine’s
pitching
staff,
Sunday’s loss accomplished the
exact
opposite.
Excluding a great
performance by
freshman
Ben
Dragani,
who
didn’t allow a hit
in four innings,
Michigan’s
pitching was at
times mediocre.
Senior
Jayce
Vancena allowed
five hits and four
earned runs in just over an inning
of work. Junior Will Tribucher
didn’t fare much better, as he
walked three people and allowed
a run in relief of Vancena. On
the other side of Dragani’s
performance,
junior
Jack
Bredeson also struggled before
the team turned to freshman
Angelo Smith to pitch the eighth
inning.
“Yeah Jayce didn’t have a
good day,” Bakich said. “It was
just as simple as that. He’s one of
our starting pitchers, he’s one of
our better guys. In order for our
team to have a good season, we’re
going to need him to be good. I
would say today was just more a
fluke than anything else.”
The
Wolverines
out-hit
Stanford but were unable to turn
their baserunners into runs for
the most part. Redshirt junior
outfielder Miles Lewis led the
way going 2-3 with 2 RBIs and
a run. Ako Thomas, Michigan’s
most prolific hitter in the series,
also went 2-4 and scored on
an RBI groundout by junior
outfielder Jonathan Engelmann.
A series loss to the eighth-
ranked team in the country
wasn’t necessarily unexpected
for the relatively young and
inexperienced
Wolverines.
The
team
showed
obvious
improvement over the course
of the series, and played much
better than they had in their first
four games in sunny California.
Michigan’s start to the season
is clearly worrisome, but as they
return to Ann Arbor, optimism is
still in the air.
“I
think
(the
team)
is
encouraged,”
Bakich said. “We
were
a
couple
plays away from
being
3-1
this
weekend instead
of 1-3.
“We
challenged
ourselves. I just
looked
at
the
schedule numbers, we have the
number one strength of schedule
in the country. For a young team
with a lot of guys who haven’t
gotten a lot of repetitions, this
(trip) has been good. I wouldn’t
be surprised if we got really hot
because of getting punched in
the mouth over the past couple of
weeks.”
Michigan’s early season struggles
continue in series against Stanford
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
BASEBALL
“We were a
couple plays
away from
being 3-1 ... ”