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SportsMonday
Monday, March 12, 2018 — 3B
Bakich, Michigan plagued by errors in series loss to Lipscomb
There’s no sugarcoating it.
The Wolverines are rebuilding.
“We’d like to think that
coming into this season that
we’ve put ourselves into a
position to reload and not
rebuild,” said Michigan coach
Erik Baikich, “but clearly we’re
rebuilding right now.”
There was plenty of buzz
surrounding
the
young
Michigan baseball team heading
into the season, but after a
series 2-1 loss to Lipscomb, the
team’s ability is beginning to be
questioned.
All weekend, the Wolverines
(4-10) struggled to find a groove
offensively and committed a
total of seven defensive errors
over the three contests.
The
defense
this
season
is particularly troubling, as
Michigan boasted one of the
best defensive squads in the
country a year ago. The dip
in defensive prowess could be
attributed to youth and the
adjustment to the pace of college
ball, or even to the challenges of
consistently playing on the road.
Nevertheless, it exists.
“There are no strengths when
you’re 4-10,” Bakich said. “We
need to get better at everything.
It’s the little things that are
turning into big things. You
don’t collect outs on a bunt, you
don’t communicate and throw
to the wrong base. Things that
don’t always show up in the
scorebook.”
Heading
into
the
series
against the Bison, Michigan was
looking to bounce back from a
demoralizing spring break road
trip. Winning only one of eight
games in California, a big game
was needed.
That’s exactly what it got on
Friday, although not without
some major hiccups. Junior
Jonathan
Engelmann
led
the offensive charge as the
Wolverines’ bats were hot early.
Securing three hits off six
at-bats, Engelmann drove three
batters in and did his part to
secure the win.
The scoring climaxed in a five-
run fifth inning,
propelling
the
Wolverines
to
a
commanding
13-1 lead. Then
complacency
kicked in with
Michigan’s
pitching
and
defense, allowing
Lipscomb
to
score
10
runs
in the last four
innings.
The comeback surge wasn’t
enough,
as
the
Wolverines
closed out just well enough to
secure the victory.
“The best part of the weekend
was the way we came out on
Friday and scored in the first five
innings and had a lot of quality
at-bats,” Bakich
said.
“Then,
after those first
five innings, we
just got sloppy
and
continued
to progressively
get
sloppy
throughout
the
rest of the time.”
After
that
monumental
fifth
inning
Friday,
Michigan
could
not
catch a break. The Wolverines
had gone 4-0 in all previous
matchups against Lipscomb, yet
dropped the next two games.
Saturday’s
contest
began
optimistically
for
the
Wolverines.
After
three
scoreless
innings,
Michigan
exploded onto the scoreboard,
securing four runs off three hits.
But this marked the last time the
Wolverines would lead in the
game.
Despite
a
strong
start,
sophomore right-hander Karl
Kauffman gave up five runs
to the Bison in the bottom of
the fifth. Heading into this
reckoning,
Kauffman
had
tossed eight strikeouts and held
Lipscomb to only one run.
Michigan
then
sent
in
freshman
left-hander
Ben
Dragani in relief. A rare bright
spot on the squad, Dragani
pitched three scoreless innings
after closing out the brutal fifth
inning for Kauffman.
Dragani’s last two outings
have been incredibly strong,
labeling
him
as one of the
team’s
premier
relievers.
“He’s
had
success because
he’s
been
aggressive with
all of his pitches
in
the
strike
zone,”
Bakich
said. “He’s been
consistently
a
strike-thrower every time he’s
been out there and he’s executed
the pitch call and game plan. He’s
done a nice job. He’ll continue to
get more opportunities and he
may have his role expanded.”
Despite
Dragani’s
valiant
effort, the Wolverines’ fate had
already been sealed. A sluggish
offense held Michigan down all
game. It failed to record a hit
in the last four innings, ending
their undefeated reign over the
Bison.
Sunday’s matchup was much
of the same. The Wolverines
started
hot,
recording
two
runs in the top of the first,
but ultimately succumbed to
defensive errors and ineffective
bats.
Lipscomb ostensibly ended
things in the third by scoring
three runs and holding onto its
lead.
If nothing else, the latter two
games in the series will teach
the young team a lesson in what
it takes to dig out of a deficit.
“Well, you just gotta string
the positives together,” Bakich
said. “On offense, it’s quality
at bats and it’s passing the
baton to the next guy and just
everybody trying to get on
base. Defensively, it’s just being
consistent in making routine
plays and communicating.”
This series marks the end of
Michigan’s road tour. It will now
enjoy the comfort of playing in
its own stadium as the 24-game
home
schedule
begins
on
Tuesday.
“There’s always an advantage
to
being
at
home,”
Bakich
said. “But, good
teams play well
on the road too
and we haven’t
played well on
the road, and if
we want to be a
good team then
we have to be
better
on
the
road.”
It remains to be seen whether
the Wolverines can turn things
around, but so far one sentiment
is clear: prepare for a rebuild.
FILE PHOTO
Junior outfielder Jonathan Engelmann led Michigan to a quick offensive start in its series-opening win, securing three hits in six at-bats.
JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer
“There are no
strengths
when you’re
4-10.”
“There’s always
an advantage
to being at
home.”
SOFTBALL
‘M’ sweeps Florida Atlantic Tournament
It might have taken sun-soaked
trips to Florida and California to
get there, but the No. 22 Michigan
softball team is hitting, pitching
and winning at a red-hot rate.
At the FAU Parents’ Weekend
Tournament, the Wolverines swept
their five-game slate, beating Stony
Brook, Florida Atlantic, Ball State,
Pittsburgh and Florida A&M, to
bring their win streak to 12 games.
From the outset against Stony
Brook, Michigan looked like a
team riding a seven-game win
streak. Though the Wolverines
had some trouble earlier in the
season capitalizing with runners
in scoring position, this was not
the case Friday in a 7-0 win. Junior
third
baseman
Alex
Sobczak
etched the ball along the first
baseline with two outs in the
second inning, allowing Michigan
to score.
The Wolverines never looked
back on Friday, riding the bats of
second baseman Faith Canfield
and right-hander/first baseman
Tera Blanco. Blanco hit a sac fly
against the Sea Wolves in the fifth
inning and Canfield followed that
with a three-run double an inning
later.
Blanco followed up her play
against Stony Brook with a home
run on the first pitch of the sixth
inning against Florida Atlantic, and
Canfield followed her up at the end
of the inning with a two-run mash
of her own. Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins noticed a more confident
batting lineup throughout the
tournament and in the 7-1 win.
“Honestly, I notice when we’re
confident as a team, when we’re all
together,” Hutchins said. “There’s
only one player batting at a time
but the entire dugout has to bat
with every player every pitch.
When the entire dugout is locked in
every pitch, I see a lot more success
offensively.”
That’s not to say, though, that
the tournament was a complete
walk in the park for the Michigan.
If Friday was a sunny day at the
beach, Saturday was more like a
roller-coaster ride at Disney World
or Busch Gardens
with a pair of 3-2
wins.
Against
Ball
State,
Michigan
was
instead
anchored
by
freshman
right-
hander
Meghan
Beaubien. The ace
tossed a career-
high 16 strikeouts.
Even though the
Wolverines never trailed in the
game, the Cardinals put some
pressure on Michigan by launching
a two-run home run in the sixth
inning.
In the seventh inning the
Wolverines
loaded
the
bases,
putting sophomore third baseman
Madison Uden on the plate. Uden,
who has been hitting a team-
leading .396, drew a walk-off walk
to give Michigan the victory.
“I was really just looking to drive
the ball, hit a really good pitch,”
Uden said. “Just looking to throw
my backside hard and just focusing
on what I know and trusting my
mechanics.”
Beaubien followed her career
outing with a similarly dominant
performance against Pittsburgh.
With
the
Wolverines
leading
3-2 coming into the fifth inning,
the ace took over and retired the
Panthers’ last nine batters to close
out the game. On a day where
Michigan recorded twenty hits but
only scored six runs, her arm was
the
difference,
and
remains
a
constant for the
Wolverines in the
circle.
“Well,
it
is
important to win
close
games,”
Hutchins
said.
“It’s great for our
pitching
to
be
tough and solid
under
perceived
pressure, and definitely you wanna
come up on the winning side of it
because that gives you confidence
that you can win those games and
you don’t want the kids just focused
on winning but ultimately we all
know that when the game gets
tight is when the kids get tight.”
Just like it has over the course
of the season, Michigan improved
on its hitting inconsistencies on
Sunday against Florida A&M,
combining those improvements
with the as-usual stellar pitching
to notch a 6-2 win over the
Rattlesnakes. Uden went 4-for-4
with two runs and Blanco notched
a season high seven strikeouts.
Florida A&M might not be the
most intimidating opponent, but
the
Wolverines’
performance
against them, and the rest of the
unranked teams in Boca Raton,
bodes well for their upcoming
conference slate. If they can
do it thousands of miles away
from home, they can bring some
sunshine back to Ann Arbor, too.
FILE PHOTO
Second baseman Faith Canfield had another big weekend as Michigan went 5-0.
RIAN RATNAVALE
Daily Sports Writer
“It’s great for
our pitching to
be tough and
solid ... ”