The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 — 7A

Wolverines sweep Delaware with Franklin homer

As the Michigan baseball team

clung to a 3-2 lead over Delaware
in the bottom of the eighth
inning,
junior
center
fielder

Jonathan Engelmann stepped up
to the plate and delivered a rocket
up the middle to get on base. With
lectures about the importance
of creative baserunning surely
floating
through
his
mind,

Engelmann overzealously took
off toward second base. But his
efforts would crash and burn, as
the Blue Hen catcher launched
the ball to the second baseman
for an easy tag-out.

Junior third baseman Blake

Nelson then grounded into the
second out. After a promising
start,
the
Wolverines
found

themselves facing a two-out,
bases-empty situation.

Enter freshman slugger Jesse

Franklin.

After
Engelmann’s

baserunning error and Nelson’s
groundout, expectations were
low for the first baseman. But
Franklin shocked the crowd at
Ray Fisher Stadium by cranking a
shot to deep left field.

The ball flew over the wall,

and
the
Wolverines
poured

out of the dugout to celebrate
the impressive shot. Franklin
rounded the bases, triumphantly
stomped on home plate and was
quickly mobbed by his gleeful
teammates.

The solo bomb gave Michigan

(16-11 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) a vital
insurance run, effectively sealing
a 4-2 win over Delaware (13-12).

“I just got a good fastball over

the middle of the plate,” Franklin
said. “Coach (Nick) Schnabel has
been trying to give me tips to go
the other way, and I’m just glad it
went over the wall.”

Even before Franklin’s blast

over the left wall, the Wolverines
had a prolific day at the plate,
amassing ten hits in the contest.

But those hits didn’t translate

into as many runs as Michigan
would have liked. The team

was
plagued
by
ineffective

baserunning the whole day. Five
runners were thrown out while
trying to take additional bases,
and the Wolverines stole just two
bases despite their numerous
attempts.

Despite a disastrous day on the

basepaths, Michigan’s incessant
desire to nab additional bases has
paid dividends in the past and
allowed the team to consistently
compete.

“Today was probably our worst

day baserunning-wise,” Franklin
said. “We had a bad day today,
but on Friday our baserunning
won us the game and we were
just going around and around and
around. We talk a lot about extra
90s and how it changes a game.”

Added coach Erik Bakich: “It’s

just a mindset thing. Just wanting
to get on base and go. We don’t
want to be tethered to the base,
we wanna get to scoring position.
The more you can advance 90
feet, the more chances you have
to score runs. So again, we’re not
a power hitting team, it’s nice
to get an occasional home run,
but we’re a manufacture type of
offense.”

On the defensive side of things,

though, the Wolverines were
rock-solid.
Sophomore
right-

hander Karl Kauffman gave
Michigan a solid performance,
tossing six innings and allowing
two runs, only one of them
earned. Kauffman’s outing was
supplemented by a combined
three
sound
innings
from

freshman
right-hander
Jeff

Criswell and junior left-hander
Will Tribucher.

Criswell was cool and collected

in his two innings of relief. In the
eighth inning, Criswell found
himself on the mound with the
bases loaded but stepped up and
sent the Blue Hens back to their
dugout with their tails tucked
between their legs.

“My approach there was just

stay calm,” Criswell said. “Take
deep breaths, just realize that if I
can make a good pitch, somebody
around me will pick me up and
make a good play like they did
today.”

Supporting Criswell in his

showcase was the athleticism and
ferocity of the Wolverine defense,
which was in was in full display
in the top of the seventh inning.

The first batter Criswell faced

hit a bomb to deep left field, and
the ball bounced off the wall
where freshman Jordan Nwogu
collected it and launched it to
second base. The throw was just
in time, and Michigan collected
the out.

“It fired me up for sure,”

Criswell said. “Seeing a guy like
that make an incredible play just
kind of lit a little bit of a fire in
my stomach and kinda let me just
go get the next two for the rest of
the guys. It was an incredible play
and props to him, it was a really
good throw.”

With
the
win,
Michigan

extended its winning streak
to 12 games, marking a drastic
turnaround from a disappointing
4-11 start to the season.

“We don’t ever want to go back

to that rollercoaster of not only
emotions, but of inconsistent
play,” Bakich said. “It just feels
different now because of the
mindset the guys have. So, all the
credit goes to them. Recognizing
that their mindset needed to be
better and then doing something
about it and sustaining it to get
the team hot.”

RUCHITA IYER/Daily

Freshman first baseman Jesse Franklin sealed Michigan’s win over Delaware with a home run in the eighth inning.

JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer

In a pressure-cooker event,

Indiana came close to snapping
the Michigan women’s water
polo
team’s
15-game
win

streak.

The
ninth-ranked

Wolverines (1-0 CWPA, 23-7)
added another victory to their
ongoing 16 game win streak.
The 9-7 win against No. 13
Indiana (1-2, 20-6) awarded
head coach Marcelo Leonardi
his
100th

victory
at

Michigan.

On
Senior

Night
at

Indiana,
electricity
was in the air
as the match
against
the

Hoosiers
was
highly

anticipated
for both sides.
Michigan was looking to win
its 18th straight conference
opener
and
continue
its

winning record.

“It was an environment

where everyone was super
pumped up,” said freshman
utility player Maddy Johnston.
“They had their band there, as
well. We knew that we had to
talk to each other because you
can’t hear the coaches on the
bench.”

The Wolverines started out

strong by gaining possession
during
the
initial
sprint.

Within the first two minutes
of the match, Johnston posted
her opponent and was open
near
center
cage.
Junior

Julia Sellers recognized the
opportunity and dished a lob
pass that landed a perfect
arm-distance grasp in front of
Sellers. Johnston whipped the
ball towards the corner of the

cage and put Michigan on the
board.

The two teams continued

to trade goals throughout the
second and third quarter. But
the Wolverines’ momentum
began to pick up.

With the score tied at 5

and one minute remaining,
Indiana’s
Juli
Hilovsky

committed a penalty — giving
the Wolverines with a six-on-
five opportunity. Junior driver
Kim Johnson spotted an open
look and assisted on senior

attacker Caroline
Anderson
and

tossed
her
the

ball
awarding

Michigan
with

a
1-point
lead

going
into
the

final quarter.

The

Wolverines never
looked
back.

Several
more

power plays by
Michigan
and

a few more missed shots by
Indiana gave the Wolverines
their well-deserved victory.

Though
the
16-game

win streak itself calls for
celebration, the coaching staff
and players still believe the
team needs to clean up some
aspects of their game.

“We try to break down

teams,” Johnston said. “We
need to learn to be patient in
our offense and learn to strike
at the right time.”

However,
the
winning

streak does not seem to be
in jeopardy due to strong
leadership and a drive for even
greater play.

“We have strong leaders

on our team so we always
talk a lot,” Johnston said.
“There is never too much
communication. It helps with
getting everyone on the same
page.”

JODI YIP

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan notches sixth straight victory

For weeks, it has been the same

story. The Michigan women’s
tennis team has struggled in its
non-conference
schedule,
but

turned its season around for Big
Ten opponents. And while the
Wolverines picked up two more
conference wins this weekend, the
story finally changed.

It wasn’t just the big hitters and

the higher-ranked players doing all
the work this time — the rest of the
lineup has finally caught up.

Michigan faced rival Ohio State

on Friday and Penn State on Sunday,
and while the matchup with the
Buckeyes proved to be tougher than
matches against the Nittany Lions,
the Wolverines walked away with
4-3 and 7-0 victories, respectively.

For the past two seasons, every

time Michigan has played Ohio
State, it was considered a non-
conference match. And for the past
two seasons, the Wolverines lost

to the Buckeyes, yet won the Big
Ten. Some might say those Big Ten
Championships don’t really count,
but if the Wolverines were to go on
and win the Big Ten this year, there
wouldn’t be anything left to say.

“Last year they were clearly the

better team,” said Michigan coach
Ronni Bernstein. “We struggled
against them. Every year’s a new
year and it was definitely good to go
in there and pull that one out.

“… Every time we play Ohio State

it’s a huge rivalry, and we were
excited to get through.”

After dropping the doubles point

and two of the first three singles
matches off the court, Michigan
was in a 3-1 hole. A three-set win
from sophomore Chiara Lommer
at No. 3 singles trimmed the deficit
to one, but there was still plenty of
work to be done.

Senior
Mira
Ruder-Hook

and freshman Bella Lorenzini
remained on court at No. 5 and No.
6 singles — if either lost, it would
seal the match for Ohio State.

Ruder-Hook managed to claw

out a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 victory of her
own, leaving the team’s fate in
Lorenzini’s hands. Her match was
tightly contested for its entirety, as
she took the first set in a tiebreaker
and was down 5-4 in the second
set. As much as Mary Beth Hurley
tried to force a third set and keep
the Buckeyes alive, Lorenzini won
three straight games to take the
second set, 7-5, to give her team the
victory.

When the Wolverines struggled

early in the season, the pressure
often fell on junior Kate Fahey at
the top of the lineup. The team
could typically rely on her to get a
point, but couldn’t produce points
down the rest of the lineup. But the
opposite was true of both Friday
and Sunday’s matches, where
after Fahey dropped her match,
Michigan’s other singles players
came in clutch.

That came in play during

Sunday’s match as well. Due to
Penn State having just four courts,

not all the singles matches were
played at once. No. 3 through No.
6 went out first, and with four
wins on four courts, the match was
clinched before Fahey and the top
of the lineup even got the chance
to play.

“I think we’re getting more

confidence as a group,” Bernstein
said. “Three through six pulled
through on Friday night and today
we had three through six on to start
the match. So I think everyone’s
feeling confident and that’s what
you want to do. As the season goes
on, I mean we’re getting to April
now, and you want to be playing
with some confidence.

“We’ve definitely turned it

around, which is good.”

The bottom of the lineup is

finding its form just in time for the
conference schedule to conclude
and championship season to begin.
With six straight wins and an
unbeaten record in the Big Ten,
Michigan’s early season woes seem
to be a distant memory.

Behind production from bottom of the lineup, Wolverines sweep weekend

PAIGE VOEFFRAY

Daily Sports Editor

DARBY STRIPE/Daily

Freshman Bella Lorenzini helped the Michigan women’s tennis team earn two conference wins over Ohio State and Penn State this past weekend.

MEN’S GYMNASTICS
Michigan tops No. 18 UIC

On Senior Night, freshmen

Jacob Moore and Cameron Bock
delivered
top
performances,

leading the Wolverines to a
417.700-366.500 win against No.
18 UIC.

After honoring the graduating

team members, Michigan began
the competition on floor routine.
Moore — ranked third in the
nation on floor — carried out a
dominant performance, scoring
14.900 to nearly match his
personal best. Following Moore,
junior Emyre Cole performed a
clean
routine,

sticking all five
of his passes
and
scoring

14.350.

Following

their
strong

show
on
the

floor,
the

Wolverines
wavered
a

little
with
a

shaky pommel
horse
routine.

Freshman
Cameron
Bock

struggled with his form, but
remained on the horse without
falling — a remarkable feat in
itself, according to coach Kurt
Golder.

“It’s just pure strength and

determination
that
he
kept

going,” Golder said. “And he did
a real good job of recovering from
it, because it was a big mistake.”

Despite those mistakes by Bock

and sophomore Mack Lasker
on pommel horse, Michigan
maintained a 138.100-117.650 lead
after the second rotation.

The seniors led the lineup on

still rings. Tristian Perez-Rivera
built momentum by performing
two strong and stable iron crosses
on his way to a score of 13.450.
Dmitri Belanovski followed with
a score of 13.650, and freshman
James Read anchored the rings,
scoring 14.300.

“He just really turned it on

maybe a month ago,” Golding said
of Read. “We decided to pull his
redshirt, and right now I’m real
glad we did that.”

Michigan continued onto vault

where Cole impressed the judges
with a strong Yurchenko earning
a 14.500 mark.

On
parallel
bars,
Bock

delivered a confident showing
with
a
double-pike
before

sticking
the
dismount.
The

judges scored Bock’s routine at
14.600. Belanovski also delivered
a notable routine with a score of
13.950.

Redshirt junior Alec Krystek

led the lineup on high bar.

Krystek struggled
to
execute
his

routine as he fell
off the bar during a
straddle Tkachev.
While they started
with
a
sub-par

performance,
the
Wolverines

stayed
focused

as Bock finished
strong with two
Tkachevs in his
routine and stuck

a full twisting double layout
dismount.

The Wolverines finished the

meet ahead of the Flames. Bock
was recognized for both his effort
and skill by breaking the school
record in parallel bars, high bar
and all around. Belanovski also
finished with a season best on high
bar with a 9.300 on execution, and
14.350 overall.

“A little more confidence,”

Belanovski said, “made it a little
more safe, and focused on hitting
that execution score.”

For Michigan, the theme of

the meet was confidence and
consistency.

Although
there
were
a

few noticeable mistakes, the
Wolverines seem certain that they
can iron out the kinks before the
Big Ten Championship next week.

“I think we have a great

chance,” Belanovski said. “And
we’re ready to bring it home.”

VAQAAS ASLAM

For the Daily

Wolverines overcome mistakes, defeat
Flames ahead of Big Ten Championships

“It’s just pure
strength and
determination

that he kept

going.”

Michigan ekes out win
against No. 13 Indiana

WATER POLO

“We need to
learn to be

patient in our

offense.”