The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
Monday, April 9, 2018 — 3B

Wolverines sweep Nittany Lions

Even in a three-game sweep 

of 
a 
struggling 
opponent 

like Penn State, it took a 
considerable 
amount 
of 

toughness on the part of the 
No. 17 Michigan softball team 
to make sure that everything 
went to plan.

Locked in a scoreless tie at 

the top of the seventh inning 
of the second game of the 
series, freshman outfielder Lou 
Allan knew it was time to stop 
catching up and start making 
something happen. Up to that 
point, the Wolverines (31-7) had 
been shutout by a Nittany Lions 
team (6-27) they beat 14-2 the 
day before. 

After being one of the highest 

recruits in the country last 
year, Allan has spent much of 
the year injured, and has slowly 
improved since. But against 
Penn State, she hit her first 
career home run in the opening 
game.

Instead 
of 
celebrating 

though, Allan and the rest of 
the team faced the prospect 
of 
a 
momentum-halting, 

disappointing loss the next day. 

Just like the loss earlier this 
season against Iowa, when the 
Wolverines’ rally in the seventh 
inning was too little too-late, 
the 
Nittany 
Lions 
seemed 

almost insurmountable at the 
plate.

Allan, though, made sure 

history didn’t repeat itself. She 
swung through a changeup 
and crushed a two-run homer, 
piercing 
right 
through 
the 

hearts of the Penn State players, 
eliminating much of their hope 
for an upset. 

“I was just trying to do 

whatever I could in order to 
score the runs, and then we 
were all fighting so hard to 
get some runs on the board 
in that game,” Allan said. “It 
was a little bit of a struggle, 
but I think the biggest thing 
was, we just needed to make 
adjustments.”

Although 
the 
other 
two 

games in the series were both 
run-rule blowouts, it would 
be a mistake to assume that 
the Wolverines didn’t bring 
the same level of toughness to 
them.

“It doesn’t feel any different, 

it’s still, we’re still just playing 
the game, but honestly, we go 

out and our mentality is that 
we wanna get in, play five 
innings, and then get out,” 
Allan said. “And score as many 
runs as possible, because we 
know we’re able to do that and 
we’re good enough to go up 
there and just stay on a hitting 
streak and score the runs that 
we need to.”

Freshman 
left-hander 

Meghan 
Beaubien 
reeled 

off three consecutive wins, 
including a combined three-
hitter with senior right-hander 
Tera 
Blanco 
on 
Saturday. 

Beaubien currently boasts the 
most wins of any pitcher in the 
country, and the duo anchored a 
Wolverine defense that allowed 
just three runs all weekend. 

“The defense starts on the 

mound,” said Michigan coach 
Carol Hutchins. “The pitcher 
has to be having good game 
management, 
and 
although 

(Blanco) did get into a few full 
count 
situations, 
although 

a few more than I probably 
would like. She really, she was 
just on her game as far as being 
mentally tough and her defense 
supported her. 

“We made all the plays we 

needed to make.”

MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

Senior right-hander Tera Blanco combined with freshman Megan Beaubien to throw a three-hitter Saturday.

RIAN RATNAVALE

Daily Sports Writer

‘M’ extends winning streak to 15

With 
an 
inning 
left 
in 

Sunday’s 
series 
finale, 
the 

Michigan 
baseball 
team 

was locked in a 3-3 tie with 
Northwestern.

Four 
batters 
later, 
the 

Wolverines extended their win 
streak to 15 with a 7-3 victory.

As it has been throughout 

the streak, Michigan’s pitching 
was the difference over the 
weekend in Evanston. After a 
postponement Friday, it opened 
the series with back-to-back 
shutouts of the Wildcats (1-8 
Big Ten, 8-17 overall), 6-0 and 
3-0, in Saturday’s double header 
— the first consecutive shutouts 
in Big Ten play since 2006 for 
the Wolverines (6-0, 19-11).

Sophomore 
left-hander 

Tommy Henry kicked off the 
weekend 
with 
six, 
two-hit 

innings 
Saturday 
afternoon, 

striking out nine in the process.

An 
hour 
later, 
freshman 

left-hander Ben Dragani took 
the 
mound 
for 
game 
two 

and proceeded to one-up his 
teammate, allowing just one hit 
over his seven innings — a single 
to lead off the second inning.

“They did a great job of 

executing the game plan,” said 
Michigan coach Erik Bakich. 
“They 
both 
pounded 
the 

strike zone. Very aggressive, 
very consistent with all their 
pitches. It was just fun to watch 
those guys in action.”

After starting the season as a 

reliever, Bakich moved Dragani 
into the rotation three weeks 
ago against Bowling Green. 
Since then, he has worked 26.2 
innings with 19 strikeouts and 
just a single earned run against 
him.

“It 
became 
very 
clear 

through the first couple of 
weeks that we would need to 
expand his role,” Bakich said. 
“And he’s earned a starting role 
in the rotation.

“It’s 
one 
thing 
to 
have 

multiple 
pitches 
you 
can 

throw 
for 
strikes, 
what 

makes him very good is the 
competitiveness that he pitches 
with and the poise that he has 
on the mound.”

While the Michigan rotation 

was the story of the weekend, 
its bullpen and defense both 
played major roles in the sweep. 
The 
bullpen, 

which struggled 
early 
in 
the 

season, has not 
given up a run 
since April 28 
against Central 
Michigan — a 
15.2-inning 
streak.

“Everybody’s 

feeding off of 
each 
other,” 

Bakich said. “The guys go in 
and see what the previous 
guy did before him … and the 
confidence is extremely high 
right now.

“Everyone in the bullpen has 

the confidence of the entire 
team that he’s going to get the 
job done.”

The 
defense 
meanwhile 

— one of the points of pride 
for Bakich’s program — has 
returned to being a staple after 
a rough start to the season.

They committed 26 errors 

in their 4-11 start, but the 
Wolverines have just 17 during 
their win streak — only further 
emphasized by an error-free 

weekend.

“Guys are starting to settle 

into their roles,” Bakich said, 
“so that breeds confidence 
and they can start to express 
themselves more freely and 
play more loosely.”

Offensively, Michigan relied 

on a balanced approach with 
at least seven players recording 

a hit in each 
game. Freshman 
first 
baseman 

Jesse 
Franklin 

hit 
the 
only 

home 
run 
of 

the series in the 
opener but he 
and five other 
Wolverines 
combined 
for 

seven doubles in 
the sweep.

“(It was) good execution (on) 

offense,” Bakich said. “Guys 
had a lot of timely hits, we had 
two-out RBIs in every game, we 
were good at getting guys home 
from third base, good at taking 
extra 90 (feet).”

Next 
weekend, 
Michigan 

will face Maryland (3-2, 15-6), 
its toughest challenge in weeks. 
The Wolverines, though, are 
thinking about neither the 
Terrapins, nor the win streak.

“We’re really more focused 

on the training that we’re going 
to have this week before we 
even get to Maryland,” Bakich 
said. “. . . We don’t talk about 
the streak.”

CHRIS FCASNI/Daily

Sophomore left-hander Tommy Henry threw six, two-hit innings Saturday.

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer

“The 

confidence is 
extremely high 

right now.”