The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 — 7A
Blanco notches no-hitter in Wolverines’ victory over Eastern Michigan
For anyone that knows Tera
Blanco, it’s not surprising that
the senior right-hander’s walk-
up song is “God’s Plan” by
Drake. Blanco always listens to
the song to pump herself up and
got her teammates to play the
Canadian rapper’s music in the
locker room.
When
Blanco
threw
the
first no-hitter of her college
career in a 4-0 win against
Eastern Michigan on Tuesday
afternoon, the constant blaring
of the hit single was, in a way,
poetic. Every time the No. 17
Michigan softball team left
a runner stranded on base,
Blanco came in the next inning
and answered the prayers of the
Wolverines, either with one of
her 12 strikeouts or a laser to
catch a runner at first base.
“We weren’t a real inspired
group today, and Tera has just
been such a steady force for us
all year,” said Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins.
“I’m
proud
of
her,
she’s
so
deserving.”
That’s
not
to say that the
right-hander’s
ride
to
the
no-hitter
was
smooth by any
means. On the
first pitch of the
second
inning,
Eagles’
outfielder
Brandice
Olmos launched a shot to deep
center that threatened to end
Blanco’s bid before it was even
conceivable.
Junior
outfielder
Natalie
Peters,
however,
had
other
plans. As the ball sailed straight
over
Blanco’s
head,
Peters
started
running
from
right
field and didn’t stop until the
ball was in her glove, making a
twirling catch.
In
other
moments
when
Blanco’s mastery
was in danger,
the
California
native
pushed
through on her
own.
In
the
sixth
inning,
Blanco
found
herself facing a
3-1 count with
no
outs.
Just
like that, Blanco battled back to
strike out the Eastern Michigan
batter.
The next batter came up to
the plate for the Eagles, and
with that came a 3-0 hole for
Blanco to climb out of. Blanco
fired off three straight swinging
strikes.
“I was frustrated with always
getting behind, and not getting
ahead,” Blanco said. “You put
yourself in a hole and you just
want to get out.
And I did.”
Eastern
Michigan,
though,
seemingly
tried
every
possible way to
spoil
Blanco’s
masterpiece.
Despite
failing
to capitalize on
a deep fly ball,
and multiple hitter’s counts, the
Eagles still seemed destined to
end the no-hitter.
Freshman shortstop Natalia
Rodriguez saw a ball bounce
off the tip of her glove and into
left field with two outs in the
seventh inning, but the umpires
around her ruled the play an
error, keeping the bid alive long
enough for Blanco to crush the
next Eagles batter with three
strikes.
“I’m very hard
on myself, so I
expected
that.
It wasn’t really
surprising,
Blanco said. “As
the game went
on I was like,
‘I need to do
this more,’ but
when the game
finished, I could
sit back and say
that I actually did it, which was
cool.”
Outside Blanco’s dominance,
the
Wolverines
didn’t
play
particularly
well
—
save
for a few stolen bases. But
perhaps the moment that most
encapsulates the right-hander’s
game came at the plate instead
of the circle. Blanco corked a
low hit off an Eastern Michigan
fastball, which grazed the glove
of an Eagles outfielder and
gently whizzed past the right
field foul pole for a home run.
Like most of what happened
during the game for Michigan,
that hit could have gone against
the Wolverines.
It didn’t though. Call it good
fortune or call it “God’s Plan,”
but Blanco came through again
for Michigan.
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
Senior right-hander Tera Blanco threw a no-hitter and hit a home run in Michigan’s 4-0 victory over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday afternoon.
RIAN RATNAVALE
Daily Sports Writer
“Tera has just
been such a
steady force for
us.”
“I’m very hard
on myself, so ...
it wasn’t really
surprising.”
Though Michigan didn’t seem to play its best against the Eagles, Blanco’s strong perforance made all the difference
Keener secures starting catcher’s role midseason
For the Michigan baseball team,
no position was more of a question
mark coming into the season than
catcher. Last year’s team had a
program-high eleven draft picks,
and one of them was senior catcher
Harrison Wenson, who started
126 games over the course of his
Wolverine career.
The departure left a clear void
in the lineup. Senior Brock Keener,
sophomore Harrison Salter, redshirt
freshman Marcus Chavez and
freshman Joe Donovan battled for
the position through the fall and
winter. Teammates and coaches
alike were impressed with all four
players in the offseason.
“Harry, last year, was a fantastic
catcher,” said senior pitcher Alec
Rennard. “After he left, what I saw
in the three guys that are returning
— Brock, Harry Salter, Marcus and
then the new kid, Joe Donovan
— was just an absolute fire was lit
from day one with them. I’ve just
seen them all putting their best
foot forward every day. I just think
they’re pushing themselves to
compete at their highest level.”
The competition lasted well into
the start of the season. During the
team’s spring break tour, they all saw
time behind the plate, but Chavez
was given the start in the first game
of the season against Army.
“We had that pre-determined
that Marcus was going to catch
the first two and Salter was going
catch on Sunday,” said head coach
Erik Bakich at the time. “And Joe
Donovan’s had mono for pretty
much the entire preseason and
Brock Keener (was) out for over a
week with an illness as well.”
Bakich would continue to rotate
through all four prior to returning
to Ann Arbor. Chavez started six of
the first 14 games, while Donovan
and Salter started five and three,
respectively. Keener, on the other
hand, had seen ample time at first
base during the trip, but had yet to
make a start at catcher. The matchup
against Lawrence Tech was that
opportunity.
The senior, who may have been
favored for the starting position
coming into the offseason, has
relinquished the position just twice
since then.
Early
on,
Keener
struggled
defensively. He leads the other
catchers in passed balls with nine
and has the third-most errors on the
team with four. Gradually, though,
he
became
more
comfortable
behind the plate. His blocking has
considerably improved as the season
continues.
Offensively, Keener has also
grown into his own. Of the four
catchers, Keener’s .276 batting
average is second only to Salter’s
.314. He is also tied for third on the
team in doubles and runs scored
with four and 18, respectively.
Though it’s safe to say Keener
has secured the starting spot for
now, the other three catchers will
certainly play a role as the season
progresses.
Salter seems to be the go-to,
second-string catcher during busy
portions of the schedule. But if we
know anything about this team, it’s
that the coaching staff is willing to
throw young players into the mix if
necessary. The idea of playing the
two promising freshmen, Chavez
and Donovan, will not be abandoned
entirely.
“I’d tell you that we have four
legitimate catchers that could start
at a lot of Division I programs,”
Bakich said. “And instead of having
competition where we are just going
to pick one, we’re going to ask all
four of them to contribute and add
value every time their number is
called.”
CARTER FOX/Daily
Senior catcher Brock Keener has secured the starting catching position after a period of volatility at the beginning of the Michigan baseball team’s season.
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
Despite big win, ‘M’ has
room for improvement
In the first home meets of
the spring season, the No. 6
Michigan rowing team came
out almost perfect for the
weekend, winning 13 of 14
events.
Facing No. 16 Indiana, No.
11 Iowa and No. 18 Michigan
State,
the
Wolverines
performed to the expectations
of
Michigan
coach
Mark
Rothstein, who, despite the
dominant performance by the
team, only saw room to grow.
“We
are
looking to get
better each and
every
week,
and
I
don’t
think
we
did
that this week,”
Rothstein
told
MGoBlue.com.
“In some events
we did, and in
some, we didn’t.
We need to do it
in every event,
and we’ll get back to work on
Monday.”
Though few, the areas that
needed work were the most
essential — the first varsity
eight boats in both sessions. In
the morning session, the first
varsity eight boat took first
with a time of 6:26.99, with a
gap of just 1.82 seconds. In the
afternoon session, however,
Michigan took its first and
only loss of the day with the
first varsity boat against the
Hawkeyes.
The performance by the
first varsity eight boat wasn’t
up to the Wolverines’ normal
standards, as their boat not
only performed slower than
Iowa’s, but also both teams’
second varsity eight. With a
time of 6:30.18, the first varsity
eight boat was outdone by the
6:17.80, 6:28.00 and 6:28.30
posted
by
the
Hawkeyes’
first varisty eight, Michigan’s
second
varsity
eight,
and
Iowa’s second varsity eight,
respectively.
“Today was good, up until
the
last
race,”
Rothstein
told MGoBlue.com. “I didn’t
think we raced really well,
and Iowa is really, really
good. That combination led to
their victory by a substantial
mark.”
However — outside of the
subpar performances of the
normally elite
first
varsity
eight
boats
—
the
other
boats
carried
their weights.
Continuing
from their tear
the
weekend
prior,
the
first
and
second varsity
four
boats
continued
to dominate, sweeping the
competition. With times of
7:09.60 and 7:24.60 in the
morning session, they won by a
combined differential of 26.89
seconds. The third varsity
four additionally won with a
time of 7:38.80, 15.61 seconds
faster than the second-best
Hoosiers finisher.
In the afternoon session,
the Michigan varsity four
boats found a way to top off
their
already
commanding
performance. Finishing with
times of 7:18.20 and 7:18.1,
the first and second varsity
four boats beat Iowa’s by
a combined 38.33 seconds.
Both third varsity four boats
for the Wolverines beat out
Iowa to cap off a powerhouse
performance.
“We are
looking to get
better each and
every week.”
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
ROWING