The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 — 7A
To be successful, Michigan
baseball needs to be consistent
Last season, the Michigan
baseball team got off to a horrid
4-11 start.
It lost a three-game series to
Lipscomb — which had just a
.444 win percentage last season.
The Wolverines were outscored
by an average of 1.2 runs and
posted a batting average of
.230
while
their
opponents
maintained an average of .255.
Michigan
had
its
worst
moment, though, in its home
opener, when they lost 8-3 to
Lawrence Tech, an NAIA school
that lost its final game by a score
of 28-0 to the Indiana Institute
of Technology.
Yet, after that 8-3 loss to the
Blue Devils, the Wolverines won
their next 20 games, outscoring
opponents by an average of 5
runs.
During
that
win
streak,
Michigan found itself. Posting a
team batting average of .317, their
defense also found their groove.
Its pitchers held opposing hitters
to a .197 batting average and the
team averaged 1.05 errors per
game — at one point going four
straight games without an error.
“Just the consistency of the
approach and the mindset,” said
Wolverines coach Erik Bakich.
“It’s one thing to get up for Big
Ten play, it’s one thing to be able
to have a lot of energy when the
team is winning or has the lead
in the game. It’s another to be
able to bring it to training days,
to be able to take care of the little
things, keeping the locker room
clean, going into the weight room
and really getting after it and
just competing in everything.”
Then Michigan lost and kept
losing. The Wolverines ended
the season having won only one
of their last six regular season
games.
Michigan’s
batting
average dropped to .205, while
its opponents managed a .251
average, eventually leading to
the Wolverines being outscored
35-16.
The
slump
couldn’t
have
come at a worse time, as they
quickly crashed out of the Big
Ten tournament after three
days, only winning one game: a
tournament opening 2-1 victory
over Iowa.
Last year, most of the core
players on the rollercoaster team
were underclassmen, having lost
11 juniors to the MLB draft in the
previous offseason. This year,
the team returns eight defensive
starters and 10 pitchers, as
well as most of its offensive
production.
“I see a group of kids who’ve
had another birthday, who’ve
gotten stronger, who’ve become
more physical,” Bakich said.
“So I would like to think we’re
capable of hitting for more power
this year and I like to think some
of our pitchers are going to be
stronger, more durable. We’ve
seen some bumps in velocity
from some of our pitchers, and
they look more physical on the
mound as well.”
Stronger hitters and more
durable pitchers will benefit this
team, but if Michigan wishes to
make as far of a run as its talent
allows, it’ll also need to learn
how to lessen the slumps and
stay consistent.
“I think this group has a lot
of potential,” said Bakich. “On
paper, at least, the pieces are
there to have a special, magical
type of season. We’ve got our
goals set as high as you can set
them, and in terms of how we’ve
prepared and being around these
guys every day, it feels like a
championship team.”
This season, the growth of
their breakout freshmen and
sophomores will need to not
only come physically, but also
mentally. If they can translate
their experience from last year
into taming the waves they go
through, and finding a way to
get hot towards the end of the
season, perhaps the team can
meet Bakich’s lofty expectations.
KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Senior infielder Ako Thomas looks to spearhead Michigan’s offense in 2019.
Dilk still working through injury
The
Michigan
women’s
basketball team finally has some
momentum it desperately needed.
Sunday’s win over Penn State
was the team’s fourth-straight
win and its second conference
victory on the road. Prior to their
victory over the Nittany Lions,
the Wolverines (7-6 Big Ten, 16-9
overall) lost six out of nine games.
So, things are trending up.
There
is
one
significant
concern, though. Last Thursday,
during the first quarter against
Nebraska, freshman guard Amy
Dilk went down with a right knee
injury while attempting a floater.
She hasn’t played since, and
the status of her injury remains
uncertain. In high school, she
injured the same knee twice and
had surgery.
“She has a knee injury and
she’s day-to-day right now,” said
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico on Tuesday. “So, she’s out
until she is back 100 percent.”
From the moment the season
started, Dilk has been the main
starter at point
guard. She logged
27
minutes
in
each of the first
four
contests
and
quickly
transitioned
to
the pace of the
college
game.
Since the new
calendar year, she
is averaging close
to 36 minutes per
night.
When healthy, Dilk is a key
asset to the Wolverines’ offense.
She scores 7.6 points per game
and has strong court vision that
creates opportunities for her
teammates.
Though Michigan won its
two games without Dilk, her
absence had a clear impact on its
ball handling abilities. Michigan
committed 21 turnovers against
the Cornhuskers — its most in
a game since late December.
Early against the Nittany Lions,
the Wolverines lacked direction
again. They had a shaky start and
picked up 22 turnovers — 13 of
which came in the first half.
“To try to adjust without your
point guard took a little bit of time
in the last two
games,”
Barnes
Arico said. “The
problem is at this
point of year, we
don’t have too
many
practices
to start working
on
developing
another
point
guard. But at least
we have the next
couple days to
really get people
ready to be in that position.”
In the Penn State game,
sophomore guard Deja Church,
junior guard Akienreh Johnson
and senior guard Nicole Munger
shared most of the time running
the offense. Barnes Arico plans to
keep a rotation going — potentially
giving freshman guard Danielle
Rauch more reps, too — but looks
to Church as the starter.
“I think for each of them,
they’re willing to take on that
role. But the responsibility of
doing it 100 percent of the time
is enormous,” Barnes Arico said.
“And I think at this point in the
season, for the best interest of our
team it’s great to have different
people there throughout the
game.
“And Deja obviously is gonna
be the first one there, and I think
she has the most experience there
and I think she can definitely
handle that role and I think she
embraces that role.”
Michigan’s
three
main
options
all
bring
something
different to the table. As the
veteran of the group, Munger is
the most fundamentally sound.
Her experience can help avoid
mistakes in crunch time. Church
is quick and excels at attacking
the
basket.
Johnson
brings
size and hit her stride recently,
scoring in double-figures twice
this month.
Regardless,
time
will
tell
how well those characteristics
compensate for Dilk’s absence.
“I can’t wait for (Dilk) to get
back,” Barnes Arico said.
The Wolverines though, have
managed — at least in the short
term — without her.
‘M’ bounces back from lone loss
It wasn’t the most difficult
matchup of the season, but it
did provide the No. 4 Michigan
wrestling team (10-1 overall,
6-1 Big Ten) an important
opportunity. Coming off their
first loss of the season at top-
ranked Penn State, it was time
to see if the Wolverines could
process a loss and respond.
As
Drew
Mattin
reminded
everyone, they absolutely can.
By pinning Matthew Vinci
at 4:04 into the match, the
sophomore brought Michigan
back to its winning ways in
the
team’s
return
to
Cliff
Keen Arena. The fall gave the
Wolverines a lead they would
never relinquish and Michigan
shook off its first loss of the
season, beating Northwestern
(3-10 overall, 1-7 Big Ten) by the
score of 30-9. The commanding
win saw the Wolverines drop
three matches — all by decision
— while the seven victories
included two decisions, three
major decisions and two falls.
Prior
to
Mattin’s
match,
the dual got off to an eventful
start
as
freshman
Mason
Parris wrestled the Wildcats’
Conan Jennings. Down 5-2 to
start the match’s final period,
Parris escaped from the bottom
position
quickly
to
narrow
the deficit to two points. An
aggressive late push by Parris
tied the match at five with 20
seconds
remaining,
eliciting
a roar from the packed Cliff
Keen Arena crowd. It wouldn’t
be enough, as Jennings earned
a point from an escape and
Parris’ late attempt at another
takedown
was
unsuccessful
upon video review.
In
the
133-pound
class,
Northwestern’s
Sebastian
Rivera was bumped up from
the
125-pound
category
to
compete
with
redshirt
junior
Stevan
Micic.
Both
wrestlers
are ranked atop
their
respective
weight
classes,
and Rivera was
bumped
up
moments
before
the match. But
Micic had little
trouble scoring and wrestled to
a 10-4 decision regardless.
“I didn’t really get to have
a reaction (to the change in
opponent). I was already on the
mat,” Micic said. “I literally
just turned around and shook
his hand and wrestled. I treat
every opponent the same way.
Obviously you’ve gotta have
some game plan, a little, but
it’s hard, and you’re going
to have to stick to your own
way of wrestling. That’s most
important.”
Redshirt sophomore Kanen
Storr followed Micic with a win
by major decision to extend the
Michigan lead to 13-3, but the
Wolverines’
momentum
was
halted by Shayne Oster’s decision
victory over fifth-year senior
Malik Amine. Coming out of the
intermission, Michigan’s lead
decreased when Alec Pantaleo
lost to Ryan Deakin. The loss
would be the Wolverines’ last
and the Wildcats’ score never
rose above nine, as redshirt
junior Logan Massa promptly
won by major
decision.
Michigan never
looked
back
en route to its
victory.
In a meet full
of
impressive
performances,
though,
sophomore
Reece Hughes’
stands
out
among the rest.
Wrestling above his weight,
Hughes needed only 1:18 to
earn six points and then pin
his opponent to earn a fall. The
Wolverines’ score subsequently
vaulted
to
a
seemingly
insurmountable 23-9 margin.
“When you’re going up (in
weight), the pace tends to be a
little bit slower, so I can keep the
pace higher for longer,” Hughes
said. “Usually with bumping up,
like I’ve done a few times this
year, I have to wear down the
dude a little bit more, but this
time I got in, I got a smooth shot,
and I could finish quick, and
then just went to work on top.”
Redshirt
freshman
Jelani
Embree and redshirt junior
Jackson Striggow closed out
the dual with a major decision
and a decision, respectively.
The four consecutive victories
— including two major decisions
and a pin — to finish the dual
meet was a dominant end to
a dominant performance by
Michigan.
“We were a little concerned
coming off two weekends —
really big opponents, really big
arenas — that guys might not
have their intensity as high as
they need it (today),” said coach
Sean Bormet. “So we talked
about that during the week and
I think overall they did a good
job and responded really well.”
OWEN SWANSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Redshirt junior Stevan Micic wrestled to a 10-4 decision this weekend.
...they did a
good job and
responded
really well.
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Freshman guard Amy Dilk remains day-to-day after injuring her right knee.
She has a knee
injury and she’s
day-to-day
right now.
Wolverines face questions on offense
On Tuesday, the No. 17
Michigan softball team spent
most of practice doing one drill:
batting with the bases loaded.
The Wolverines’ struggled
against
the
nation’s
elite,
putting up a total of one run
against then-No. 5 Florida and
then-No. 7 Arizona while failing
to drive baserunners home for
much of the weekend.
“The only question we asked
them after the Florida game
was, ‘What do you think people
say when they watch you play?’
” said Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins. “One of the words
that came out of everybody’s
mouth was timid. Well, timid
is not really a good quality, you
know, in a playing surface.”
Added freshman outfielder
Lexie Blair, “I feel like our first
few games we were a bit tense
up at the plate. We were just
trying too hard, we’re thinking
too much. And then I would
say after the Florida game, our
coach was just telling us to not
think, swing with intent. We’ve
been playing for such a long
time, we know what we’re doing
when we go out into the box.”
By its last two games, the
Wolverines’ offense broke out
of its cage, lighting up South
Florida and Illinois State for 10
and 11 runs, respectively. But
this resurgence very well could
have been the result of playing
unranked competition.
“(Playing against top-ranked
teams) is something you can’t
let get to your head,” said junior
outfielder Haley Hoogenraad.
“And I think, personally, it did
at times, but I caught myself.”
But if Michigan has any
hopes of being one of the best
teams in the nation, it will need
to replicate those performing
against the likes of Florida and
Arizona.
Opening weekend also raised
some positional questions for
Hutchins, who still isn’t sure
what to expect and who to rely
on offensively.
One
of
those
glaring
questions is who will play first
base as the season progresses.
Sophomore
Taylor
Bump
started the first three games
before senior Alex Sobczak got
the nod against South Florida
and Illinois State, but neither
seemed to outperform the other
at the plate. Hutchins, though,
wants answers now, which
means she will continue to
experiment until she finds the
perfect fit.
“First
base
is
a
hitting
position, we all know, but you
gotta be able to take care of the
defense,” Hutchins said. “We
gotta find a place for our best
hitters. And first of all, I gotta
figure out who the best hitters
are.”
With
the
Big
Ten/ACC
challenge
coming
up
and
more
top-10
nonconference
opponents
to
follow,
the
Wolverines
will
continue
to
be
challenged.
And
if
performances like those against
Arizona and Florida occur again
– when the lineup struggled to
produce offense – it could raise
bigger concerns for Michigan.
Chief
among
those
is
whether the team has enough
power to hang with the best of
the best. With senior catcher
Katie Alexander hitting the
only Wolverine home runs this
past weekend, Hutchins hopes
to find that power throughout
the rest of the lineup. This
could possibly mean playing
one of the catchers at first base
or Hutchins could try freshman
infielder Morgan Overaitis who
went 3-for-9 with three RBIs as
a designated hitter.
For now, though, she’ll just
have to wait and watch.
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins lamented her team’s offensive inconsistency in the season-opening series.
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
Daily Sports Writer