The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, February 14, 2019 — 7A
Matthews provides blueprint for
Michigan to get back on track
Charles
Matthews
stood
outside the away locker room
at the Bryce Jordan Center,
surrounded by a swarm of
reporters. Coming off a Big
Ten
career-high
24-point
performance — a continuation
of the redshirt junior’s most
impressive stretch in months —
it was a logical scene.
This time, though, Matthews’
showing came with the caveat
that Michigan had just fallen
75-69 to the conference’s hapless
doormat. So, amidst a run of
games
in
which
Matthews
has shown glimpses of what
the Wolverines have always
envisioned he could be, his
postgame comments carried a
decisively not-celebratory tone.
“All of y’all flattered by scoring
points, that shit don’t matter.”
It’s a continuation of a theme
for Matthews. After a loss, he
doesn’t want to hear about the
positives. After a win — like
when his buzzer-beater helped
Michigan past Minnesota three
weeks ago — he rarely wants to
hear about the negatives.
“I’m not a huge fan of the
slogan ‘ugly wins,’ ” Matthews
said after that game. “I just
feel like you’re going against
good teams and you can’t blow
everybody out. I feel like if you
can survive these ones, these are
quality wins. You’ve got to be
able to gut them out.”
The
problem
for
the
Wolverines on Tuesday is that
they were never in a position
to “gut out” a win. They went
down eight just six minutes in, a
deficit that became 16 with three
technical free throws to start
the second half. Winning would
have required a miracle.
That miracle, though, almost
came
early
in
the
second
period. With 15:32 to play, the
shot clock winding down and
Michigan’s
hopes
dwindling
with it, sophomore forward
Isaiah Livers buried a three to
pull the Wolverines within 12.
Seven minutes later, after a pair
of Matthews free throws, that
deficit was down to four. For
a moment, it seemed that the
Nittany Lions’ luck had run out,
that Michigan’s superiority had
finally taken over.
Then,
Michigan
returned
to the poor shot selection, bad
rebounding and spotty defense
that had doomed it in the first
24 minutes. Just as soon as the
Wolverines had cut the deficit to
four, it was back to double digits,
cementing their worst loss in
over a year.
“We came back and fought,
Saddi (Washington) did a hell of
a job coaching,” Matthews said of
the assistant coach who replaced
Michigan coach John Beilein
after his half-time ejection. “But
the game was lost in the first
half.”
Matthews’ assertion, though,
is a simplification. As poorly as
the Wolverines played in the
first half, the game was not over.
The game, it turned out, was
only over when Michigan went
back to the habits that put it
down 16 in the first place. After a
fleeting stretch of playing smart
basketball — getting into the
paint and to the free throw line
— the Wolverines began forcing
up contested threes and playing
the style of isolation basketball
that would have sent Beilein
into a fury were he still on the
sideline.
But as his team capitulated,
Matthews remained Michigan’s
one constant, nailing a jabstep
three and a pair of free throws
while his teammates went more
than 11 minutes without scoring.
For Matthews, it was a repeat
of Saturday against Wisconsin,
when he scored 14 of Michigan’s
last 23 points en route to a 61-52
win.
“It was good. He wants to
win,” Beilein said. “There’s a
sense of urgency with Charles.
He wants to have a great year this
year, and he’s working like crazy.
I love the way he’s trending right
now.”
Matthews’ take?
“We lost, it don’t matter.”
Because as well as he has
played, his team has reached its
collective worst in a season that
has included far more highs than
lows. And for Matthews — likely
in his last season at Michigan —
to reach the heights he imagined
when he transferred here, his
teammates
need
rediscover
those highs.
“Time
is
running
short,”
Matthews said. “It ain’t no more,
‘We’ll fix it later.’ Time is now.”
After wake-up call, Pastujov
reemerging as contributor
There are few things that
resonate more with an athlete
than being benched.
It is a cut and dried message,
forcing the player to do some
self-reflecting while becoming
an observer to the game. And it
is one that Michigan coach Mel
Pearson recently
delivered
to
sophomore
forward Michael
Pastujov.
Pastujov
got
off to a quick
start this season,
recording
three
points
through
the
first four games.
He
started
the
season
against
Vermont,
featured on the top line alongside
sophomore Josh Norris and junior
Will Lockwood — perhaps the
two most dynamic goal scorers on
the roster. Needless to say, he was
expected to be a key contributor
for the Michigan hockey team
throughout the year.
Then, from Oct. 7 to Dec. 1,
Pastujov recorded just one point,
missed three games due to injury,
was moved off the top line and
moved onto a line alongside his
brother, junior Nick Pastujov.
After that stretch, though, it
seemed that he turned a corner
when he rattled off a four-game
point streak heading into the
outdoor game on Jan. 5 against
Notre Dame.
But just six days later when the
team traveled to Columbus to face
off against Ohio State, Pastujov
did not appear in either game of
the series.
Pearson
was
asked
about
Pastujov’s status after the 4-2 loss
that Saturday.
“Yeah, he’s just a healthy
scratch,” Pearson said. “He’s got
to continue to work in practice and
work harder to be able to compete
in games like this. I know he can,
but he’s just got to have some self-
reflection on his game and where
he’s at and how hard he wants to
play.”
From the top line to the sideline
— Pearson gave the sophomore a
wake-up call in hopes of having
Pastujov perform to his fullest
potential.
He made his
return on Jan.
24 against Penn
State.
And
in
his
first
game
back on the ice,
a
reinvigorated
Pastujov
recorded an assist
in a 5-1 victory. In
the ensuing series
split
against
Minnesota,
he poured in three goals. He
followed up that weekend with
two goals against Michigan State,
contributing to the Wolverines’
first series sweep in Big Ten play.
“Pucks are finding me right
now,” Pastujov said after last
Friday’s 5-3 win against Michigan
State. “It feels good. It’s nice
when you’re playing with a guy
like (Jake) Slaker and Jimmy
(Lambert). It comes easy.”
Added Pearson: “We sat him
out a while ago. He came in and
we had a good talk with the staff
and Mike about what direction
his game was headed, and he
had to make some changes. First
and foremost, it just started
with nothing with the puck, it’s
just without it. Working harder.
Competing harder. Usually, when
you do that, things start to turn
your way, and I think that’s what
happened.
“He’s always been a skilled
player, but you have to have
more to your game than just
being skilled … He took that
conversation, he didn’t sulk, he
didn’t — he just went and started
playing better.”
It seems Pearson’s message
resonated with Pastujov. The
Wolverines can ill afford to have
the talented forward’s offensive
production disappear once more.
Pastujov’s point total is now up
to 14, and with only four games
separating Michigan from the Big
Ten tournament, his reemergence
is coming at the right time.
Calming nerves: upperclassmen
guide freshmen into program
Lexie Blair stepped to the
plate this weekend with nerves
running through her body. The
freshman outfielder had never
hit a regular season pitch for
Michigan. She’s never even seen
a regular season pitch.
She’s also gotten jitters before
most games in her long history
with the softball. But it didn’t
show. Blair left
Tampa, Fla. last
weekend
with
her first college
hits,
runs
and wins as a
Wolverine.
Blair emerged
statistically
as
an
offensive
leader
with
seven hits, four
runs and a .412
batting average on the weekend.
On top of Blair’s success at the
plate, the freshman also started
the
season
with
a
perfect
fielding percentage — a figure
that many of her teammates
share.
Blair
came
to
Michigan
talented,
ranked
the
No.
28
overall
2018
recruiting
prospect by FloSoftball, but her
seemingly fluid transition to
college softball also relied on
Michigan softball’s atmosphere,
also
a
staple
in
breakout
freshman
right-hander
Alex
Storako’s transition.
In her opening weekend,
Storako pitched 18 strikeouts
with a 1.13 WHIP.
“The
team
culture
is
electrifying,” Storako said. “Our
motto is respect Team 42, and I
think that is something not only
in
the
sports
world, but we
all bring it to the
classroom and to
everyday life.”
The
team’s
emphasis
on
supporting
younger athletes
off
the
field
isn’t just during
the
season.
Upperclassmen
moved freshmen into dorms in
the fall, starting to integrate
players as soon as they got to
Ann Arbor. That mentorship has
played a key role in developing
effective communication on the
field with freshmen starters.
Even with that tight-knit
atmosphere,
though,
the
transition in terms of level of
play isn’t easy. Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins — bringing in
her 35th class of freshmen this
season — thinks that the best
way to build confidence after
transitioning to college play is to
challenge freshmen in practice.
“I think the best thing that
they can take confidence in is
when they work really hard and
we give them really hard tasks
and then they take care of the
task,” Hutchins said. “Today
we did a bases loaded drill for
the hitters. It’s a really hard
drill because they’re judged
on if they really went for it, if
you swung hard at the ball and
attack the ball, and that’s a hard
drill, but the more they do it the
better they’ll get.”
And they have. Both Storako
and Blair, despite room to
improve, seem poised to play
significant time going forward.
They expect to learn from
upperclassmen as the season
goes on.
As far as nerves go, Blair may
still worry before at-bats, but if
anything could calm her nerves,
this weekend was it.
“Of course, I’m nervous for
every game, but I tell myself this
is my thousandth time at bat, so
be free and just let your hands
do the work,” Blair said. “I was
comfortable out there.”
Expect ‘M’ to come out swinging
Ako Thomas walks up to
the plate. The senior infielder
pauses as he tightens his
batting gloves. He steps into
the batter’s box, sinking into
a shallow crouch. He drags his
bat through the dirt, tapping
it against the plate, before
swinging it over his shoulder.
There’s
a
tense
moment
brimming with expectation.
Thomas
readjusts
his
grip
on the bat; it twitches on his
shoulder. The pitcher turns the
ball in his hand, takes a deep
breath and then – finally –
releases it.
Thomas’
reaction
is
instantaneous. The bat leaves
Thomas’ shoulder, upright in
the air for a split second as
his left foot kicks up. Then,
moments later, the bat comes
whistling through the air as
Thomas sends all his pent-up
energy towards the baseball
hurtling at him.
The crack of the ball meeting
bat echoes through the air.
The ball goes flying.
This is a typical at-bat for
Thomas, one of Michigan’s
biggest
offensive
threats.
He hit leadoff in both 2017
and
2018,
and
will
very
likely
be
an
instrumental
part of Michigan’s offensive
performance
this
season.
In
2017,
Thomas
led
the
Wolverines in batting average
at .354 and on-base percentage
at .462 and had the team’s
second-best OPS at .858.
The
Michigan
baseball
team’s offense had a prolific
season last year – averaging 6.2
runs a game – and they don’t
show any signs of slowing down
this year. The Wolverines’
returning hitters, now a year
stronger, will look to fill out
what will be a dangerous lineup
for opposing pitchers to stare
down. An offseason of training
has only made
Michigan’s
bats
more
dangerous.
“We have a
lot of individual
hitters that did
a
very
good
job of adding
some
size,
some strength
and
some
explosiveness
in the weight
room, and that has translated
with more bat speed and
exit
velocity
amongst
our
hitters,” said Michigan coach
Erik Bakich. “I see a group of
kids who’ve gotten stronger,
who’ve become more physical,
so I would like to think we’re
capable of hitting for more
power this year.”
Among
the
Wolverines’
most
potentially
dangerous
batters is junior outfielder
Dominic Clementi, who hit
.409 his freshman season, and
led the team last year with
a .368 average. Though his
average dropped sophomore
year, partly due to an increase
in playing time – he went
from playing in 18 games as
a freshman to 44 games as
a sophomore – his slugging
percentage
went
up
from
.409 to .574 between seasons.
Now another year stronger,
Clementi is an intimidating
prospect for any pitcher.
Also
looking
to
have
a
productive season of at-bats
is
Jordan
Brewer.
The
junior outfielder is a recent
transfer
from
Lincoln
Trail
Community
College
in
Robinson,
Ill.,
and hit for an
average of .368
over
his
two
years playing for
the
Statesmen.
He throws left-
handed and hits
right-handed,
and
Bakich
called him one of the team’s
“most explosive athletes” and a
“very dynamic player.”
The nine months of offseason
training have brought back a
team that looks to hit the ball
even harder this year. Many
returning players who have
not been particularly powerful
hitters in past seasons could be
serious threats at the plate in
2019.
One such player is senior
utility infielder Jimmy Kerr,
who
will
likely
start
the
season at either first or third
this year. After a productive
offseason, Kerr will look to
put out numbers close to the
.375 average he put up in his
freshman
year
after
down
years the last two seasons.
“He’s put on a lot of size,
a lot of strength and a lot of
explosiveness,” Bakich said.
“He’s hitting the ball with a lot
of juice in the bat, so it’s really
good to see.”
With Thomas returning to
the top of the order, strength
from players like Clementi and
Brewer adding power in the
middle of the lineup and added
sparks from hitters like Kerr,
Michigan will be putting an
intimidating group of hitters
up to bat in 2019.
Opposing pitchers beware.
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
JORGE CAZARES
Daily Sports Writer
LILY FRIEDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Sophomore forward Mike Pastujov has regained a prominent role recently.
He’s got to
continue
to work in
practice...
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Redshirt junior wing Charles Matthews scored 24 points in Tuesday’s loss.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins takes pride in a program that welcomes freshmen into the team immediately.
...but the more
they do it the
better they’ll
get.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Senior infielder Ako Thomas led the team in batting average last season.
...we’re capable
of hitting for
more power
this year.