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Sports
Thursday, February 21, 2019 — 5A
The keys to Wolverines’ win streak
It’s hard to believe that,
just four short weeks ago, the
Michigan women’s basketball
team suffered a loss to Michigan
State that put its tournament
hopes on life support. Just two
weeks later, freshman point
guard Amy Dilk went down
with an ankle injury, and the
Wolverines’ slim odds became
even slimmer on paper.
But, just as they have shown
time
and
time
again
this
season, Michigan has found
a way to win. On the heels
of six straight victories, the
Wolverines finds themselves in
the mix of the Big Ten and the
NCAA Tournament picture.
While senior forward Hallie
Thome
grabbed
headlines
on Sunday after scoring the
2,000th point of her Michigan
career, junior forward Kayla
Robbins was the night’s true
star. The sophomore forward
scored a career-high 15 points
and hauled in five rebounds in
just thirteen minutes of action
against Illinois.
“We knew it was a matter of
time,” head coach Kim Barnes
Arico said in an interview with
MGoBlueTV. “She’s been a
difference-maker for us.”
Robbins’ performance is just
one of the many examples of
different Wolverines stepping
up on a nightly basis.
After the win against the
Illini, Barnes Arico called the
victory “an incredible team
effort.” While this was evident
in Sunday’s triumph, it’s a
quote that could truly be pulled
from just about any game that
the team has played over its
recent
hot
streak.
Despite
being hampered by injuries
and by fielding an extremely
young roster, every player has
recognized their role and filled
it perfectly.
Perhaps the two players
shouldering the biggest load
are junior forward Akienreh
Johnson and senior forward
Nicole
Munger,
who
have
split the team’s point guard
reps since Dilk was sidelined.
The two have helped the
offense
play
efficient
and,
more importantly, relatively
turnover-free basketball.
While
the
team
has
improved
drastically
over
the course of the season, it
feels as if it is continuing to
make progress every game.
Especially with a young group,
more game experience has
sharpened the play of young
stars like freshman forward
Naz
Hillmon.
Sophomore
guard
Deja
Church
has
improved drastically on drives
to the rim as well as on the
defensive end, and Johnson
and Robbins have contributed
too,
making
tremendous
strides in their recent extended
action. Elsewhere, the veteran
leadership
of
Munger
and
Thome have helped to stabilize
the offense as well as helping
to guide the team through
the Big Ten gauntlet that they
have become all too familiar
with over the course of their
four years with the program.
Simply put, this is a team that’s
getting hot at the perfect time,
and Barnes Arico believes that,
once healthy, the best is yet to
come for her squad.
“One of the exciting things
about our team is that we’re
continuing to get better,” she
said.
Bakich points to depth as key to
Michigan baseball’s early success
With a runner on third, the
Michigan baseball team was
deadlocked with Binghamton
4-4 in the eighth inning.
That didn’t last long.
Sophomore
shortstop
Jack
Blomgren took the pitch and
smashed a single up the middle
to send senior infielder Blake
Nelson home — giving his team
the lead for good.
The Wolverines swept their
opening weekend series against
Binghamton and the unlikely
heroes were in the bottom of
their lineup.
“The
guy
(Blomgren)
statistically who had the best
weekend hit in our nine hole,”
said Michigan coach Erik Bakich.
“That’s just a credit to the really
good hitters that we have on
our team. What’s nice is that if
somebody doesn’t have a great
day then he can be picked up by
someone else.”
Blomgren is part of a talented
sophomore class that is expected
to carry the load for Michigan
this season. Bakich and his
coaching staff seem to have found
the right combination of players
in their lineup as compared to a
year ago which was overly reliant
on the top of the batting order.
“In
our
5-4
win
(over
Binghamton) on Saturday, I
think the top of our lineup was
like 0-for-15 and the bottom of
our lineup carried us,” Bakich
said. “But the day before, in the
10-0 win, the top of our lineup
had a great day and guys were
smashing the ball all over the
place. So it’s nice to have that
balance, it’s nice to have multiple
threats in the top, in the middle
and in the bottom of the order.
From a coaching standpoint,
that’s the lineup we try to
construct as you enter a season.”
In order for Michigan to be
consistent this season, their role
players will need to be prepared
to step up.
Nelson also was instrumental
in the second win, going 2-for-4
with two runs-batted-in from the
eighth spot. In the Wolverines’
first win, Blomgren shined again,
going 3-for-4 with two RBIs
while sophomore catcher Joe
Donovan contributed with two
hits and three RBIs at the seven
spot.
For a team whose weakness
last year was hitting, the early
games are promising as Michigan
has scored 27 runs in just three
games.
“Yeah it’s an older lineup,
there’s not a freshman in the
starting lineup and what we
have is we have balance,” Bakich
said. “We have one through nine
guys that are threats either with
their speed, their power, or with
just their general hitting ability.
When you have a veteran lineup
like that, it’s tough to pitch to and
there’s no let-up.”
TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer
AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI
Daily Sports Writer
Amid struggles, Hutchins challenges upperclassmen to right the ship
Coach Carol Hutchins tells
each freshman the same thing
when they set foot on campus.
“Leave the program better
than you found it.”
When
the
current
upperclassmen first arrived in
Ann Arbor, there wasn’t much
to
improve.
Michigan
had
consistently been ranked in the
top-10 and was graced by the
presence of 2016 National Player
of the Year Sierra Romero.
It’s been three years now
since
Romero
graduated
—
the program has struggled to
reach such heights since. And
Hutchins thinks it’s incumbent
on the upperclassmen to help
bridge that gap.
Junior
Madison
Uden
is
one of those upperclassmen
Hutchins thought she’d be able
to count on.
After a breakout year when
she was second in batting
average for the Wolverines, the
third baseman was primed to
lead the team both on and off
the field. As one of the team’s
captains,
Uden
started
the
first weekend in the heart of
the lineup, batting somewhere
between
third
and
fifth.
Expected to drive in runs and
be one of the anchors on the
offensive side of the ball, Uden
has done the exact opposite.
Across nine games, Uden
has had a lackluster hitting
performance,
going
4-for-21
with one run-batted-in and no
extra-base hits — giving her a
spot in the dugout instead of the
lineup.
But Uden isn’t the only
upperclassman in a slump.
“To be honest, we’re all
kind of struggling,” said senior
second baseman Faith Canfield.
“But let me tell you, (Uden’s)
supporting the team the way she
needs to be. She’s all in, the way
she needs to be even if she’s not
starting.”
Canfield, who led the team in
batting average and doubles last
season, is yet to have an extra-
base hit this season. On top of
that, senior outfielder Natalie
Peters is a mundane 5-for-22
in the box while senior first
baseman Alex Sobczak has hit
her way out of the starting first
base position, batting .125 in
five games.
“You know you have to
rely
on
the
experience
of
your
upperclassmen
because
the
underclassmen
have
to
learn how to handle this pace
and intensity of the game,”
Hutchins
said.
“I’d
like
a
little more certainty from our
upperclassmen. They know not
only what this field battle is
about but they understand how
to play at this level.
“We need them to walk on
the field every day, and I’d like
everybody on our team to walk
on the field, with authority and
we’ve been a little uncertain
and it shows.”
The lack of veteran leadership
isn’t just limited to the hitting
positions, however. Sophomore
left-hander
—
and
most
experienced pitcher — Meghan
Beaubien has had her fair share
of struggles as well.
After
bursting
onto
the
collegiate scene with an earned
run average of 1.16, an atrocious
performance in Chapel Hill this
past weekend has her ERA at a
3.00 with only one win on the
year.
One veteran, however, that
has been piling up the box
score is senior catcher Katie
Alexander. After just five home
runs in her junior season,
Alexander has three thus far.
More importantly, Alexander
is molding into the leader
Hutchins wants to see out of her
experienced players.
“On the field, (Alexander) is
a beast,” Hutchins said. “She’s
been in a stalwart for us, I’ve
been really pleased. I really
liked her best probably this past
Sunday because she was mad.
“She’s one of the nicest
people you’ll ever meet. She’s a
great teammate, her teammates
love her. She’s a nice kid. But on
the field, she wants to beat you.
And that’s the kind of kid I want
on the field.”
Right now, Michigan has no
reason to panic. There are at
least 47 games – if not more –
for the team to turn it around.
The veterans know that. And
if there’s any chance for the
leaders of this team to leave the
program better than they found
it, they all know it’s going to
start with them.
Time is ticking.
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
Daily Sports Writer
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Junior guard Akienreh Johnson split the point guard reps with Nicole Munger after Amy Dilk went down with an injury.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior infielder Madison Uden is being counted on this season both on the
field and as an upperclassman leader.
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Sophomore shortstop Jack Blomgren had the best statistical weekend of anyone, batting out of the ninth spot.
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©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
02/21/19
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
02/21/19
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Thursday, February 21, 2019
ACROSS
1 ’90s-’00s
Olympic soccer
notable
5 Literary captain
9 Leaks slowly
14 Burn soother
15 Zippo
16 Computer text
code
17 They’re not loyal
18 Unyielding
20 Golfing group
22 Base for money
23 Swallowed
24 “Harry Potter”
reporter __
Skeeter
25 Not much
27 Anthem
contraction
29 Blue, on the
Danube
31 Noir hero
32 Lose oomph
34 Movie SFX
35 Purim heroine
39 Centers of
attention
40 What unfixed
malfunctions
usually do
42 Flight-related
prefix
43 “Burnt” color
45 Coastal bird
46 Sound of an
angry exit
47 LSU conference
48 Chicago-style
pizza chain,
informally
50 Education org.
51 Started, as a
conversation
55 Car dealer’s abbr.
57 Acct. that may be
rolled over
58 Half a numbers
game
59 Seattle pro
62 Going back, in
a way
65 Arch type
66 Often harmful
bacteria
67 Basmati, for one
68 “What, will these
hands __ be
clean?”: Lady
Macbeth
69 Thick
70 “Futurama”
creator Groening
71 “Baseball
Tonight” channel
DOWN
1 Roxie __,
“Chicago” role
2 “There oughta
be __”
3 Grand Prix, for
one
4 Soccer superstar
Lionel
5 Edible elephant,
say
6 Fabled also-ran
7 Hubbub
8 Xhosa’s
language group
9 French holy
women
10 Bilingual subj.
11 Grand display
12 Mary-in-mourning
sculpture
13 Agreed (with)
19 Skillet dish with
ham and peppers
21 Wagering
shorthand
25 Supercharge, and
a hint to what’s
literally hiding in
the four longest
Down answers
26 Take the role of
27 Does in
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30 Memorable time
33 Infomercial brand
36 FAQ spots
37 Q.E.D. word
38 Type of tomato
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44 Suit go-with
49 Fed. benefits
agency
51 Located
52 Jiffy
53 Hispanic penguin
in “Happy Feet”
54 Render harmless
56 Lake Geneva
river
59 Religious
offshoot
60 Bawl
61 “Ol’ Man River”
composer
63 Raised trains
64 Through
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