The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, March 26, 2019 — 7
W
hen Alex Sobczak
launched a three-run
blast in the Wolver-
ines’ home-opener, the senior first
baseman
exchanged
words with
Michigan
softball
coach Carol
Hutchins
while round-
ing third base.
“It’s about
time you
swung,”
Hutchins
recalled telling her as she trotted
home. “With runners on base in
that RBI spot, we want to put the
bat on the ball.”
Through the first month of
the season, the Wolverines have
searched every nook and cranny of
the country for such swings.
Despite their efforts from
Tampa, Fla. to Tempe, Ariz, Michi-
gan returned from each road trip
without a season-altering revela-
tion at the plate. With multiple
slap-hitters in the lineup, the team
primarily relied on small ball to
manufacture runs in its five weeks
away from Ann Arbor.
For much of those five weeks,
power was hard to come by. Home
runs came few and far between —
in 22 games, the team slugged just
seven.
But when Michigan took the
diamond at Alumni Field last week,
the switch flipped. In the seven
home games since, the Wolverines
have launched 12 long balls en
route to seven consecutive victo-
ries. With Michigan’s newfound
power, those margins were no
coincidence.
Senior second baseman Faith
Canfield homered off the left-field
flagpole in the team’s first home at-
bat, paving the way for her team-
mates to follow. Since Canfield’s
long ball, each one of the team’s
regulars — with the exception of
slap-hitting sophomore shortstop
Natalia Rodriguez — has gone
yard.
Yes, the influx of home runs
has come against weaker pitching
staffs than the Wolverines saw
in their previous non-conference
slate. But the fact that eight of
Hutchins’ regulars flexed pop in
their bat over a stretch of just seven
games suggests it isn’t a fluke.
“(Home runs) mean we’re
swinging with better confidence,”
Hutchins said. “If there’s anything
that’s improved, it’s our presence
and our confidence. We’ve been a
talented team all along, but now
we’re playing with the confidence
we need.”
This may be a hot streak, but
it could be a permanent change.
Michigan has added a new dimen-
sion to its offense. The team’s
recent slugging torrid is rooted in a
roster-wide mindset change at the
plate, not a dozen fly balls that just
caught a gust of wind. Hutchins
has said such things, mind you.
In 2017 and 2018, the Wolver-
ines also had power surges that
looked sustainable — only to fade
away in the heat of the schedule.
Since the graduation of Sierra
Romero and Sierra Lawrence in
2016, power hitting has seemingly
eluded the program’s offensive
arsenal. The duo combined for 30
home runs that season, but only
one player has recorded more than
nine in a season since.
As a team, Michigan amassed
84 home runs in 2016. In the two
seasons since, their respective
totals of 44 and 54 have fallen well
short. Entering last week’s homes-
tand, this year’s group was on pace
for just 23 homers.
“Obviously when Sierra Romero
and Sierra Lawrence stepped out,
we became more of a consistency
team than a power hitting team,”
junior third baseman Madison
Uden told The Daily at a preseason
media availability on Feb. 5. “We’re
not so much of a power hitting
team, but who says you can’t get
the job done with consistency?”
That approach didn’t work, to
say the least, mostly because the
Wolverines struggled to achieve
consistency. They mustered a lack-
luster 3.59 runs per game in their
22 road contests — including an
uninspiring 16 total runs in eight
games against ranked opponents —
before last week’s turnaround.
After a two-year hiatus from
mashing long balls, Michigan has
returned to its old ways. The same
old ways propelled it to a No. 2
national ranking. The same old
ways made Romero the clear-cut
favorite for National Player of the
Year honors in 2016. The same old
ways made the program an annual
staple in the Women’s College
World Series.
This year’s Big Ten race is shap-
ing up to be the tightest in recent
memory. Indiana, Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Northwestern all
pose formidable threats to the
Wolverines, who have won 10 of
the last 11 regular season titles.
With three conference foes ranked
ahead of them in the national poll,
adding another championship to
that historic run looks like it may
be an uphill battle.
But after seeing the team’s rein-
vigorated approach at the plate,
Michigan has itself an offensive
revival, consistent pitching and
coaching brain trust — a trio of
advantages that could make that
climb manageable.
If this team was going to have
a kryptonite, it was going to be its
lack of power on offense. But after
watching the Wolverines plate
an astronomical 64 runs in seven
games, one thing has become cer-
tain: Michigan’s key to winning
the conference once again lies in
its power, something the rest of the
nation thought it left in the past.
“I love home runs,” Hutchins
said. “They’re like a 3-point shot
in basketball — it’s a nice thing to
have in your back pocket.”
It was about time Sobczak and
her teammates swung as such.
Dash can be reached on
Twitter at @danieldash428 or by
email at dashdan@umich.edu.
Nemitz solidifies her presence
Mackenzie Nemitz started
her birthday well.
Walking up to the booming
guitar
solo
from
Queen’s
“Bohemian
Rhapsody”
with
the momentum of her team’s
4-0
home-field
lead behind her
Sunday, Nemitz
started
her
at-bat by taking
two high balls.
She
stepped
back, readjusted
her
grip
and
lifted her bat for
the third time.
A moment went
by. And then the
pitch.
Nemitz struck the ball, and it
flew.
It was the senior infielder’s
second
home
run
of
her
Michigan career.
The afternoon before, on
Michigan softball’s “Mackenzie
Nemitz Day,” Nemitz hit a
soaring home run past the right
field wall at Alumni Field. The
blast, with an RBI groundout
single in the fourth inning,
topped Nemitz’s total statistical
performance at the plate this
season. But it meant more than
that.
“I was wrapping third and
I was like, ‘Please don’t wake
up,’ ” Nemitz said. “As I was
rounding third and running to
my teammates, I was thinking,
‘This is real.’ So it just felt
awesome.”
Where other
seniors’
might
be,
Nemitz’s
presence at the
plate
wasn’t
long-cemented.
Nemitz had only
played
in
six
games
before
this
season.
But now, with
16
starts
this
season, she has
secured a place in the hitting
order as a regular for the
Wolverines.
Starting
regularly
at
designated player, Nemitz has
grown into embracing her role
and hitting consistently, despite
the
difficulty
that
playing
designated player and waiting
long periods of time between
at-bats presents.
“It was a position that was
open and up for grabs, and she
grabbed it,” said Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins. “(She) really
has just hung in there through
her career and has gotten this
opportunity. It’s been fun to
watch.”
That moment of euphoria,
running home to popsicle stick
Mackenzie heads waving in the
stands and beaming teammates
meeting her at home plate,
exemplified the work ethic and
commitment that the Michigan
softball program rewards.
“She’s always been a great
teammate and worked hard, and
it’s just great that she’s taking
advantage of that opportunity,”
Hutchins said. “The toughest
kids of all have come from the
wings. …They didn’t get their
heads down or their nose bent
out of shape. They didn’t start
blaming or get sour. They just
kept working and trying to help
the team win, and those are the
kinds of kids that you love to
coach, and those are the kids
who keep you coaching for 35
years.
“A lot of people have to work
their way up. And (Mackenzie)
has really worked her way up.”
Yesterday’s
ecstatic
atmosphere as she ran into home
plate certainly showed that.
So happy birthday, Mackenzie
Nemitz. Yesterday you gave
yourself one hell of a gift.
Wolverines place fifth at NCAAs
Going
into
Saturday
morning, Michigan wrestling
needed a strong day.
After aiming to win their
respective divisions, only three
of the eight Michigan wrestlers
at nationals advanced to the
quarterfinals.
Those
three
wrestlers — fifth-year senior
Alex Pantaleo, redshirt junior
Stevan
Micic
and
redshirt
junior Myles Amine — were
all two-time All Americans,
all in their third quarterfinal
appearances
at
the
NCAA
Tournament and all looking to
push the Wolverines to a top-
five team finish.
And that they did.
The
Michigan
wrestling
team placed fifth in the NCAA
Championship this weekend,
with
third
place
finishes
and All-American honors for
Pantaleo, Micic and Amine in
the 157-, 133- and 174-pound
weight classes,
respectively.
Despite
disappointing
outcomes
for
several
wrestlers,
including
heavyweight
freshman
Mason
Parris,
the Wolverines’
performances
secured a team finish on par
with the No. 5 ranking the team
sustained throughout the dual
meet season.
Thursday’s rounds proved
tough for Michigan, with losses
in multiple weight classes. At
heavyweight, Parris lost in
the first round to Iowa’s Sam
Stoll. Sophomore Drew Mattin,
redshirt
sophomore
Kanen
Storr and redshirt junior Logan
Massa also sustained defeats
early in the second round in
the 125, 141 and 165 divisions,
respectively. Parris’ loss in
particular marked a premature
end to the season considering
his breakout performance after
burning his redshirt earlier in
the season.
“He
had
a
tremendous
freshman year and out of the
eight All-Americans, he beat
four of them this year,” said
Michigan coach Sean Bormet.
“He fell a little short first round
but he had a great run in the
wrestlebacks and scored a lot of
points for the team in the blood
round. But he really wrestled
really hard.”
Despite
early
losses,
all
four contributed to the team
score with their
regular
bracket
performances
and wins in the
wrestleback
rounds.
Even
with
those
early
letdowns,
with
fifth-year
Malik
Amine’s
1-2
elimination
from contention
in consolations,
Pantaleo,
Micic
and
Myles
Amine found success in early
rounds of the tournament.
In the first two rounds of
the
tournament,
Pantaleo
defeated Buffalo’s Alex Smythe
in a major decision and Army’s
Luke Weiland, 5-3. In similar
fashion, Micic plowed through
Stanford’s Mason Pengilly, 18-7,
and Purdue’s Ben Thornton,
11-2, and Amine beat Rutgers’
Joe Grello and Navy’s Spencer
Cary in a 12-3 major decision.
“They
competed
with
everything they had and did a
tremendous job battling their
way to a third place finish,”
Bormet said.
Entering
Friday
morning
with those wins under their
belt,
the
three
Wolverines
advancing to the quarterfinals
all lost in that round. While
Amine
defeated
Lehigh’s
Jordan
Kutler
before
his
eventual loss to No. 1 seed
Mark Hall of Penn State, Micic
and Pantaleo both lost in the
first match of the quarterfinal
round. All three moved into
the third place consolation
round on Saturday to finish the
weekend.
“It was a really tough round
on Friday night and Stevan,
Miles and Alec’s goals were to
be NCAA champions, so they
were disappointed on Friday
night,” Bormet said. “But we
had a brief team meeting and we
talked about the opportunities
that were still in front of them
on Saturday and how important
it was to them to dig deep and
put their best performance on
the mat for Michigan, our fans,
our alumni, their high school
programs and their families.
“They dug deep and did a
great job.”
In a 6-0 bout Saturday,
Amine, Pantaleo and Micic
all won both their respective
matches and the third place
title.
Those
places,
with
wrestleback wins, earned the
team 62.5 points, just enough
to edge out Missouri — which
finished with 62 points — for
fifth place.
“We had many ups and
downs, but I was really proud
of the strong finish we had on
Saturday to produce three third
place All-Americans and finish
fifth as a team,” Bormet said. “I
feel good about our season.”
‘M’ tops Niagara, 16-5
The small, yellow ball soared
from stick to stick as senior
Bronwyn
Shields
connected
with her teammate, who sent
that small, yellow ball to the
back of the net.
The horn sounded, the crowd
cheered and the two embraced as
the Michigan women’s lacrosse
team increased its lead to 10.
More importantly, however,
was the emotion from freshman
Caroline Cullinan, who had just
scored her second career goal
with the Wolverines. She didn’t
see the field for the Dartmouth
game that went into double
overtime on Feb. 17, or for either
Big Ten matchup
—
arguably
Michigan’s
three
biggest
games
of
the
year.
But
she
had just put her
team back into
a 10-goal lead
as the clock ran
down with 4:43
left to play.
The support,
the cheers, the emphatic goal all
served as a big reminder.
This is why you play.
With the help of Cullinan’s
goal — in addition to goals
from senior Adriana Pendino,
freshman Erin Garvey, juniors
Catherine
Granito,
Molly
Garrett, Lilly Grass and Nadine
Stewart and hat tricks from
sophomores
Erin
Daly
and
Maggie
Kane
—
Michigan
topped Niagara (3-6), 16-5.
The
Wolverines
held
a
convincing lead through the
whole game with the help of
key saves from within the net,
despite numerous fouls and
yellow cards. As the Purple
Eagles scored three goals within
the last 20 minutes of play to push
itself out from the running clock
rule, Michigan’s defense upped
the ante and the Wolverines
scored three statement goals to
close out the game.
The
eighth-ranked
Wolverines improved to 12-0 on
the season, growing the nation’s
longest winning streak of 14,
dating back to Apr. 21.
Michigan is one of three
Division I teams that remain
unbeaten, which puts them in
the company of No. 1 Boston and
No. 2 Maryland. As a new varsity
sport, only in its sixth season,
Michigan women’s lacrosse is
now on the map and a force to be
reckoned with.
“Winning
talks,”
said
Michigan
coach
Hannah
Nielsen.
“Winning
gets
attention. Obviously being 12-0,
I think it’s the best record in the
country
right
now, and I think
that says enough.
This is obviously
the best season
we’ve
had,
and people are
paying attention
to that.”
The
Wolverines
led, 6-0, just 10
minutes
into
the game and finished the half
up 9-1. This allowed for players
who don’t usually see as much
playing time, like Cullinan, or
sophomore goalkeeper Arielle
Weissman, to see the field and let
their hard work come to fruition.
“I think that those same
players are the players that
either push us in practice as
starters playing the scout team,
or just they’re competing with
us and pushing us to do our best
each and every day,” said senior
starting goalkeeper Mira Shane.
“So, to see them out on the field,
you know, that’s the reason why
you play. I think sports are great,
but in the long run … for them
to get time, and to have fun,
and to get to play the game that
we all love, I don’t think there’s
anything better than that.
“Except winning, of course.”
SHIRA ZISHOLTZ
Daily Sports Writer
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
DANIEL
DASH
ALEC COHEN/Daily
The Michigan softball team has hit for more power since returning to Alumni Field, a departure from the norm.
More than just a power surge
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior infielder Mackenzie Nemitz hit the second home run of her career on Sunday, “Mackenzie Nemitz Day.”
LILY FRIEDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
I was wrapping
third ... like,
‘Please don’t
wake up.’
LILY FRIEDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
To see them
... that’s the
reason why you
play.
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
The Michigan wrestling team placed fifth at the NCAA Championships.
They
competed with
everything they
had.