PLANET IN PERIL
Averting Climate Catastrophe
Through Law and Social Change
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND
POLICY PROGRAM CONFERENCE
For a complete conference schedule, visit
law.umich.edu/elpp
Co-Sponsored by the Environmental Law Society and the
Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law
April 11-12, 2019
Jeffries Hall 1225
University of Michigan Law School
The stadium was silent.
There were three balls, two
strikes and two outs in the bottom
of the seventh. Indiana clung to a
narrow 6-5 lead.
Senior
designated
player
Mackenzie Nemitz stood at the
plate, one pitch away from a
comeback win or a letdown loss to
end a long series against Indiana.
One crack of a bat and the game
ended. Wrapping up the weekend
sweep over a strong Hoosiers
team, the senior swatted a double
into right field, and the stadium
erupted.
“We had to get it done,”
said senior first baseman Alex
Sobczak. “There’s nothing else to
it. The scoreboard read that they
were two ahead and we had to get
it done to get people around.”
Going into the bottom of the
seventh inning, Michigan had
trailed for the first time in 14
games since starting the home
season at Alumni Field. The
Wolverines faced a two-run deficit
with three outs to solve it. And the
senior class lead the charge.
Down by two runs with an
early out on sophomore Natalia
Rodriguez’s popup to center field,
senior second baseman Faith
Canfield entered the batter’s box.
In her three previous at-bats
Sunday against No. 3 right-hander
Emily Goodin, Canfield didn’t
tally a hit.
But she needed one in the
seventh inning, and she got it.
On the second pitch of the at-bat,
Canfield hit a home run to center
field that shrunk the gap to one run.
Now down 7-6, senior outfielder
Natalie Peters hit a double to keep
the Wolverines’ hopes alive before
Goodin
intentionally
walked
Sobczak, who had hit a home run
against the pitcher earlier in the
contest.
And then Nemitz stepped up.
She hadn’t reached base since
her first-inning triple off a fielding
error. She hadn’t hit her best all
weekend, doing little to maintain
her designated player spot. But
Nemitz knew she needed to
produce.
“I was shaking so hard, but I
was honestly so in the zone that I
didn’t even know how many runs
we needed,” Nemtiz said. “It was
mostly about keeping my mind
clear. Nothing was really going
on besides, ‘You’re going to get it
done.’ ”
Five pitches later, she did just
that. All eyes turned to Nemitz as
she lifted her bat, pulled it back and
watched the pitch sail. And then
she knocked it. The anticipatory
stadium shifted to jubilation.
Peters
and
Sobczak
sprinted
forward, and the disappointment
of Michigan’s looming loss was
replaced with elation.
“I got to second and was sitting
on the base like ‘Okay I’m not
getting out’ and then I see Alex hit
home plate and I looked up and we
won,” Nemitz said. “From behind,
you’ve got to just get it done.”
Nemitz’s cap to the senior-led
comeback inning signified their
role all season leading the team
offensively.
“This game is the best game I’ve
ever been a part of,” Sobczak said.
“After I hit home, there’s no better
feeling. It’s such a high.”
It was quite an inning and an
even better way for the seniors
to end the tumultuous game
collectively.
“It’s just awesome to see all of
the hard work pay off in one little
inning,” Nemitz said. “That was
just a team win. Alex came to me
and hugged me and I was just like
‘I did that for you.’ ”
With a rejuvenated offense, Michigan continues to dominate Big Ten play, extending its win streak to 15 games
Softball Surge
LILY FRIEDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Up 4-2 in the third inning of
Sunday’s slate against Indiana,
the Michigan softball team
entered a lull. Sophomore left-
hander Meghan Beaubien took
over for freshman right-hander
Alex Storako in the circle, and
the Hoosiers started to score.
With two consecutive batters
reaching base for Indiana, a
player hit by a pitch and a walk,
the Wolverines scrambled.
The result wasn’t pretty.
A triple sank Michigan into a
deficit, one that was worsened
by
freshman
Lexie
Blair’s
fielding error in right field.
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
had one main piece of advice for
Beaubien.
“(Beaubien) didn’t have good
energy,” Hutchins said. “I said,
‘Our team is feeding off you
right now,’ and it’s our team’s
job to pick her up, but she also
just needed to have better
energy.”
With a tough first two games
against
Indiana
on
Friday
and
Saturday,
Beaubien
had
already pitched
10
innings
heading into the
Sunday
series
finale.
But
more
so
than
the fatigue, her
attitude in the
circle
guided
her play — and
subsequently
her team’s.
“She’s
fit
and
she
has
the
ability,”
Hutchins
said
Saturday. “I didn’t think she
was throwing nearly like she
did yesterday and I don’t think
it’s a fatigue thing. I think it’s a
mindset.”
Beaubien
finished
the
inning — and threw three more
scoreless ones after — but that
fourth inning meant more than
a slip-up.
Sunday’s game wasn’t the
first when the Wolverines let a
few bad plays spiral and affect
the entire team’s attitude for
innings.
They’ve
said
that
repeatedly, and they’re not
wrong. The team attitude can
trigger energy slips that cause
poor innings. But that’s sports.
Just as momentum can affect
a team negatively, it can also
help break a string of bad plays
and facilitate a last-minute
comeback.
And Sunday, it did just that
for Michigan.
Down
6-5
after
her
teammates’ timely hits earlier
in the inning, senior designated
player
Mackenzie
Nemitz
walked out of the dugout with
her teammates cheering at her
back. Five pitches later, she
smashed a walk-off double
into center field and ended the
series on a high.
Something
changed
from
the fourth inning to Nemitz’s
at-bat,
and
it
wasn’t
talent
coming from the
dugout.
“We were all
one heartbeat,”
Hutchins
said.
“Every kid in
that dugout was
on
point
and
that’s how you
win big, because
you’re
playing
for a lot more than just today.”
Added senior first baseman
Alex Sobczak: “I went in to
those pitches and was on the
line and ready for her to make
a mistake …There’s no better
feeling.”
So
what
changed
for
Michigan?
Nemitz
attributed
her
success to a heightened sense
of focus. Hutchins has pointed
in the past to momentum and
following up on teammates’
success. Sobczak said sheer
discipline makes mental acuity
a necessity in situations like
that.
Regardless
of
why
the
Wolverines could shift their
mentality, Michigan made the
adjustment, and going into
conference road games and a
series against Ohio State, the
Wolverines may need to flip the
switch again.
“We really needed to keep
ourselves in the game, and
(Beaubien) found a way to
do it,” Hutchins said. “Every
inning, we can win these
games. I really credit the kids
in the dugout for keeping the
energy up.”
LILY FRIEDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Players, coaches adjusting to
Josh Gattis’ new style of offense
In his meetings with the
offense, Josh Gattis preaches
a simple strategy: Just play
football.
“Basic things you would
wanna
do,”
said
junior
Ben Mason. “Make a block
downfield that could open up
a touchdown or lower your
shoulder to get that extra yard.
Knowing the situation. Just
different things like that, he’s
really made that come to life in
our offense.”
Much has been made of the
new style Gattis is bringing
to the Michigan football team
— from the trendy hashtag
“#SpeedinSpace” to talks of a
no-huddle offense. But those
pieces aren’t going to fall
into place immediately, and
one of the main emphases in
spring ball has been getting
the players up to speed on the
new system. That includes not
just the spread concepts Gattis,
the
newly-minted
offensive
coordinator,
has
promised,
but smaller things like making
basic
plays
and
developing
instincts.
And
while
most
of
the
emphasis has been on how
the new style impacts the
quarterbacks
and
receivers
— who, by all indications,
will
become
much
more
involved under Gattis — it’s
an adjustment for everyone on
offense.
Without huddles, it’s up to
the players to know concepts
like the back of their hands and
to have a greater awareness of
everyone on the field and their
jobs.
“We’re
looking
to
the
sidelines trying to figure out
what we’ve got,” said senior
running back Tru Wilson. “It’s
a lot of memorization. … You’ve
gotta know the pass concepts.
Now we don’t have tags telling
us what we’ve gotta do. We
gotta know what the receivers
are doing and where we fit in,
what our depth is. We’ve also
gotta know our protection so
we also gotta know what our
linemen are doing, our footwork
and everything — everything
was so crucial.”
Pieces of Gattis’ system are
things the Wolverines have
done before, but as the spring
season has progressed, they’ve
gotten further along in knowing
not just what his concepts are,
but the way he thinks and the
way he attacks.
Now, everyone has more to
do and more to learn. According
to running backs coach Jay
Harbaugh, guys who used to be
buried on the depth chart have
been able to learn quicker than
they did in the old West Coast
offense run by Michigan coach
Jim
Harbaugh
and
former
passing
game
coordinator
Pep Hamilton — and have put
themselves in a better position
because of it.
But for players entrenched in
that old system, it’s adapt or get
left behind. There’s a lot that’s
new, but this isn’t a team to shy
away from a challenge.
“I knew it was coming and I
was excited for it,” Wilson said.
“And I think everybody has that
same mindset, willing to learn,
open-mindedness
and
we’re
seeing it come to fruition on the
field with the offense working
against the defense, and it’s
really exciting to see.”
On the field, anyone thinking
the offense will have a complete
upheaval will be disappointed.
Jay Harbaugh noted that the
Wolverines are still a run-
first team and that the actual
runs they’re doing aren’t much
different
from
before.
But
there, too, Gattis has presented
things Michigan was doing
before, plus more. There’s a
new emphasis on getting the
running backs involved in the
passing game with screens and
playing at a quicker tempo.
For
the
offensive
line,
meanwhile,
things
haven’t
been much different — at
least not according to senior
guard Michael Onwenu, who
maintained that his role was
still, “Blocking the, whatever
pass or play, or whatever.”
But he, too, recognizes that
things are different with the
Wolverines now, and he, too,
has embraced it.
“It’s
cool
and
whatnot,”
Onwenu
said.
“Change
is
inevitable,
so
you’re
comfortable with anything.”
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
Wolverines take first loss of season
In a battle of the Big Ten’s
two undefeated titans, one
team was bound to leave
College Park with its first
loss of the season on Saturday
night.
When the No. 7 Michigan
women’s lacrosse team (3-1 Big
Ten, 13-0 overall) left town,
Maryland stood alone atop the
conference. The Wolverines
fell 14-3 to the second-ranked
Terrapins (4-0, 14-0), dropping
their first game of the season
and
snapping
a
15-game
winning streak dating back to
last year’s campaign.
Sophomore
midfielder
Maggie Kane rifled a shot from
the left side of the net to give
the Wolverines a 1-0 lead 33
seconds in, and for 10 minutes
it
appeared
that
Hannah
Nielsen’s squad was on its way
to a potential upset, routinely
disrupting
Maryland’s
offensive rhythm early while
senior goalie Mira Shane made
a series of saves up close.
Just
five
minutes
later,
though, Michigan found itself
in a 3-1 hole after the Terrapins
tacked
on
three
goals
in
five minutes. After a media
timeout,
the
scoring
blitz
only continued, as Maryland
found the back of the net five
more times in the next two
minutes and thirty seconds,
dashing the Wolverines’ hopes
of continuing their 13-game
winning streak.
“We were starved of the
ball a bit,” Nielsen said. “(We)
couldn’t win too many draw
controls
tonight.
We
were
playing a little bit sensitive and
playing on our heels a little
bit.”
The
Terrapins’
scoring
run was keyed by Michigan
penalties.
With
the
game
still in reach, the Wolverines
committed
two
fouls
and
picked up a yellow card to give
Maryland three free position
opportunities.
While
the
Terrapins only converted one
of these chances, they retained
possession in their zone and
convert twice on easy scoring
tries en route to an 8-1 halftime
edge.
The
Michigan
offense
also struggled to take care of
the ball, failing to get a shot
attempt for over five minutes
during
Maryland’s
lengthy
scoring run. As the game wore
on, it began to appear as if the
Wolverines were not prepared
for
its
road
tilt
against
one of the nation’s biggest
powerhouses. While they have
answered many challenges on
its way to a 13-0 start, this one
proved too daunting.
“(Maryland is) a very skilled
team top to bottom, and we
knew we had to come in here
and play our very best to beat
them,” Nielsen said. “The effort
was there and we fought hard
till the end but we didn’t make
the most of our opportunities.”
In the second half, the
Wolverines
played
with
a
different type of fire, gaining
more offensive opportunities.
Molly
Garrett
answered
a
Maryland snipe with a goal of
her own to cut the lead to 9-2,
but that would be as close as
Michigan would get for the rest
of the contest. It had two free
position chances early in the
second half, but were unable
to convert and chip away at the
Terrapins’ lead.
“We needed to bury them,”
Nielsen said, “but we’ll go
back to work, get a little better
on them, and hopefully we’ll
improve for our next game.”
While Nadine Stewart netted
a goal to cut the score to 12-3,
it proved to be too little too
late, as Maryland coasted until
the final whistle with a 14-3
victory and sole possession of
the Big Ten’s top spot.
TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer
EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior running back Tru Wilson currently sits atop the depth chart.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior first baseman Alex Sobczak hit a home run in Sunday’s win over Indiana, continuing a resurgent season.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
I went in to
those pitches...
ready for her to
make a mistake.
8 — Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com