The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
April 15, 2019 — 3B

‘M’ shaky in series loss at Ohio State

This wasn’t how this weekend 
was supposed to go. 
The No. 24 Michigan baseball 
team 
came 
into 
Columbus 
confident. They’d won eight of 
their last ten games, including 
a two-game sweep of in-state 
rival Michigan State and a big 
weekend series win over a tough 
Minnesota team. According to 
Michigan coach, the Wolverines 
went into the series “fired up” 
to face an unranked, 18-16 Ohio 
State team and looking to stay 
hot.
What 
followed 
was 
unexpected. Michigan dropped 
the first two games of the 
series, 10-5 and then 10-4, with 
shaky performances from their 
usually-dominant Nos. 1 and 
2 starters, junior left-hander 
Tommy Henry and junior right-
hander Karl Kauffman. The 
Wolverines avoided a sweep in 
the second game of Saturday’s 
double 
header, 
beating 
the 
Buckeyes, 6-2.
“It 
was 
a 
disappointing 
weekend,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach 
Erik 
Bakich. 
“We 
uncharacteristically didn’t pitch 
well, we were shaky at times 
defensively, we didn’t get the 
clutch hits when we needed to. 
“A rivalry series is very 
emotional. 
It 
has 
all 
the 
characteristics, all the look 
and feel of big-time baseball, 
whether 
your 
opponent 
is 
ranked or not. This had the 
environment and emotion of 
some of our bigger matchups of 
the season.”
Friday’s 
game 
stayed 
deadlocked through the first 
third 
of 
the 
contest. 
The 
Wolverines got on the board 
first as sophomore outfielder 
Jesse Franklin crushed the first 
pitch he saw for a solo home run 
to right-center, but the Buckeyes 
followed with runs of their own, 
scoring one each in the bottom 
of the first and third innings. 
Ohio State then broke the game 

open with three-run fourth and 
fifth innings. 
The 
Wolverines 
couldn’t 
respond. Though they notched 
two runs in the seventh on a 
single from junior outfielder 
Jordan Brewer, and two more 
in the ninth on a two-out single 
from 
senior 
third-baseman 
Blake Nelson, but they could 
not build enough momentum to 
seriously contend for the game.
The first game Saturday was 
a similar story. The Buckeyes 
went on a tear over the first two-
thirds of the contest, racking 
up an 8-0 lead by the end of 
the third inning. Michigan put 
runs back on the board in the 
top of the sixth with a three-
run double from senior third 
baseman Jimmy Kerr and tacked 
on one more in the seventh on a 
solo home run for sophomore 
outfielder Jordan Nwogu, but 
like Friday’s game, the game 
was never in contention.
“We got outplayed the first 
two games,” Bakich said. “We 
have guys that have some really 
good weekends, and then have 
some 
really 
bad 
weekends. 
Instead of having the extremes 
of the highs and the lows, 
baseball is about consistency.”
Saturday’s second game was 
a bright spot for the Wolverines, 
though. 
Sophomore 
right-
hander 
Jeff 
Criswell 
gave 
Michigan what it needed with 
a dominant 6.2 innings of work 
over which didn’t allow a single 

earned run. The offense finally 
regained its rhythm Saturday. 
redshirt senior outfielder Miles 
Lewis notched two RBI in the 
game with a grounder to score 
Nwogu in the sixth and a double 
to plate Franklin in the seventh. 
Junior 
outfielder 
Dominic 
Clementi, 
Franklin, 
senior 
second baseman Ako Thomas, 
and Kerr all also earned RBI on 
the day.
Overall, though it was a 
disappointing 
weekend, 
the 
Wolverines 
still 
have 
high 
expectations for the rest of their 
season, and as their schedule 
grows a little less demanding 
over the rest of the season — 
after 
Wednesday’s 
midweek 
tilt 
against 
Bowling 
Green, 
Michigan doesn’t have another 
midweek game until May 8 
against Eastern Michigan — 
they’ll have more time to iron 
out their issues before the 
season wraps up. 
“So far this season, we have 
not played our best baseball yet,” 
Bakich said. “We need to just 
continue to trend upwards, and 
when we have setbacks like this, 
to use it as growth, to use it as 
fuel to better our performance 
in the future. 
“If we’re going to be the team 
that we think we can be, then 
we’re going to have to play well 
when it means the most, and a 
rivalry series is certainly one of 
those weekends that means the 
most.”

Softball splits series in Columbus

Katie Alexander hadn’t hit a 
home run in 14 games. But this 
weekend in Columbus, she knocked 
two. And in one game.
Following the senior catcher’s 
lead, the No. 21 Michigan softball 
team went 2-1 in three games 
against 
Ohio 
State, 
winning, 
10-3 and 6-2, before dropping 
the weekend’s final game, 2-1. 
Even with the loss Sunday, which 
snapped the Wolverines’ 15-game 
win streak, the two comeback wins 
marked a shift in power at the plate, 
a welcome sign for Michigan’s 
offense, which at times has lacked 
in run generation.
After an RBI single in the third 
inning that gave the Buckeyes the 
first run of the weekend, Michigan 
didn’t regress from the setback like 
in many earlier games this season. 
Instead, it thrived on the hardship.
In the fourth inning, junior 
third baseman Madison Uden hit a 
groundout to Ohio State shortstop 
Lilli Piper that drove in freshman 
outfielder Lexie Blair to tie the 
game.
The run began a surge of power 
for the Wolverines.
In the same inning, junior 
outfielder Haley Hoogenraad hit a 
triple to right field for an RBI and 

Alexander slammed her first home 
run to right field for two RBI.
“I was just really seeing the 
ball really well that night and was 
confident,” Alexander said. “We 
felt really good.”
After Buckeye catcher Claire 
Nicholson homered to left field and 
senior first baseman Alex Sobczak 
hit a sacrifice flyout for an RBI to 
increase the score to 5-3, Alexander 
hit her second blast for a home run. 
Hoogenraad furthered the power 
and finished the game with a grand 
slam to left field.
“(Michigan 
coach 
Carol 
Hutchins) always goes by me and 
says, ‘Try less hard and really 
trust what you can do’ and I think 
that’s really a huge thing that helps 
me,” Hoogenraad said. “I think 
(today) was just a huge burst of 
confidence.”
The next game continued that 
assertiveness at the plate. Down 
2-0 heading into the second inning, 
Hoogenraad 
and 
Alexander 
continued to lead the lineup, 
delivering an RBI single apiece. 
Aside from a home run by Sobczak 
in the third inning, other scoring 
resulted from RBI singles as well, 
as the Wolverines won 6-2.
Even with lackluster starts, 
Hutchins sees the wins as strong 
performances for the Wolverines, 

with players in both the top and 
bottom of the lineup producing 
offensively.
“They just connected on pitches 
on time, and that’s what we’re 
always striving for,” Hutchins 
said. “We really needed the sixth 
through ninth players to pick up 
their production, and they did an 
outstanding job.”
Hutchins 
maintained 
that 
attitude even in Sunday’s 2-1, 
eight-inning loss. Up 1-0 off a walk 
that forced a run, sophomore left-
hander Meghan Beaubien allowed 
a home run in the seventh inning 
that tied the game, then a walk-off 
single that won the game for Ohio 
State. Despite the slip-up in the 
last two innings, Beaubien’s shut 
out performance in the first six 
innings still signified a strong day 
in Hutchins’ eyes.
“Meghan threw 12 shutout 
innings against a really big hitting 
team, and they got a piece of her 
in the seventh inning. … I told her 
our offense didn’t do its part today. 
Our pitching did its part,” Hutchins 
said. “We were behind in both of 
our victories and we didn’t let it 
shake us and rattle us and we just 
fought back. I think our kids can’t 
complain. To win we had to fight. 
And I thought we fought really 
hard.”

Michigan blanks Maryland, 5-0, 
claims outright Big Ten Title

Champions keep playing until 
they get it right.
The quote may have come 
from tennis legend Billie Jean 
King, and the Michigan women’s 
tennis 
team 
has 
embodied 
it through and through this 
season.
All the way to an outright Big 
Ten title. 
Despite a 4-3 loss to Florida 
in Gainesville on Thursday, the 
Wolverines (15-5 overall, 11-0 
Big Ten) rallied to come away 
with two straight shutouts in 
New Brunswick and College 
Park to add another piece of 
hardware to the trophy case. 
Saturday, Michigan blanked 
Rutgers (9-9, 1-7), 5-0, with 
dominant play from doubles 
pairs No. 1, seniors Kate Fahey 
and Brienne Minor, and No. 
2, junior Giulia Pairone and 
freshman Anca Craciun, who 
have acted as doubles-point 
closers throughout the season. 
Along 
with 
strong 
doubles 
play were convincing singles 
victories from Fahey, Minor 
and sophomore Alyvia Jones to 
clinch the win. 
With 
the 
postseason 
approaching, 
the 
Wolverines 
made some changes to the 
matchups to assure the absolute 
best scenario going into the 
clinching meet.
The No. 3 doubles spot has 
fluctuated all season, usually 
occupied by Jones and either 
junior Chiara Lommer or fellow 
sophomore 
Bella 
Lorenzini. 
Occasionally, a win will come 
from No. 3, but the pair, whoever 
it may be, has a losing record this 
season. 
However, on Sunday, it all 
finally clicked. And what better 
of a time than the last match of 
the regular season?
Jones was paired up with 
junior Lera Patiuk and played 
some of their best tennis this 
season. Mirroring the No. 2 
doubles win secured just before 
their 
own 
by 
Pairone 
and 

Craciun, Jones and Patiuk beat 
their opposing Maryland (3-16 
overall, 1-8 Big Ten) duo, 6-2.
“We just work really well as 
a team,” Jones said of her new 
doubles partner. “We had really 
good energy, and we both ended 
up playing pretty well, so that 
helps on the court.”
Added Pairone: “I think we’re 
improving so much in doubles. 
As the season went on, we’ve 
been playing so much better. And 
I think we’re really helping each 
other out like we’re supposed to. 
So it’s really good to get that first 
point and it’s helping a lot when 
we get into singles.”
The Wolverines’ performance 
in singles play was just as 
impressive. Pairone was the 
first to score a singles point 
for Michigan, defeating her 
opponent, 6-1, 6-0. Fahey and 
Jones soon followed suit, coming 
away with victories of 6-2, 6-1 
and 6-0, 6-1, respectively. Minor 
slammed it home, 6-4, 6-1, and 
gave the Wolverines their final 
point and their conference title. 
“It’s a long season of Big 
Tens, a lot of good teams,” 
said Michigan coach Ronni 
Bernstein. 
“I’m 
just 
happy 
for the girls, especially this 
weekend — you know, they 
took care of business. Today we 
actually played really well. So, 
I’m just proud of them, happy 
for them. To go undefeated in 
this conference isn’t easy, so it 
definitely feels good.”
In contrast to last season, 

when they won the Big Ten 
Tournament 
as 
the 
clear 
underdog, the Wolverines have 
shown they are a force to be 
reckoned with. 
“We’re just looking for that 
balance, and that we can count 
on everybody,” Bernstein said. 
“So, if we ever get to that, I don’t 
know that we’ve been that yet 
this year – you know, all three 
doubles teams clicking and all 
six singles players at the same 
time. If we have that, if we can 
get to that place, we’re pretty 
tough to beat.
“But I think as far as all of 
us, if I look down the line, I 
think everyone is feeling pretty 
confident, which is where you 
want to be at the end of the year. 
I think we’re peaking.”
This season wasn’t always 
pretty and the team has seen 
its fair share of ups and downs, 
but with the Big Ten and NCAA 
tournaments 
approaching, 
Michigan, 
the 
Big 
Ten 
Champions, needs to follow 
King’s advice: to keep playing 
until they get it all right. 
“We’re 
really 
playing 
as a team, and not just as 
individuals,” 
Pairone 
said. 
“And I think just going into the 
tournament, we’re feeling really 
confident, and we know we can 
do very well. But we also know 
that we have to keep working 
and 
make 
sure 
that 
we’re 
getting better. Feeling like we’re 
champions doesn’t stop us from 
continuing to work hard.”

In loss, Curran nets 100th point

With 8:41 remaining in the 
third quarter against No. 1 
Penn State (10-1 overall, 3-0 
Big Ten) on Saturday, Michigan 
freshman attacker Bryce Clay 
found senior midfielder Decker 
Curran wide open on a cross-
crease pass. Curran wound up 
and fired a bullet past Nittany 
Lions goalkeeper Colby Kneese, 
cutting the Wolverines’ deficit 
to three.
With 
the 
goal, 
Curran 
netted his 100th career point, 
becoming 
only 
the 
fourth 
player in Michigan history to 
achieve the feat.
“It’s cool,” Curran said. “I 
actually didn’t know I was 
there until it came up on the 
loudspeaker, but it’s obviously a 
huge accomplishment.”
For Michigan (3-8, 0-3), the 
moment was a bright spot on an 
afternoon where offense was 
hard to come by. Penn State 
would score seven unanswered 
goals after Curran’s goal en 
route to a 17-7 throttling of the 
Wolverines.
“(The 
result) 
100 
percent 
(diminishes 
the 
accomplishment),” Curran said. 

“That’s definitely not a way the 
boys want to end in the fourth 
quarter, you know, a ten goal 
deficit. The accomplishment 
doesn’t really mean anything if 
the boys aren’t winning.”
Though the season has so 
far been a disappointment for 
Michigan — the Wolverines 
have 
not 
yet 
won a Big Ten 
game 
— 
the 
strong play of 
Curran and his 
fellow 
seniors 
can 
act 
as 
a 
building 
block 
for the future 
of 
the 
young 
program. 
For 
the 12 freshmen 
on 
the 
team, 
Curran’s body of 
work acts as an example of how 
extra effort can pay dividends 
in the future.
“(He’s) someone to look up 
to,” said Michigan coach Kevin 
Conry. “He puts a lot of time in 
off the field, a lot of extra shots, 
so it’s good to see that point 
production kind of kick in. … 
Whenever we can, we look for 
guys who can be a good example 
to guys like (freshmen) Bryce 
Clay and Javon Johnson.”

Curran’s effort on Saturday 
is just another in a long string 
of impressive performances for 
the senior leader. His 27 points 
on the season put him fourth on 
the team, with his 17 goals and 
10 assists placing him fourth 
and third, respectively.
This positive example for 
the 
team’s 
freshmen 
has 
already 
begun 
to pay off in 
small ways. Clay 
buried a goal of 
his own in the 
second quarter 
in addition to 
his 
assist 
on 
Curran’s 
goal, 
and 
Johnson 
added 
a 
key 
goal early in the 
third, while the game was still 
in contention.
“I have a feeling I won’t be 
up there (as one of Michigan’s 
leading scorers) for very long,” 
Curran said. “But it’s pretty 
cool, seeing that, knowing that 
all that hard work has definitely 
paid off a bit.”
“Every time you have a 
senior,” added Conry, “you 
expect something of his legacy 
to kind of live on.”

BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer

ZACHARY GOLDSMITH/Daily
Senior midfielder Decker Curran secured his 100th career point on a goal with 8:41 left in the third quarter.

... you expect 
something of 
his legacy to 
kind of live on.

ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore outfielder Jesse Franklin hit a solo home run on Friday.

SHIRA ZISHOLTZ
Daily Sports Writer

COURTESY OF MARYLAND ATHLETICS
The Michigan women’s tennis team secured the Big Ten title this weekend.

LILY FRIEDMAN
Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior catcher Katie Alexander broke out of her slump this weekend, knocking two home runs in Friday’s game.