SPORTS 11
Thursday, May 30, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan loses to Nebraska, ending Big Ten Tournament run
There were two games and two
stories Saturday for the No. 2 seed
Michigan baseball team.
The Wolverines were fighting
for their lives for the third day in
a row after an opening day loss
to Ohio State put them in the
backdraw, where they walked-
off against No. 3 seed Illinois and
beat No. 6 seed Maryland to set
up a semifinal game with No. 5
seed Nebraska. The Wolverines
overwhelmingly won the first
game, 18-8, but lost the second of
the doubleheader, 7-3, therefore
getting eliminated from the Big
Ten Tournament.
But to get to the nightcap,
Michigan had to come up with an
early morning victory. And it was
seemingly the only team awake as
the Wolverines scored seven runs
in the first inning and never looked
back during the easy victory.
At night, though, the Wolverines
didn’t race to an early lead.
Sophomore left-hander Angelo
Smith was cool under pressure
for the first eight outs of the game,
breezing past batters with well-
placed sliders. But with two outs
in the third, the Cornhuskers
sandwiched a walk with two infield
hits to load the bases before a
single passed senior third baseman
Blake Nelson for the first two runs
of the game. Michigan halved the
lead in the bottom of the inning,
though, off of sophomore center
fielder Jesse Franklin’s RBI single.
The fifth inning gave Nebraska
one more run, when sophomore
catcher Joe Donovan threw over
second base to move Nebraska
third baseman Angelo Altavilla
from first to third with two outs.
The next batter, Michigan native
and
Cornhuskers’
shortstop
Spencer
Schwellenbach,
lifted
a pitch to left field for his third
RBI of the game, putting the
Cornhuskers up 3-1.
The response was immediate
from
the
Wolverines.
Three
straight singles loaded the bases
and sophomore shortstop Jack
Blomgren moved a runner in after
being hit by a pitch. Senior first
baseman Jimmy Kerr launched
a 370-foot sacrifice fly to even
the game 3-3, but two straight
outs left runners on base, and an
opportunity to grab their first lead
of the game disappeared.
Nebraska scored twice the very
next inning behind four walks to
go up 5-3 in the sixth. Senior right-
hander Ben Keizer throwing the
first two before allowing a double
gave the Cornhuskers the lead
and freshman right-hander Willie
Weiss came on in relief, only to
throw two more walks and give up
yet another run.
The deficit grew as Michigan’s
offense disappeared and walks
continued to plague its pitchers.
Ending the night with 13 walks,
the Wolverine bullpen had been
worn down by five games in four
days and were lucky to only lose
by 4 — Nebraska left 16 runners
on base. Smith could only go 4.2
innings, and once he was gone, no
one could adequately fill his shoes.
In
the
morning,
Michigan
showed it can outplay any team in
the conference with ease. But at
night, the Wolverines proved they
can beat themselves as easily as
they can beat others.
KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer
A season in review and what’s up next for Michigan softball
Last Monday, James Madison
upset the Michigan softball team on
its own field to punch a ticket to the
Super Regional. After the handshake
line, the Wolverines walked off
the field for one final time, heads
hanging low. For all an outright Big
Ten regular season championship
and conference tournament title are
worth, Michigan felt as though it fell
short.
In February, Michigan dipped
below .500 at least six games into
a season for the first time in nearly
two decades. It posted an 0-4 record
against ranked opponents, resulting
in a brief exclusion from the national
poll — a rarity for coach Carol
Hutchins’ storied program. When
the Wolverines returned to Ann
Arbor for their first home game, they
won 33 of their next 34 games. That
streak set the stage for Michigan to
host the NCAA Regional, where its
season came to a screeching halt.
The
Daily
examines
the
Wolverines’ top performers, notable
moments and underclassmen set to
take on an increased role in 2020:
Co-MVPs:
Freshman
outfielder Lexie Blair and senior
second baseman Faith Canfield
This one’s too close to call. Blair
and Canfield were the driving forces
behind this offense all season long.
They each tallied 78 hits, finishing
with respective batting averages
of .406 and .404. Blair led the team
with 54 RBI, while Canfield’s team-
high .482 on-base percentage gave
Michigan a consistent leadoff spark.
Blair and Canfield both finished
either first or second on the team
in batting average, on-base plus
slugging, doubles, total bases and
slugging percentage.
Numbers aside, this season gave
Canfield a chance to pass the torch
to the program’s next offensive
cornerstone.
As
a
freshman,
Canfield studied 2016 National
Player of the Year Sierra Romero
during her senior campaign. In 2019,
learning from Canfield — a two-time
All-American — gave Blair a similar
luxury.
Honorable
mention:
Sophomore left-hander Meghan
Beaubien
Beaubien posted a 30-6 record
while notching a 1.87 ERA and 229
strikeouts en route to her second
first-team All-Big Ten selection.
Breakout player: Senior first
baseman Alex Sobczak
When Michigan began its season,
Alex Sobczak’s name wasn’t on
the starting lineup card. She lost
a competition for the Wolverines’
everyday first baseman role in
February, only to see limited action
as a pinch hitter throughout the
opening weekend.
But when she got her chance,
she seized it. Sobczak turned in a
breakout senior season, posting a
.336 batting average — 78 points
higher than her previous career-
high of .258 — and 42 RBI en route
to second team All-Big Ten honors
and an All-Big Ten Defensive Team
selection. Her 10 home runs were
tied for most on the team and she
only trailed Blair in RBIs. Sobczak
drew a team-high 27 walks, giving
her an on-base percentage of .470
that finished second to Canfield’s.
More importantly, she came into
her own as a leader and proved to
be a key cog in Michigan’s Big Ten
success.
Honorable
mention:
Senior
designated
player
Mackenzie
Nemitz
After
recording
just
seven
at-bats in her first three years and
overcoming a torn ACL, Nemitz
batted .288 and drove in 31 runs as
a senior.
High
point:
Michigan
defeats Minnesota in Big Ten
Tournament championship
Before the Bloomington skies
opened up, Michigan — which
hadn’t won a Big Ten Tournament
title since 2015 — held a 3-0 sixth-
inning lead against three-time
defending champion Minnesota.
Knowing they needed a win to host
an NCAA Regional, the Wolverines
looked locked in.
Then
the
downpour
began.
Following a 22-minute rain delay,
the teams took the field for the two
most important innings of their
postseason resume.
The Golden Gophers stormed
back, beginning the bottom of the
sixth frame with a leadoff homer
before tacking on another run with
a sacrifice fly. Entering the seventh,
Michigan found itself clinging to a
one-run advantage. After walking
Minnesota’s ninth batter on a full
count, freshman right-hander Alex
Storako induced a trio of fly outs
to seal the 3-2 victory. With that,
the Wolverines clinched their 10th
conference tournament title in
program history.
Low point: James Madison
eliminates
Michigan
at
Ann
Arbor regional
Entering the final day of the
NCAA Regional, the Wolverines
needed only one win to advance. In
the other dugout, James Madison
needed to force and sweep a
doubleheader to survive. On an
afternoon brimming with potential,
Michigan struggled mightily at
the plate. For the second straight
day, Dukes’ ace Megan Good —
a finalist for the 2019 National
Player of the Year award — shut
down
the
Wolverines’
offense.
In 26 total innings against Good,
Michigan managed just two runs.
Good prevented 23 baserunners
from scoring, holding Blair and
Canfield to a combined 3-for-23 in
the process. To the dismay of the
Wolverine faithful at Alumni Field,
James Madison ultimately punched
its ticket to the Super Regional while
Michigan became the nation’s only
seeded team that failed to advance.
Who’s next in line?
Familiarize yourself with the
names Lou Allan, Hannah Carson,
Taylor Bump and Morgan Overaitis.
This quartet of underclassmen
played sparingly in 2019, but showed
impressive potential when given the
chance. Allan, Carson and Overaitis
were each tabbed top-25 prospects
in FloSoftball’s recruiting rankings.
Bump,
meanwhile,
has
played
three different infield positions and
showed flashes of elite defense since
arriving as 2017’s No. 64 recruit.
Carson figures to slide into the
starting backstop role following
senior catcher Katie Alexander’s
graduation, while Allan and Bump
are candidates to replace Sobczak
and Nemitz at first base and
designated player. Overaitis could
assume the starting second baseman
duties with Canfield’s career in the
books, but may also see playing time
on the left side of the infield.
DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Sophomore center fielderJesse Franklin drove in a run in Saturday night’s 7-3 loss.