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.

