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Thursday, May 13, 2021
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
A battle between the top two
teams in the Big Ten conference
ensued over the weekend, with
No. 23 Minnesota (26-10 Big
Ten) playing host to the No. 19
Michigan softball team (32-6) in a
four-game series.
With the Golden Gophers only
four games behind the top spot
entering the series, the stakes
were high, but the Wolverines
prevailed. They clinched the Big
Ten regular season championship
by winning the first three games
of the series, before dropping the
finale on Sunday.
“I think (winning the Big
Ten championship) is a great
accomplishment by this group,”
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
said. “It’s a great accomplishment
in a season that was difficult.”
Senior first baseman Lou Allan
opened the series with a bang on
Friday night. She clobbered an
inside pitch from Minnesota’s
Amber Fiser in the top of the first
inning, redirecting it high over
the left-centerfield fence for a
solo home run to give Michigan a
lead it would not relinquish, going
on to win 3-0.
“As soon as she hit that we
were like, ‘man this is going to
be a great start to everything,’”
sophomore second baseman Julia
Jimenez said. “We just wanted to
attack right after that … so it gave
us a good start.”
Despite the early miscue, Fiser
held her own throughout the tilt.
She allowed only four hits in the
complete game performance, but
each mistake she made proved
costly.
With
the
combined
performance of the Wolverines’
co-aces, who pitched a 14 strikeout
shutout, the three runs were more
than enough.
Senior
left-hander
Meghan
Beaubien, who saw action in each
game of the series, started the
game and commanded the circle
early. After allowing a leadoff
single in the bottom of the sixth,
junior right-hander Alex Storako
came in for relief. She struck out
all six batters faced, securing
the opening game victory for
Michigan.
The series shifted to a double
header on Saturday, where the
Wolverines took care of business,
winning the first game 10-4, and
the second 3-1.
A two run home run to right field
by Jimenez put the Wolverines up
3-0 in the top of the third inning
in the day’s opening game, and a
two RBI single up the middle by
Allan gave Michigan a sizable 5-0
advantage in the fourth.
In the top of the sixth, freshman
catcher Keke Tholl recorded the
first RBIs of her career, pinch
hitting with the bases loaded, and
dropping a single into right field
to score two.
The Wolverines led 10-0 when
Minnesota responded offensively
in the bottom of the sixth. Storako
— who posted nine strikeouts
in her five innings— and senior
right-hander Sarah Schaefer saw
four runs (two earned) come
across in the frame, leaving
Beaubien to close the door in the
seventh.
Saturday’s second game was a
pitcher’s duel between Beaubien
and the Golden Gophers’ stud
right-hander Autumn Pease.
Although
Minnesota
struck
first, jumping to a 1-0 lead in the
second inning, Beaubien went
the rest of the game unscathed.
The Michigan offense slowly got
to Pease, and a sacrifice fly from
Blair in the sixth proved to be the
winning run in the conference
title clinching affair.
The Wolverines, though, were
unable to carry their momentum
into the series closer on Sunday.
They fell 7-3 in a wire-to-wire
defeat — losing their 11-game win
streak in the process.
After an Allan double put
Michigan up 1-0 in the top of the
first, Minnesota took control,
handing Storako her worst outing
of the season. After allowing four
total home runs all season prior
to the game, the Gophers blasted
three home runs off the right-
hander in the first two innings to
go up 4-1.
Storako
then
hit
Natalie
Denhartog with the first pitch
of the top of the third, and
walked Katelyn Kemmetmueller
the very next at-bat, ending
her uninspiring day. She went
two plus innings, allowing five
earned runs in her third loss of
the season. By the game’s end,
Minnesota would end up plating
seven runs, and the Wolverines
were unable to rally.
Despite the lackluster final
game, Michigan managed to win a
key road series against the Golden
Gophers
to
secure
its
third
straight conference title.
“The goal is to be able to
compete and win against the
quality
opponents,”
Hutchins
said. “It’s what we’re trained to
do, and we executed it three out
of four … so (it feels) pretty good,
pretty darn good.”
Frontline starters showcase potential against MSU
Redshirt
sophomore
left-
hander Steven Hajjar hopped
out of the dugout to congratulate
sophomore
right-hander
Cam
Weston as Weston strolled off
the field against Michigan State.
The pair allowed just two hits
between them as they dominated
the Spartan hitters and led the
Wolverines to 5-1 and 3-1 victories,
respectively.
Hajjar has gotten much of
the plaudits this season, but he
put together his best outing of
the season on Friday with six
scoreless innings. Hajjar racked
up a whopping 13 strikeouts,
allowing just one hit and one walk.
a lot of strong arms,” Weston
said. “We just have trust in
our guys to put up zeros when
it matters, to have shut-down
innings, getting a lot of strikeouts,
things like that.”
Yet his performance was one-
upped
by
his
rotation-mate,
Weston. Weston threw a complete
game, allowing just one hit while
striking out nine. He was dominant
for large parts, including a stretch
where he retired 20 consecutive
batters.
“He throws hard,” Michigan
coach Erik Bakich said. “He has
good stuff and he usually is a guy
that gets strike one and strike two
very quickly. He’s one of the best
pitchers in not just the conference
but the country, so we’re very glad
he’s on our team.”
Weston has had several strong
outings earlier this year, including
a three-game stretch in which he
tossed 18.2 scoreless innings in a
row. Weston now has a 2.93 ERA
over 61.1 innings. Hajjar has been
consistent as well, sporting a 2.88
ERA and a 3-0 record over 56.1
innings.
While
Michigan
dropped
the final game of the series
to Michigan State, 10-2, the
performance
of
its
top
two
pitchers was very encouraging.
“Hajjar’s
just
been
very
consistent, Weston’s been pretty
consistent,” Bakich said. “Using
those other three guys in Jacob
Denner and Ben Dragani and Blake
Beers, we’ve mixed and matched
after (Hajjar and Weston).”
In
the
NCAA
tournament,
the first two starters are vital. If
the Wolverines can stay in the
winner’s bracket in the regional
round, a 2-0 start in the double
elimination format would force
opponents into a tough spot. In
the 2019 tournament, 12 of the 16
regional champions started 2-0 —
including Michigan.
“We know that Hajjar and
Weston will go game one and game
two,” Bakich said. “We’ll have to
figure out, based on the numbers
and the data and information that
we have, who’s going to be the best
third starter and who’s going to be
best coming out of the bullpen.”
Those first two games — and the
first two starters in those games
— will prove vital, particularly as
the Wolverines will likely face a
higher-seeded team in the second
round, based on current rankings
and projections; Baseball America
currently projects Michigan to
be a two seed in the South Bend
regional.
STEEL HURLEY
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan wins three of four at Minnesota, clinching Big Ten title
PAUL NASR
Daily Sports Writer
TESS CROWLEY/Daily
Lou Allan was an offensive catalyst for the Wolverines in the series against
Minnesota.
GRACE BEAL/Daily
Cameron Weston is one of Michigan’s aces who gives it a chance to win in the
postseason.
Read more at michigandaily.com