The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 — 15
Michigan’s hot and cold hitting lead to
2-1 weekend outing against Nebraska
TASMIA JAMIL
Daily Sports Writer
When the Michigan softball
team’s bats get hot with runners in
scoring positions, it tends to win.
On Friday, the Wolverines tallied
14 hits and 10 runs. But on Satur-
day, Nebraska extinguished the
momentum by pitching a shutout.
While Michigan (17-14 overall,
3-3 Big Ten) rebounded to close
out the weekend, the up-and-
down hitting performance result-
ed in a 2-1 series outing against the
Cornhuskers (25-12, 5-3).
After a dominant 9-0 win over
Oakland on Wednesday, the team
didn’t skip a beat opening the first
game against Nebraska. In the
first inning, a Cornhusker fielding
error followed by a double from
graduate center fielder Lexie Blair
placed runners on base before
a sacrificial flyout and a single
brought the runners home. The
Wolverines tallied two hits and
two runs in the frame, setting the
tone for the rest of the game.
“Our timing in game one was
outstanding,”
Michigan
coach
Bonnie Tholl said. “Any fringe
pitches, we were able to tie them
up well and get a good piece of the
ball.”
With the Wolverines’ bats find-
ing momentum, they continued to
capitalize on Nebraska defensive
lapses. Facing a 2-2 pitch count
and a runner on second, graduate
right fielder Ellie Mataya slotted
the ball through the gaps in left
center field, forcing the Cornhusk-
ers to go out of position and give
the runner ample time to reach
home. A subsequent walk and an
RBI single from junior catcher
Keke Tholl put Michigan up 4-0.
The Wolverines’ hitting prow-
ess continued as it put pressure
on the defense, racking up three
back-to-back RBI hits in the
third inning before Keke belted
a home run over the center field
wall to give Michigan a 10-0 lead.
Although the Wolverines didn’t
score for the rest of the game,
they had a comfortable cushion
to fall back on while the defense
restricted Nebraska to only one
run, securing a 10-1 mercy rule
win for Michigan in the first game
of the series.
But the Wolverines’ offensive
consistency was short lived, as on
Saturday, the bats fell silent.
Opening the game, Michigan
attempted to drop the ball into
the outfield but instead landed
the ball in the gloves of the Corn-
huskers’ fielders every time. On
the other hand, Nebraska applied
pressure early, converting on
pitching errors and bringing its
runners home for a 2-0 lead.
“Nebraska had the momentum
and we didn’t do anything to stop
it,” Keke said. “But we didn’t
build any momentum on our
own on that end. We were still
putting the bat on the ball but
things just weren’t falling.”
The
Wolverines’
offense
had no answer. Despite forcing
a walk in three back-to-back
innings, Michigan couldn’t capi-
talize, stranding runners each
time. The bats that led to a mer-
cy-rule win the day before were
nowhere to be found.
Down 2-0, sophomore left
fielder Ellie Sieler slotted a sin-
gle — the Wolverines’ only hit of
the game — before stealing sec-
ond base. But Nebraska quickly
erased any hope for a comeback.
A pair of home runs with run-
ners on base combined with a
pair of RBI singles in the bottom
of the fifth inning to extend the
Cornhuskers lead to 8-0, ulti-
mately resulting in a run-rule
loss for Michigan.
After tallying 14 hits in the
first
game,
the
Wolverines
merely tallied one hit and fell
back into their old habits, leav-
ing runners on base. As the
bats went cold, the aggres-
sive offensive tactics and small
ball strategies that found suc-
cess earlier completely disap-
peared. But with one game left
in the series, Michigan looked to
redeem itself on Sunday.
Following a homerun by
Nebraska in the second inning,
the Wolverines returned to their
Friday form. A double by Blair
and a fielding error on the play
allowed Blair to use her speed
for an inside-the-park homerun,
putting Michigan on top, 2-1.
“It was our chance to grab
the momentum, hang onto it and
run with it,” Bonnie said. “Even
when we went down one to zero,
we stayed within the game plan
and captured the momentum
back.”
Sports
SOFTBALL
Michigan upsets No. 2 Maryland in historic win
ALINA LEVINE
Daily Sports Writer
As the buzzer sounded, the
Michigan men’s lacrosse team
erupted off the sideline, storming
the field to celebrate their historic
performance against No. 2 Mary-
land.
On Saturday, the Wolverines
(5-4 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) faced the
Terrapins (6-3, 1-1) and pulled off
an upset, 16-11. This historic win
was monumental for the team,
marking
their
first-ever
win
against Maryland in program his-
tory — and their first Big Ten win
against a top-five ranked team
ever.
“It feels amazing,” senior attack-
er Josh Zawada said. “I think it was
a massive step for our program,
and we kind of got over that edge
of finishing those games. I know
we played the number one team
in the first game of the year and
ended up losing by four goals, but
we were always in that game and
just couldn’t finish it out. So, I
think this was a massive step for us
because they were the number two
team, and we finally closed it out
and played a full 60 minutes.”
That full 60 minutes began in
the first quarter with the Wolver-
ines starting strong. While the Ter-
rapins scored first, junior attacker
Michael Boehm quickly answered,
tying the game at one apiece.
Maryland scored one more time
in the first period before
Michigan went on a 5-0
run, finishing the frame
with a 6-2 advantage.
However, going into the
second quarter, the Ter-
rapins showed signs of a
comeback — they were the
second-ranked team in
the country, after all.
When
Maryland’s
offense
looped
behind
the goal and around to
the other side to shoot,
the Wolverines’ defenders
were slow to follow, leav-
ing them open to score.
Quickly taking advantage,
the Terrapins began to
close the gap by capital-
izing on those unguarded
moments. Heading into
halftime, Maryland was
only trailing by one point.
But one point was the
closest that the Terrapins
got to Michigan for the
remainder of the game. Through
the toughness of their defenders,
versatility within their offense and
ability to function as a team, the
Wolverines only widened the gap.
And that gap only grew as Mich-
igan had a powerful start to the
third quarter. Weaving around the
defense, senior midfielder Jacob
Jackson caught a feed from Boehm
and hurled the ball into the back of
the net. Less than a minute later,
fifth-year midfielder Peter Thomp-
son netted another goal for Michi-
gan before Jackson scored again 30
seconds later.
These three rapid goals in the
first 90 seconds of the quarter pro-
pelled Michigan to an early 10-6
lead. Maryland noticeably tight-
ened its defense, making it harder
for the Wolverines to find
shooting angles; nonethe-
less, Michigan was unde-
terred. As the final quarter
of the game approached,
it led 11-8. And, of those
first 11 goals, 6 came from
seniors on the team.
“We sat down with all
the seniors on Monday
and went through what
was going on and how we
struggled through games,”
Zawada said. “I think it
just starts with us and
attention to detail from
our seniors. It kind of goes
through the entire team
once the seniors are doing
everything right. So, if
we have that attention to
detail that flows through
the entire team, we’ll have
success.”
Entering the final 15
minutes of the game, the
Wolverines knew it would
MARIA DECKMANN/Daily
be close. The Michigan bench
and the Terrapin fans alike were
buzzing with excitement as the
prospect of a win for either team
was likely. However, Maryland
fans soon became worried as their
defense deteriorated, leaving the
Wolverines wide open. Unguarded
and armed with a powerful shot,
Michigan’s offense netted five
more goals to the Terrapins’ three,
sealing the deal.
Energized by the win, Michigan
is feeding off its newfound confi-
dence and momentum.
“I think it’s all confidence now,”
Zawada said. “We’ve seen that
once we play a full 60 minutes of
our lacrosse and have a good week
of practice, we can compete with
any team in the country. We’re
going to use this game to kind of
build up confidence for us and
lead it game by game into these
next couple of games and get those
wins.”
Michigan’s win against Mary-
land was historic for both the team
and the program. As the Wolver-
ines continue on to the remainder
of their Big Ten games, they will
need to continue playing the brand
of lacrosse that led them to victory
on Saturday.
Strong offense leads Michigan
baseball to series victory over Illinois
COLE MARTIN
Daily Sports Writer
Entering its weekend series
against Illinois, the Michigan
baseball team found itself in a lit-
mus test of sorts.
During the Wolverines’ eight-
game homestand in which they
won six games, Michigan turned
its season’s trajectory on its head
with a sweep of its first Big Ten
opponent, Penn State. But the
question was: Could Michigan
replicate its newfound success on
the road?
The answer was a resounding
yes. The Wolverines passed their
first true test in conference play
with flying colors.
Michigan (15-12 overall, 5-1 Big
Ten) took its first two games over
Illinois (12-12, 2-4), 12-9 and 10-5,
respectively, before falling on
Sunday, 11-1. With the exception
of Sunday’s blowout, the Wolver-
ines’ weekend was defined by its
red-hot bats.
In
Friday’s
series
opener,
Michigan’s offense fed off of yet
another impressive performance
from junior left-hander Connor
O’Halloran. In his sixth win of
the season, O’Halloran pitched
six innings, allowing only one
earned run while striking out
eight batters. The contest marked
O’Halloran’s fifth game of the
season with seven or more strike-
outs.
“What he’s doing is a huge
bonus for us,” Michigan coach
Tracy Smith said. “… He’s given
us a chance to win every time. …
(The team) loves playing behind
him because they know he’s going
to be aggressive and competing in
the zone.”
Aside from O’Halloran’s effi-
cient performance, the Wolver-
ines’ batters told the story. After
O’Halloran exited the game,
Michigan’s
relievers
proved
unable to contain the Fighting
Illini offense. Illinois scored a
total of seven runs in just three
innings
without
O’Halloran’s
presence on the mound. Clearly,
the pitching needed run support.
Enter freshman outfielder Jon-
athan Kim.
In five at bats, Kim totalled
five hits, including a home run.
He also notched four RBIs, good
for one third of the Wolverines’
run total. Kim not only led the
Wolverines to victory, though. He
also created momentum for them
to carry further into the week-
end.
“It was nice to have him sit-
ting down there at the bottom of
the order,” Smith said. “… (He did
a) good job driving some guys in,
and I was really pleased with the
way that he continues to get bet-
ter each day and look more com-
fortable (at the plate).”
And on Saturday, the narrative
from Friday’s victory repeated
itself, except this time it wasn’t
just Kim who got hot.
In the eighth inning, Michigan
clung to a narrow 4-3 lead after
another Kim RBI. Then, the rest
of its offense found its footing.
First, graduate shortstop Cody
Jefferis scored on a wild pitch
to increase the lead to two.
Designated hitter Tito Flores
followed that up, knocking in
another run with a single. And
then freshman third baseman
Mitch Voit put the cherry on
top of yet another strong offen-
sive outing, hitting a grand slam
to yank the game out of reach
for the Illini. Even after giving
up two more runs in the ninth
inning, the Wolverines still won
by a five-run margin.
“Thank god we had the big
leads,” Smith said. “I looked
earlier today. The last three
innings of each game combined
in the last two games (Illinois)
scored almost 10 runs.”
Evidently, those big leads
ultimately came from Michi-
gan’s offense as — even with
defensive struggles in relief
— it escaped Champaign with
another series victory in Big
Ten play.
And although the Wolver-
ines lost the series finale Sun-
day, their increased offensive
presence this weekend proved
crucial. If Michigan can remain
consistent in that facet of its
game, the Wolverines should
continue to find success in Big
Ten play.
BASEBALL
SportsMonday: Michigan baseball is right on track
Last Tuesday, Tracy Smith —
then 24 games into his career as
the head coach of the Michigan
baseball team — slouched against
a podium engraved with a ‘Block
M’ and smiled. Smith’s Wolverines
had just won their fourth game in
a row, mounting an epic comeback
to topple Central Michigan via a
walk-off home run.
Six weeks into the college sea-
son, Michigan is playing its best
baseball of the year, even with
an 11-1 clunker in Sunday’s series
finale against Illinois. The Wol-
verines had won nine of 11 games
before
Sunday’s
loss,
which
snapped a five-game winning
streak to open Big Ten play.
Sunday doubled as the halfway
point of Michigan’s 2023 season.
With 26 games to go, the Wol-
verines sit at 15-12. And thanks to
their 5-1 mark in Big Ten play, they
are perched atop the conference
standings, tied with Indiana.
Tuesday, Smith cycled through
a number of different words when
attempting to describe his task at
Michigan. It’s not quite a restora-
tion: Under Erik Bakich, the Wol-
verines became a formidable Big
Ten contender with an uncanny
knack for postseason magic. It’s
not quite a revival, either: Michi-
gan won the Big Ten Tournament
last year, making its third straight
NCAA Regional. But it’s also not
strictly maintenance: Things were
good at Michigan, but not good
enough to keep the status quo.
A few underwhelming regular
seasons left everyone hungry for
more.
All of that leaves Smith in an
intriguing position.
“You know, I’m not building
culture,” Smith said Tuesday, his
voice firm. “I’m just kind of adding
on to that culture. That’s the one
thing I said when I got here: The
culture is outstanding. Erik and
what he did with his staff and the
kids in that locker room, the stuff
was already established. Now, are
we going to add little things along
the way? Absolutely.”
At his introductory press con-
ference in August, Smith spoke of
a desire to achieve “sustainable
success.” Tacitly, he knew that
achieving that goal would take
time — especially considering his
situation.
Smith didn’t exactly inherit a
mess, but he did inherit a program
in flux. In the offseason, Michigan
lost four of its best hitters: Clark
Elliott, Joe Stewart, Matt Frey
and Riley Bertram. It lost its closer
(Willie Weiss) and one of its rota-
tion stalwarts (Cameron Weston).
In response, few outside the
program believed in the Wolver-
ines. The Big Ten coaches’ pre-
season poll, which projects the
top-six teams in the conference,
did not include Michigan. D1base-
ball.com pegged the Wolverines
as the eighth-best team in the
13-team Big Ten.
Yet, at the halfway point of
the season, Michigan is outper-
forming the expectations. That’s
not to say that this team will rip
off a magical run to Omaha or
even make an NCAA Regional.
But there is something to be said
for the way that the Wolverines
are navigating the first season
in Bakich’s wake, emerging as a
formidable, enjoyable team as the
heart of Big Ten play beckons.
“It’s just a testament to a lot
of the work we put in and how
close we are as a team,” graduate
infielder Jack Van Remortel said
Tuesday. “And just the belief in
any situation that we’re gonna be
able to get it done.”
Added Smith: “I’m still learning
the Michigan way, but this place is
special. We just want to continue
to do our part to build on what has
already been established prior to
us coming here.”
Each Michigan athletic pro-
gram is measured against a lofty
standard; baseball is no excep-
tion. Bakich departed with a
.602 winning percentage, the
second-highest among Michigan
baseball coaches since 1960. He
led the Wolverines to five NCAA
Tournament regionals, reviving a
program that sunk to the depths
of the Big Ten at the end of Rich
Maloney’s tenure in 2012.
There are constant remind-
ers of Michigan’s past success.
Gigantic, colorful murals are
splashed across the brick walls of
Ray Fisher Stadium, commemo-
rating the best teams in program
history. Down the right field line
sits a large mural with the slogan:
“Onward to Omaha,” an ode to the
home of the College World Series.
“We always look at it as, we’re
standing on the shoulders of those
that came before us,” Van Remor-
tel said. “So, I think, every year
we’re trying to add a little bit of
the culture to the program. Just
living by that, obviously (Smith)
has come in and done a great job.
That’s kind of how we look at
things here.”
Slowly and surely, you can see
the signs of a foundation. Junior
right-hander Connor O’Halloran
is a bona fide ace. Two-way phe-
nom Mitch Voit and outfielder
Jonathan Kim have dazzled as
freshmen. Sophomore designated
hitter Joe Longo is a force in the
middle of the order, and senior
Jimmy Obertop may soon return
from injury to join him.
With the pieces in place, this
Michigan team believes that it’s
capable of achieving even more.
Led by Smith — cerebral and
grounded — there’s plenty of rea-
son to believe them.
“What
you
did
yesterday
doesn’t mean anything moving
forward, particularly in this con-
ference,” Smith said Sunday. “But
again, we’re pleased with where
we are at this point, and we got a
lot of room to improve.”
In other words, they’re right on
schedule.
BASEBALL
ANNA FUDER/Daily
EMILY ALBERTS/Daily
MEN’S LACROSSE
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Writer