The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 — 15
Michigan drops two of three games
in wild weekend series at Rutgers
JOSHUA BROWN
Daily Sports Writer
When junior left-hander Connor
O’Halloran gave up four runs before
recording a single out in Friday’s
series opener at Rutgers, it was clear
that the Michigan baseball team
was in for a hectic weekend.
After
massive
momentum
swings like a weather delay, Michi-
gan coach Tracy Smith being
ejected and 43 combined runs,
O’Halloran’s rough start proved to
be the beginning of the chaos.
This left the Wolverines (19-
16 overall, 7-5 Big Ten) with a 1-2
weekend record against the Scarlet
Knights (20-16, 4-5) while yet again
searching to find their top-end form
in conference play.
O’Halloran’s rough first inning
on Friday forced Smith’s hand early.
He made a risky choice to effec-
tively concede the game in favor of
keeping O’Halloran available for
Sunday. Compounding that deci-
sion was his reluctance to burn his
team’s top relievers in a game that
started looking like a lost cause.
“I don’t like saying ‘concede it’
because we’re still trying to win
after that,” Smith said. “But the fac-
tors were, in at least my interpreta-
tion of, ‘Hey, maybe he doesn’t have
his best stuff right now. Let’s (pull
him from the game) right now when
the pitch count’s down (and) he can
bounce back.’ ”
This gamble ultimately paid off.
While the Wolverines were shut out
in a 13-0 loss on Friday night, Smith
deliberately put the weaker reliev-
ers of his thin pitching staff on the
mound to keep the best ones fresh.
O’Halloran then came back on
Sunday morning in the resump-
tion of the weather-suspended
game from Saturday to pitch six
relief innings, only giving up two
more runs to earn the win. But
O’Halloran was only in the position
for a win because of the resilient
hitting that brought Michigan back
from an early 6-0 deficit on Satur-
day.
It was pivotal for the Wolverines
to knot the game up at six in the
top of the fourth inning before the
weather suspension, as they were
reeling off two poor starts from
their aces to start the weekend.
After chipping away with three
runs in the third inning, a home run
by senior second baseman Ted Bur-
ton leveled the score.
“Just sticking to the process, just
staying with it, knowing that we can
do it and just a lot of big at bats from
a lot of guys on the team,” graduate
first baseman Jack Van Remortel
said. “(Burton) hit that home run,
that was huge for us. So guys just
sticking with it, playing as a team
and trusting it.”
And in Sun-
day’s
resump-
tion, it was Van
Remortel’s own
clutch
hitting
that
brought
Michigan
all
the way back for
their lone win of
the series.
With
the
game
tied
at
eight
in
the
eighth
inning,
an RBI single
by Van Remortel gave the Wol-
verines a lead they never relin-
quished. He added two more
insurance runs in the ninth with a
two-RBI single, his third hit of the
game, to stretch the advantage to
the final score of 13-8.
Coming off the suspended
game win, Michigan was well-
positioned for the second game
of the quasi-doubleheader thanks
to Smith’s decision to withhold
his best relievers after yanking
O’Halloran following the first
inning on Friday. The Wolverines
had their top three relievers avail-
able in senior right-hander Noah
Rennard, freshman right-hander
Mitch Voit and senior left-hander
Jacob Denner.
“We felt like we were in pretty
good shape going into the third
game because we had (Rennard),
Denner and Voit all available, and
everybody else in the pen,” Smith
said. “But we just didn’t do a real
good job offensively. … Not happy
that we didn’t take the series
because I felt like we were in a
pretty good position even after
the blowout on Friday.”
While the hitting also floun-
dered early, as Michigan missed
prime opportunities with runners
in scoring position, Rennard’s
unraveling in the fourth proved
costly for the Wolverines’ hopes of
a series win in their 6-3 loss. Ren-
nard gave up five runs in his 3.2
innings pitched, with four in that
fatal fourth inning.
Fittingly
punctuating
the
mayhem of the series, Smith was
tossed in the sixth inning of Sun-
day’s second game for arguing a
close play at first involving senior
right fielder Joey Velazquez,
heading off in a golf cart with his
backpack in hand.
In a hectic series, Michigan
found itself leaving the Garden
State digging around in the dirt
for its identity once again.
Sports
BASEBALL
Michigan’s consistency at bat leads to 2-1 outing against Purdue
TASMIA JAMIL
Daily Sports Writer
When the Michigan softball
team places runners on base, it
tends to primarily rely on oppos-
ing defensive lapses and sacrifice
outs to bring them home. But
against Purdue over the week-
end, it combined that offensive
identity with its hitting prowess,
tallying 21 total hits in the series
to capitalize on scoring opportu-
nities.
While the Wolverines (22-16
overall, 8-5 Big Ten) fell short of a
sweep on the verge of a late come-
back in the second game of the
series on Saturday, the offensive
rhythm led to comfortable book-
end wins in a 2-1 showing against
the Boilermakers (19-24, 3-11).
Opening the series on Friday,
Michigan
pressured
Purdue’s
defense early. Facing a full count
in the first inning, graduate center
fielder Lexie Blair slotted the ball
toward center field for a double. A
fielding error on the play allowed
Blair to use her speed, sliding in
to steal third base before a sacri-
fice groundout brought her home.
In the following inning, graduate
first baseman Melina Livingston
belted one over the center field
wall to give the Wolverines a 2-0
lead.
“We scored in the first two
innings that we played, so that’s
always good to get some momen-
tum going,” Michigan coach Bon-
nie Tholl said. “They don’t feel
the burden of having to score
constantly. They know that their
teammates were able to come up
and put things in play, and that’s
contagious.”
With an early lead and soph-
omore
right-hander
Lauren
Derkowski controlling the game
from the circle, the Wolverines
looked to build on the momen-
tum. They continued to tally hits
and scoring opportunities, but
couldn’t capitalize. Finally, in
the sixth inning, graduate right
fielder Ellie Mataya’s home run
broke the game wide open for
Michigan.
The Wolverines, feeding off
of the offensive rhythm, quickly
loaded the bases. In a position
where they have struggled most
of the season — often leaving run-
ners stranded — this time, they
capitalized on the opportunity.
Utilizing a passed ball to bring
the runner home, they extended
the lead, 4-0.
While the run capped off
Michigan’s scoring production
on Friday, its aggressive at bats
— finding gaps to consistently
slot the ball to and maximizing
on the Boilermakers’ defensive
lapses for extra bases — created a
coherent offensive rhythm. That
rhythm remained in the Wolver-
ines’ favor as they tallied seven
hits to compliment Derkowski’s
first career no-hitter and ulti-
mately secure a 4-0 win.
In the second game of the
series on Saturday, though, the
offensive momentum seemed to
disappear. Michigan attempted
to drop the ball into the outfield
but instead landed the ball in the
Boilermakers’ gloves every time.
“We were trying to do too
much, not really just letting
things happen,” Livingston said.
“Once we started to settle in, try-
ing to get people more relaxed in
the box … letting things happen
just sticking to a process.”
With a shaky performance
from junior right-hander Jessica
LeBeau in the previous innings —
hitting four batters with pitches
and allowing the runner to score
on a wild pitch — Purdue took an
early 3-0 lead.
The Wolverines’ bats finally
came alive in the fourth inning as
sophomore left fielder Ellie Sieler
recorded a double for their first
hit of the game. And from there
on, Michigan returned to its Fri-
day form. A double from junior
catcher Keke Tholl to right field
resulted in an RBI double in the
sixth inning, bringing the score
to 3-2. But it was too little too late
as the Wolverines took a game
two loss.
Heading into the second game
of the doubleheader on Saturday,
Michigan picked up where it left
MARIA DECKMANN/Daily
off in the sixth inning of the first
game. After scoring on a throw,
senior third baseman Audrey
LeClair hit a triple before coming
home on an RBI single in the fifth
inning.
“Audrey is a gamer,” Livings-
ton said. “She’s a high energy
player, so when we get her at high
energy, the team can really feed
off of that.”
The offense did exactly that.
With two outs in the fifth inning,
Keke’s triple for an RBI double,
followed by a fielding error that
brought her home, extended the
Wolverines’ lead to 5-0. While
Michigan didn’t score for the rest
of the game, it tallied hits in back-
to-back innings to maintain the
offensive flow and pressure the
Boilermakers’ defense on its way
to the series-clinching victory.
Whether it was power hits or
smart base running, the Wolver-
ines found multiple ways to score
throughout the weekend, taking
advantage of the opportunities
presented to them by Purdue’s
defense. Regardless of the loss in
the second game, Michigan dem-
onstrated its ability to find con-
sistency at bat — something it has
struggled to find all season long.
Michigan falls just short, finishes
second at NCAA Championship
IAN PRCHLIK
Daily Sports Writer
In the narrow landscape of
NCAA men’s gymnastics, one
program sits atop the throne.
Stanford has dominated the
past four years, winning nation-
al championships in 2019, 2021
and 2022. The lone year with-
out a Cardinal championship
was 2020, canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
On Saturday, the No. 2 Michi-
gan
men’s
gymnastics
team
(22-9 overall) had the opportu-
nity to change that narrative at
the NCAA Championships Meet
— but ultimately fell short.
Despite setting a new season
record with a total team score of
419.889, the Wolverines fell just
short of Stanford, as the Car-
dinal won yet another national
championship. Stanford main-
tained its seat atop the sport,
and Michigan settled for second
fiddle to the Cardinal’s 422.458
points.
“I’m super proud of our fresh-
men,” Michigan coach Yuan
Xiao said. “Fred Richard, and
also Landen (Blixt) are two guys
that give the team so
much confidence.”
The freshmen rightly
earned Xiao’s praise as
Richard was the hero
for Michigan. He won
individual titles in par-
allel bars and high bars
to boost him to the all-
around title.
While
Richard,
became a three-event
national champion, fel-
low freshman Blixt and
senior Adam Wooten
paced the Wolverines’
floor
routine,
both
scored 14.233s which
pushed Michigan ahead
of Oklahoma for second place.
Richard lost the execution-score
tiebreaker to Kleuber in his floor
routine, an impressive 14.800,
but remained pleased with his
performance.
“When you compete for the
team and you succeed, every-
body feels like they succeeded,”
Richard said. “It’s a whole differ-
ent feeling.”
Michigan’s success during the
first day of the meet as they set
their then-season-record score
of 413.992 to advance to day two
for a shot at the finals.
“I think a lot of things went
well on day one, we just knew
we had to qualify … and we did
that,” Senior Adam Wooten said.
“A lot of day one was conserv-
ing our energy and keeping our
minds right.”
The calm and positive energy
put forth by the senior leader
was evident in the Wolverine’s
day two performance, when they
set another team record en route
to their runner-up finish.
“Once we got to day two, one
thing we did well was to stay
loose, stay calm, and roll with
the punches as they came,” Woo-
ten said. “That really helped us
minimize mistakes and react
pretty well when we did have
the couple mistakes that we
had.”
The most minor of mistakes
remained between the Wolver-
ines and the national champi-
onship. A sub-par routine from
Richard on the pommel horse
and a trio of falls on Michigan’s
high-bar routine were the dif-
ference. However, Michigan’s
program is building something
that Xiao is excited about.
“Last year we were 10 points
behind the number one team
which is Stanford,” Xiao said.
“This year we closed the gap to
one or two points. It was a big
gap that we closed.”
Growth and progress will
remain imperative for Xiao’s
program, which is looking to
return to the success it found in
back-to-back national champi-
onships in 2013 and 2014 when
Xiao was an assistant coach.
“We’re working hard and
are happy with where we are
at,” Xiao said. “So in the next
two years, we can bring the
trophy back to Michigan.”
For now though, second
place will have to do.
MEN’S GYMNASTICS
Fred Richard wins parallel bars, high bar, all-around NCAA titles
When the Michigan men’s gym-
nastic team won its third straight
regular season Big Ten title on
March 18, freshman Fred Richard
wasn’t in the building.
In fact, he wasn’t even in the
country. Richard was in Germany
competing for Team USA as the
Wolverines squared off against
Illinois for the conference title. On
Saturday, Michigan once again
faced the Fighting Illini with hard-
ware on the line. This time, Richard
was in the lineup — and he made an
impact.
In his first NCAA Champion-
ship, Richard won the parallel bars,
high bar and all-around titles.
“College meets, energy wise,
(are) just a whole different experi-
ence,” Richard said. “It’s so fun.”
Richard has been dominant all
season. The true freshman was
crowned the Big Ten all-around
champion just a couple weeks
prior, named Big Ten Freshman
of the Year and owns the top score
among Wolverines in three of the
six events. Coming into the NCAA
Championship, Richard was fresh
off dominating performances in the
NCAA Nationals Qualifier and the
Big Ten Championship.
After a career best on the floor,
Richard stared down the pommel
horse. Michigan ranks in the top
four in the country in each event
except pommel, where it is only
eighth. Richard has been one of the
Wolverines’ best performers in the
event; his services were badly need-
ed if Michigan looked to claim a
national championship. He scored a
12.83. It was the lowest score among
his teammates and third lowest of
the event.
“I didn’t know if I’d still win the
(all-around) after the pommel,”
Richard said.
But
Richard
bounced
back
strong. Despite his freshman status,
Richard’s presence is mature. He
has taken on a difficult role in his
freshman year and, despite missing
part of it competing overseas right
before, led the Wolverines to a 20th
Big Ten Championship.
“It’s not an easy job to be the
all-around,” Michigan coach Yuan
Xiao said.
And with the absence of last
year’s all-around, senior Paul Juda,
in 2023, Richard has had to step up
into this already-difficult role in the
shadow of a Nissen-Emery award
recipient.
At the root of this maturity is
Richard’s routine, which borders on
professional. The freshman doesn’t
let vices get in the way of his per-
formance on the floor and is clear
about his intention to put gymnas-
tics first.
“Some guys think their training
is only the three hours, four hours
that they’re in the gym but then
they (start) eating bad food, not
sleeping as well, partying,” Richard
said. “… While (I’m) in college, still
maintaining everything towards
getting better at the sport, I think
that mentality is what separates
me.”
It was on Saturday, April 15,
where that separation was evident.
Despite an all-time low score in the
pommel, Richard scored back to
back 14.6s on the rings and vault.
As he jumped up to the chalk-laden
parallel bars, Michigan sat precari-
ously in third; it had bounced back
well in rings, but a low pommel
score still rang softly in its ears.
Richard eased the noise with a
meet-high 15.000 on the parallel
bars. The freshman had brought his
team back into the top two, solidi-
fied his position at the top of the
all-around charts and earned him-
self an NCAA championship for the
event.
As Fred Richard’s feet hit the mat
for a final time, he had secured his
second and third titles. His high bar
routine anchored the Wolverines
event, and while Richard’s 14.433
topped the meet, it wasn’t enough
to vault Michigan past Stanford.
“I just felt super proud,” Richard
said. “All five of us on our high bar
rotation did amazing.”
Richard’s high bar performance
is not only indicative of his ability
to make in-meet adjustments, but
to redeem himself from previous
meets’ mistakes. Friday, in NCAA
Qualifiers, he had fallen on high
bar. Saturday, he was the high bar
champion.
“(The high bar score) is like a
redemption
moment,”
Richard
said.
The freshman ended with a
score of 85.998, clearing his near-
est competitor by more than two
points. Despite an uncharacteristic
pommel horse, Richard became
the 14th Michigan gymnast to be
crowned the all-around champion,
and third to take home three cham-
pionships in one night.
Despite a late, valiant push, the
Wolverines finished second overall
behind Stanford on Saturday.
But freshman Fred Richard is a
national champion.
MEN’S GYMNASTICS
JENNA HICKEY/Daily
EMILY ALBERTS/Daily
LUCAS SZENTGYORGYI
Daily Sports Writer
LILA TURNER/Daily
SOFTBALL