The Wolverine

April 2014

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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BY ANDY REID W hen Michigan baseball coach Erik Bakich was looking at the start of the 2014 season, it was clear one group was going to lead his team, especially in the early going. "We knew that we were going to be the most experienced on the mound, with every single starter returning from last year," he said. "That is never a bad thing. We were excited, and our starters have shown their experience in some of these tough ballgames. They have shown how important it is to have logged some innings in your career, because they have done a nice job, allowing us to win games." Both the Wolverines' baseball and softball teams have a deep, experi- enced collection of pitchers that have started many games and helped Michigan win in previous seasons. Juniors Haylie Wagner and Sara Dri- esenga have both posted 30-win cam- paigns for the softball team. The baseball team has five players returning who each started at least five games last season: sophomore Evan Hill (14 starts), fifth-year senior Logan McAnallen (13 starts) juniors Trent Szkutnik (12 starts), junior James Bourque (10 starts) and fifth- year senior Ben Ballantine (five starts). With that kind of veteran leadership on the mound, both teams are looking to make a big splash when the confer- ence season rolls around. "Our whole team goal is to win a Big Ten championship, and everyone understands that that is right in front of us," fifth-year senior pitcher Ben Ballantine said. "It is a perfectly at- tainable goal." SOFTBALL TEAM RELIES ON HAYLIE WAGNER WHILE ROTATION DEVELOPS The 2013 season did not play out as Wagner had envisioned. Coming off a rookie season in which she compiled a 32-7 record and a 1.53 ERA, win- ning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year hon- ors in the process, Wagner burst onto the scene as the Wolverines' potential next great one in a long line of domi- nant pitchers. But forces beyond Wagner's control left her off the mound for a big por- tion of her sophomore season. Wagner injured her lower back, forcing her to miss the first three weeks of the sea- son. After working her way back into ACE STAFFS The U-M Softball And Baseball Teams Are Relying On Experienced Pitching

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