University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Smiling as he draws a walk, rcdshin sophomore Nate Wright enjoys his career gjme against Bowling (irecn state i Si g 4-for- ' ) with four runs scored and ii c KRI. Wright finished oil ;;n. season with a .327 hatting a -ri

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Softball After a disappointing 3-0 loss to DePaul University in the 2000 NCAA Regional Championship, the Wolverine softball team entered the 2001 season with the pressure of being the 1 1 th ranked team in the nation. However, the Wolverines did not lack in experience under pressure; they returned 1 5 letter-winners, including 1 starters and six seniors, from a squad that finished second in the Big Ten. Despite their experience and depth, the Maize and Blue began the 2001 campaign by stumbling through their first 14 games with a 6-8 record. The season-opening funk sent the Wolverines tumbling through the national rankings and by the midpoint of the season, the team found itself out of the national rankings altogether. By the time the Wolverines began their Big Ten Conference schedule they were hitting just .264 as a team and averaging just over three runs a game. However, the Wolverine bats came alive and the pitchers became even more dominant once Big Ten play began. The Maize and Blue tore through the Big Ten, finishing with a 1 7-3 mark and their seventh Big Ten Conference regular-season champi- onship since 1992. The red-hot Wolverines entered the 48-team NCAA tournament field for the seventh consecutive season, but found themselves in the unusual position of having to travel to a Regional Champion- ships. For the first time since 1992, the program ' s first trip to the tournament, the Wolverines did not host one of the eight six-team regionals. Instead, the Wolverines were forced to travel to the Region 4 Championship hosted by Alabama. Despite the unfamiliar setting, the Wolverines dominated the Regional Championship, outscoring their opponents 22-9. Four Wolverines earned a spot on the All-Tournament team led by MVP Melissa Taylor. Kelsey Kollen, Marie Barda, and StefanieVolpejoinedTaylor on theall-tournament team. After claiming the program ' s fifth Regional Championship in seven years, the team traveled to Oklahoma City to participate in the eight-team Women ' s College World Series. The Wolverines entered the World Series as the fourth seed, and in their first game they faced the fifth seeded Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners ' pitching proved to be too tough forthe Wolverine bats as the Maize and Blue managed only three hits and no runs.The next day the Wolverines needed to defeat California to stay alive in the series; however, the team played sloppy defense and allowed three unearned runs, falling to the Golden Bears by a score of 5-2. by Jon Hommer Gunning it home, junior Stephanie Volpe forces a play at the plate. Volpe earned first team Big Ten honors for her play at third base. photo courtesy of A t hi? tic Media Re- lations Staying fo- cused, true freshman Monica Schocksetsup on the outside corner. Schock im- proved her batting aver- age by 28 points in the last 12 games of the season. photo courtesy of Athletic Media Relations Sophomore M e 1 i n d a M o u 1 d e n chops the ball up the middle. M o u 1 d e n was one of four Wol- v e r i n e s named to the All-Big Ten team, photo courtesy of Ath- letic Media Rela- tions 2 Indiana ||| 15 Indiana 3 ||| 8 Central Michigan 1 ||| 3 Central Michigan ||| 1 Minnesota ||| 2 Minnesota 1 ||| 4 Wisconsin 2 ||| 8 Wisconsin D ||| 10 Penn State 1 ||| 3 Penn State 1 ||| 2 Ohio State 1 ||| 2 Ohio State 3 ||| B Northwestern ||| 5 Northwestern 1 ||| Iowa 1 ||| Iowa 1 ||| 8 Eastern Michigan ||| 7 Eastern Michigan 6 j| 2 Detroit 1 ||| 5 Michigan State | 2 Michigan State 1 ||| 2 Penn State ||| B Iowa 1 ||| 1 Iowa 2 ||| 1 Chattanooga ||| B South Florida 2 ||| 3 Alabama 2 ||| 12 South Florida 5 ||| Oklahoma 2 ||| 2 California 5 Sports | 157

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During a game against Bowling Green, senior tri-captain Scott Tousa steps up to the plate with confidence. Tousa consistantly provided leadership on both offense and defense for the Wol- verines and ended the season with a .325 batting average as well as a .987 fielding percentage. photo courtesy of Ath- letic Media Relations On the mound, junior left-handed pitcher Jeff Trzos stares do wn a Bowl- ing Green batter. At 6 ' 6 , Trzos used his large frame to intimidate the oppo- sition and averaged .82 strikeouts per inning, photo courtesy of Athletic Media Rela- tions keepingSCOre baseball homingin on a WUl The Wolverine baseball team entered the 2001 season with a significant amount of pitching experience, but an everyday lineup that featured only five players with 30 or more career starts. The limited experience of the everyday players led to a lack of offensive production over the first half of the season. After 22 games, the Wolverines were hitting a meager .261 as a team. This dearth of offensive production caused the Maize and Blue to rely more heavily on a pitching staff that had experience, but only three seniors. While the Wolverine pitchers maintained a team ERA of under 4.25 over the first half of the season, the team still dropped 12 of its first 22 games, due in large part to the Wolverine ' s quiet bats. After a disappointing first half, the Maize and Blue rebounded to finish the season in sixth place in the Big Ten. While the offense was stagnant for much of the first half of the season, eventually the Wolverine bats caught fire, and the Maize and Blue ended up hitting just under .300 collectively. Just as the Wolverine ' s hitting was improving, the pitching began to deteriorate. The team ' s ERA rose from 4.22 after 22 games to 4.88 by the end of the season. Despite a 1 0-1 4 Big Ten Conference record, the Wolver- ines managed to sneak into the six-team double elimination Big Ten tournament as the sixth seed. While the program had won the conference tournament six times since its inception in 1 981 , this was the program ' sfirst appearance in a six- team league championship tournament. After a mediocre regular season, the Wolverines played their best baseball during the conference tourna- ment. After dropping thefirst game to top-seeded Ohio State, the Wolver- ines fended off elimination by dominating Purdue and Penn State in consecutive games. While the Wolverines made it to the championship game, the tournament had taken its toll on the pitching staff. In the championship game against third-seeded Minnesota, the Wolverines were forced to start true freshman Jim Bauer. Despite his lack of experi- ence, Bauer pitched admirably; allowing just one earned run in six and two-thirds innings of work. Minnesota scored two runs on a throwing error, the Wolverines 1 05th of the season, and won the game by a score of 3-2. Three Wolverines were named to the all-tournament team, includ- ing senior Scott Tousa, freshman Jake Fox and junior Bobby Wood. by Jon Hommer 4WestemMichigan1 1|| 9 Western Michigan6||| 2 Western Michigan4 1|| 1 Stetson 4 1|| 10SouthFlonda4|||8Scuth Florida 13 |||2Stetson 9 1|| 2 Boston Colleges ||| 1 McNeeseState7|||3McNeeseState1 1||6 McNeese4 1|| 2 IllinoisChicago 8 1|| 8 KansasS ||| BKansasB ||| 11 Saint Joseph ' s 1 1|| 4 Iowa3 1|| 7 Bowling Green4 1|| 2 Oakland 3 1|| 30aklandO|||1 Penn State 2 1|| 1 Penn State4 |||3PennState9|||16BowlingGreen4|||4 Eastern MichiganO||| 6 Indiana 2 1| 11 Indiana 7 || Blndiana3 1|| 3 Indiana2 1|| 5 Eastern Michigan 3 1|| 9 Western Michigan 12 1|| 5 Minnesota 3 || BMinnesota 7 1|| 3 Minnesota4||| 8 Minnesota 26 |||12SienaHeights2||| 13 Siena Heights 1 1|| 1 1 1llinois 1 1|| 7 Illinois 5 1|| 2 Illinois 3 1|| 1 1llinois 5 1|| 1 Notre Dame 9 1|| 1 0Detroit 7 1|| 7 Michigan State9|||2Michigan State 10|||21 Michigan State2|||5MichiganState8|||3Central Michigan 15||| 10 Central Michigan 7 ]| 7 Ohio State 5 |||00hio State 2 1|| 7 Ohio State 10||| 2 Ohio State 9 |||40hio StateS ||| 10Purdue2 1|| 10Penn State 2 1|| 2 MinnesotaS Sports | 159