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

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SOFTBALL Sliding Into Home Plate By Melissa Plotkowski SOFTBALL SCORES Completing their season in Ann Arbor, the Wolverine Softball team finished second in the NCAA Regional Championship. The California Golden Bears, defending national champions, shutout the Wolverines and sent them home without a bid to the Women ' s College World Series. The Wolverines finished their season with a record of 44-15. Senior Marissa Young, pitcher, earned All-American second-team honors. Young earned honors in three of her seasons on the Wolverine team. Young was also named Big Ten Player of the Year with record of 22-4 and 259 strikeouts on the mound. The Wolverine Softball team spent their spring break competing in the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational. During the invitational, Young had a complete game shutout over Texas, who had been previously undefeated. Two days later, the Wolverines defeated Texas again with a score of 3-2, ending their CAL STATE-NORTHRIDGE L 2-3 FRESNO STATE W 9-4 SAN DIEGO STATE L 1-2 OREGON L 7-8 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT W 3-2 TEMPLE W 6-1 WASHINGTON L 3-5 SOUTH CAROLINA L 0-3 TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO W 5-4 FLORIDA W 5-1 TEXAS W 2-0 NORTH CAROLINA L 1-3 NORTH CAROLINA W 1-0 TEXAS W 3-2 UTAH W 1-0 PROVIDENCE W 7-1 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL W 5-2 IUPU-FORT WAYNE W 10-0 BUTLER W 3-0 GARDNER-WEB W 7-0 LOYOLA W 7-0 BOWLING GREEN W 4-0 BOWLING GREEN L 1-3 ILLINOIS L 0-4 ILLINOIS W 12-4 NORTHWESTERN W 6-5 NORTHWESTERN W 3-1 WESTERN MICHIGAN W 11-2 WESTERN MICHIGAN W 2-0 WISCONSIN W 3-0 WISCONSIN W 2-1 MINNESOTA W 2-1 MINNESOTA W 4-1 EASTERN MICHIGAN W 7-1 EASTERN MICHIGAN W 10-2 AKRON W 1-0 AKRON W 1-0 OHIO STATE W 4-0 OHIO STATE L 0-4 PENN STATE W 3-1 PENN STATE L 0-1 CENTRAL MICHIGAN W 2-1 PURDUE W 2-1 PURDUE W 3-2 INDIANA W 9-1 INDIANA W 9-0 EASTERN MICHIGAN W 6-0 EASTERN MICHIGAN W 12-2 OAKLAND W 2-0 MICHIGAN STATE L 0-2 MICHIGAN STATE L 1-2 NORTHWESTERN L 6-8 MINNESOTA W 3-2 MICHIGAN STATE L 0-2 WESTERN MICHIGAN W 8-0 CALIFORNIA L 0-9 WRIGHT STATE W 13-0 NOTRE DAME W 5-3 DEPAUL W 5-2 CALIFORNIA L 0-1 spring break with a first place finish at the invitational. In April, head coach Carol Hutchins recorded her 800 career win against Wisconsin. Hutchins had been coaching the Wolverines since 1985 and owed 777 of the 800 wins to her Michigan team. A few weeks later, Hutchins was chosen by Michigan State, her Alma Mater, for the prestigious 2003 Nell Jackson Award, given out to female alumni who have shown many accomplishments in their professional lives. During the Big Ten Championship, the Wolverines played Northwestern, Minnesota and Michigan State. Although the team lost to both Northwestern and Michigan State, the win over Minnesota was enough to earn Michigan fourth place in the Big Ten. The Wolverines finished their season in Ann Arbor with the NCAA Regional Championship, placing second. The team won four of the six games, losing two to the Golden Bears. 132 Sports

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BASEBALL 5wi Junior catcher Jake Fox readies himself for his pitcher ' s fastball. Smart pitching calls and great fielding skills made Fox an extremely valuable asset for the team. . Neff photo inq r I -f-itltt In the Right Drmction By Chelsea Anderson BASEBALL SCORES A change of focus driven by new coaching staff Rich Maloney.John Lowery, Jason Murray, and Scott Mallernee pushed the Wolverines to new heights during their season. In Big Ten performance, the team finished third, improving tremendously from last year ' s second-to-last place finish. They also conquered rivals Notre Dame and Ohio State. Michigan baseball was struggling and not very competitive in the past years, but Maloney and Lowery raised the expectations, pushing us harder at practice and in the weight room, which in the end showed in our performance in competition, said sophomore pitcher Drew Taylor. Team accomplishments included defeating Ohio State University three out of four games in a single weekend at Columbus, the first time since the Buckeye ' s first constructed the new stadium in 1999. The Wolverines also conquered No. 13 ranked Notre Dame and capitalized on the match-up against No. 1 ranked Georgia Tech, losing by only one run (6-7). Several Wolverines shined through their performance, earning recognition from ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE L 4-11 RIDER W 15-1 GEORGIA TECH L 6-7 SAINT LEO L 12-13 STETSON L 5-7 BETHUNE-COOKMAN W 7-5 BETHUNE-COOKMAN W 14-6 OKLAHOMA W 16-12 OKLAHOMA L 2-5 OKLAHOMA L 2-5 NORTHERN ILLINOIS L 8-12 BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN W 10-6 WINTHROP W 8-5 BUTLER W 11-5 WESTERN MICHIGAN L 2-6 CENTRAL MICHIGAN L 8-12 CENTRAL MICHIGAN W 15-6 IOWA L 6-9 IOWA W 4-0 IOWA W 9-5 IOWA W 20-4 EASTERN MICHIGAN W 11-9 MINNESOTA L 3-9 MINNESOTA L 7-8 CONCORDIA(MICH) W 11-4 ILLINOIS L 3-5 ILLINOIS L 7-8 ILLINOIS L 6-13 ILLINOIS W 4-3 HILLSDALE W 9-1 OAKLAND W 10-9 MICHIGAN STATE L 3-12 MICHIGAN STATE W 2-1 MICHIGAN STATE W 12-0 MICHIGAN STATE W 5-2 PENN STATE L 5-6 PENN STATE W 4-2 PENN STATE W 6-5 PENN STATE L 4-6 NOTRE DAME W 8-4 OHIO STATE L 1-2 OHIO STATE W 5-4 OHIO STATE W 3-1 OHIO STATE W 9-4 WESTERN MICHIGAN L S-6 NORTHWESTERN W 9-3 NORTHWESTERN W 3-0 NORTHWESTERN L 3-8 NORTHWESTERN W 3-1 EASTERN MICHIGAN L 9-10 PURDUE W 3-2 PURDUE L 6-8 PURDUE L 4-7 PURDUE L 2-7 INDIANA W 7-2 OHIO STATE L 2-4 PENN STATE L 2-3 teammates as well on the national levels. Junior catcher Jake Fox was awarded the Ray Fisher Award, named Michigan ' s Most Valuable Player, and was selected to Baseball America ' s 2003 All-America third team. Fox, who served as co- captain, finished the season with a batting average of .357, a slugging average of .696, and led the team in home runs with 15. He was drafted in the third round of the 2003 Major League Draft to the Chicago Cubs. Teammate Brock Koman was drafted by the Houston Astros and teammate Jim Brauer was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. All Regional and Big Ten Selections were awarded to Fox, Taylor, and Mike Sokol, a fifth-year senior and the first baseman designated hitter. Taylor, a transfer from Georgia Tech, was also presented with the Geoff Zahn award as Michigan ' s Most Valuable Pitcher. Being recognized as the team ' s most valuable pitcher means a lot because it comes from my teammates. I had to earn their respect, said Taylor. He was the first Wolverine pitcher to win nine games since 1997. The wolverines concluded their regular season with a record of 30-27, 16-14 in the Big Ten and earned fourth place in the Big Ten Tournament. Baseball 131

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Waiting for the play to start, sophomore student Jennifer Kreinbrink watches the pitcher ' s mound from second base. Kreinbrink was the catcher for the Wolverines. . Neff photo Reaching low, junior student Amy Prichard positions her glove to field the ground ball. As an infielder, Prichard appeared in 24 games this season. . Neff photo While sliding into home plate, senior Lisa Mack narrowly avoids the tag-out by the opposing catcher. Mack had 1 5 runs on the season and played in the outfield for the Wolverines. J. Neff photo Hutchins 91 agins coaching owed]]? is chosen to, for in Award rho have in their Big Ten to win Die, the ;Ten. r season kteam i wo to . Softball 133