Ferris State’s softball team opened its GLIAC season with a bang this weekend, winning all four of its games at FSU Varsity Field. The only runs the Bulldogs allowed in the four games were two unearned tallies in the first inning of the first game against Gannon University. From then on out, the Bulldogs blanked the Lady Knights on Saturday, March 29 and the Mercyhurst Lakers on Sunday, March 30 with 25 scoreless innings.

Ferris State dug deep in the late innings of the first game of the double header against Gannon to pull out a 4-2 victory. “Our offense struggled in Florida and our offense struggled in the first few innings today, it was nice to see hitters breaking through,” said Ferris State head coach Keri Becker.

The Bulldogs received a strong pitching performance throughout the game from junior Holly Bruntjens who recorded her fifth win of the season. Bruntjens allowed six hits, no earned runs and two walks in seven innings of work while striking out three batters.

The Bulldogs were silenced until late in the fifth inning when senior third baseman Katie Kraai doubled down the left field line. Kraai came around to score on junior first baseman Amanda Jager’s RBI single to left center field.

The Bulldogs were able to gain momentum heading into the bottom of the sixth with four batters hitting doubles gathering three runs. Ferris State bats were led by sophomore designated player Rhea Flores with three hits, sophomore second baseman Amanda Harrington and junior centerfielder Sarah Mueller with two apiece.

The Bulldogs received a shutout pitching performance by Mueller in the second game of the Gannon double header winning 5-0. Mueller recorded her fourth win of the season with four strike outs in seven innings of work.

Ferris State broke the game open in the third inning and never looked back. Harrington and Mueller were able to draw walks. Junior catcher Krystle Bailey singled to left field scoring Harrington from second. Mueller and Bailey were able to advance on a wild pitch and score on Kraai’s RBI double to right field.

Jager switched places with Kraai as she doubled to right center field. Jager advanced to third base on junior shortstop McKenzie West’s left field single. Freshman centerfielder Lynsay Weaver picked up an RBI as her sacrifice hit scored Jager from third base. Ferris State was only able to get five hits off Gannon pitching, but five walks proved to help out Bulldog scoring.

Mueller got the call in the first game of the double header with Mercyhurst Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs were able to put up back to back shutouts with Mueller winning her fifth game of the season while striking out three and allowing no walks in seven innings of work.

The Bulldogs backed her up by scoring three runs in the first, one in the third and one in the fifth winning 5-0. Ferris State started off with Harrington doubling to left center field and Mueller drawing a walk. Harrington and Mueller both advanced on Bailey’s sacrifice bunt to the catcher. The Bulldogs got on the board with Kraai’s homerun over the right centerfield wall, tallying three RBI’s.

Ferris State was able to gain a run in the third inning after Mueller earned a walk but was thrown out at third base attempting to steal. Bailey reached base on a Laker centerfielder error and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Bailey scored on Jager’s ground out to the shortstop giving her an RBI.

Ferris State picked up its fifth run of the game in the fifth inning. Harrington led the inning off with a single to centerfield. Mueller pulled a triple past the first baseman and down into the right field corner scoring Harrington from first base.

It didn’t take the Bulldogs long in the second game of the Mercyhurst double header to chase the Lakers pitcher.

Ferris State scored 10 runs in the first inning, sending Lakers pitcher Brittany Strier out after one third of an inning. The Bulldogs received strong pitching performances from Bruntjens, who picked up her sixth win of the season, Flores and sophomore Kayle Stevenson. The three combined to allow one hit, four walks and nine strikeouts in the Bulldogs 10-0 victory.

Coach Becker was able to get all 14 players into the game throughout the mercy ruling five inning contest. In the first inning, the Bulldogs batted around one and half times on eight hits, three walks and two Laker errors.

The Bulldogs received contribution throughout the lineup. Harrington drew a walk, scored a run on a hit and picked up one RBI. Mueller picked up three RBI’s on two hits and two scored runs. Bailey and Weaver also added four hits, four RBI’s and three runs between them.

The Bulldogs travel to Northwood on Saturday, April 5 and Saginaw Valley State on Sunday, April 6. Ferris State returns home for two weekday double headers. First the Bulldogs take on Cornerstone University on Monday, April 7 and then meet with GLIAC opponent Wayne State University on Wednesday. April 9.

My family was one of the thousands of disappointed Michigan State fans. My mom had purchased tickets nearly a year prior for the Midwest regional that took place at Ford Field last weekend.

After watching in agony as Wisconsin pulled out all the theatrical stops in the Big Ten tournament, forcing Michigan State into foul trouble, and rallying back from a 12 point deficit to take Michigan State’s spot in the Midwest region, my family decided we were still going to Ford Field.

We never tried to sell our tickets in hopes of being able to fly out to Houston to watch Michigan State, we were happy to be able to watch good solid basketball.

My sister decked out in her Michigan State basketball T-shirt and a hoodie and me, wearing a Ferris basketball shirt, walked through the main gates a half hour before Davidson and Wisconsin tipped off to meet with a sea of green.

Standing on top of the steps my sister and I yelled “Go Green!” Did you ever experience everything stopping and everyone turning towards you trying to figure out what you were doing? Yes, that was us, but the Spartan faithful quickly recovered and answered with “Go White!” and the cheer continued for a short while.

Yes, that’s what it was like, a sea of green mixed in with fans from Davidson, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Villanova. It didn’t take long into the Davidson-Wisconsin game for the bitter Michigan State fans to begin cheering for Davidson.

No matter what Davidson did, it was followed by Ford Field erupting into cheers. We cheered for three-point jump shots, we cheered for dunks, and we cheered when the Wisconsin goons got into foul trouble.

No, I’m not being harsh when a 6 foot 8 inch, 200 pound player is tapped by a 5 foot 10 inch guard and goes flying, drawing the foul and causing Michigan State to lose. Or when 6 foot 8 inch, 200 pound player begins playing like Muhammad Ali but doesn’t pick up a foul, I can call them goons.

When Davidson beat another higher seed, to move into the Elite Eight, Ford Field was rocking.

Unfortunately, Villanova was no match for top seeded Kansas, and at 11:30 p.m., Villanova was down by 19 at the half. My family then decided it was okay to leave. We left in mourning with Michigan State being annihilated by Memphis, and Kansas doing the same to Villanova.

We left with a couple thousand fans, fighting the traffic to leave the city, most of us subdued and hoping for next season to be better, hoping for Michigan State to make it to the Final Four at Ford Field next year.

We left with Wisconsin and discouraged Villanova fans, all of us wishing that one player could have done a little bit more, made that one more shot. It was end of season hoping with the belief that next year will be better.

For some teams it should be, for others this may be the year, the last time in a decade, that these teams may get this deep in the post-season.

It is a time to celebrate, it is a time to mourn, it is a time to hope, wish, and plead for a better showing next year. Championship emotions were depicted in a NCAA montage of winners and losers. For some this loss is it, for others there is the NBA, or another year.

This is when every player plays like it is the last time he will ever wear his jersey, the last time he will be with his team, the last time he will hear his coach yelling, encouraging, and the last time he will celebrate.

That’s how every player plays in March, like he will never play again, and for some…it’s the truth.

Two Ferris State University seniors will represent the Bulldogs on the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) division II All-America Team for 2008.

Jumper/sprinter Amy Woodman received the national championship in the long jump after a stellar performance during the first day of competition on Friday, March 14.

The event was held March 14 and 15 at Minnesota State- Mankato’s Myers Field House in Mankato, Minn., where Woodman defeated her competition after launching herself 19 feet 6 inches on her first jump.

The jump proved to be the longest of the day with second place Kirby Blackley coming up 1.75 inches short at 19 feet 4.25 inches.

It was Woodman’s first trip to the national meet as she defeated 15 other jumpers to gain the national title.

"It felt amazing to win the national title," Woodman said after her performance. "I‘m from England and they don't have anything like this back home."

Woodman transferred to Ferris State from the University of Wales in England where she holds the school-record long jump of 19 feet 10.75 inches after competing at the Eastern Michigan Classic in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Woodman walked away with first place after defeating the runner- up by 11 inches which gained her access to Friday’s national meet where she posted the winning jump.

Kamitra Carroll received All- America recognition in the women’s shot-put on the last day of competition where she was able to gain a lock on seventh place after a toss of 46 feet 6 inches. Sheena Devine of Bemidji State (Minn.) took first place with a toss of 52 feet 2.50 inches.

Carroll and Woodman also participated in one other event each where Carroll took 13th place out of 15 throwers in the weight throw with a 53 feet 1.50 inches toss.

Woodman took a shot in the preliminary round of the 200 meter but with a time of 26.06 was unable to reach the finals and placed 19th out of 20.

With Woodman’s and Carroll’s points, the Bulldog women’s indoor squad were in fourth place overall in the team standings but fell to 15th overall at the conclusion of the five events.

The Bulldogs were previously ranked 29th heading into the national meet.

Woodman’s performance in the long jump represented the first time a Bulldog women’s track and field athlete ever competed and won a national championship title.

Carroll’s second place finish in the weight throw at last year’s national indoor meet in Boston, Mass. held the previous record.

The last time a Ferris State track star was able to walk away with a national title was men’s thrower Paul Cochran who claimed three national titles in throwing events in 1990 and was the only Bulldog to ever receive a national title at the NCAA level.

Woodman placed among the top eight finishers in four events at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Findlay, Ohio. There she captured All-GLIAC honors with a long jump of 18 feet 3.25 inches and placed third.

She also captured fifth in the 55 meters, sixth in the 200 meters and sixth in the trip jump.

Carroll gained 2007 NCAAII in All-America honors in the weight throw and shot put with her performance in last year's meet.

She held the national runnerup position in the weight throw with a toss of 59 feet 4 inches, and then placed sixth in the shot put with a toss of 46 feet 5.50 inches.

Carroll also took ninth place out of 18 in 2006 in women’s shot put with a toss of 46 feet 4.75 inches and fell one spot short of receiving All-America honors.

She was also named the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Women’s Indoor Field Event Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCA during the 2005-06 season.

She placed 11th overall in the shot put at the national indoor meet with a toss of 45 feet 2.50 inches and was able to gain national qualification marks this year while holding onto fourth place in the shot put with a 45 foot 8 inch throw and sixth in the weight throw with 57 foot 7 inch at the 2008 GLIAC Indoor Championships.

The Ferris State intramural basketball team FaNoGames ventured to the National Campus Championship Series Regional Basketball Championship where it was able to walk way with the championship title.

The event was held at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Mich. and took place over March 14-16.

The team is led by former Ferris State University men’s basketball player Michael Daniels who received the tournaments Most Valuable Player Award for his performance during the competition.

The FaNoGames squad reached the regional event after claiming the Ferris State Intramural League title this past winter.

Daniels is 6-6 and finished his Bulldog basketball eligibility in 2006-07. He also played Ferris State football in the fall 2007 season.

With the win at the regional championships, FaNoGames has gained a spot in the 2008 National Intramural Basketball Championships which will take place April 18-20 at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Along with Daniels, FaNoGames is also comprised of a number of Ferris State students including Kevin Moore, Gil Bransford, Jason Eberhart, Andre Pettway, Steve Ellsworth, Ty Gilbert, Andrew McNabb, Ron Hardy and Travis “Snoop” Eising.

In addition to Daniels' play with the Ferris State basketball and football teams, Hardy and Eising were both players on the Ferris State football team during the fall 2007 season.

Daniels was a four-year star for the Bulldogs' basketball squad and averaged a career-best 10.7 points per game in his final season with the Bulldogs. He was the team's second-leading rebounder with an average of six rebounds per game.

Daniels left the Bulldogs after finishing his career with 951 points, 49 short of becoming the 26th player in Ferris State history to have 1,000 or more.

He is also currently ranked 14th on Ferris State’s all-time rebounding list with 561.

After receiving the Most Improved Player Award in 2003- 04, Daniels started 100 of his 117 collegiate games to help the Bulldogs to back-to-back Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division Championships in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

The Bulldogs were also able to gain entry to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament and reached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen during Daniels' sophomore year.

Daniels also played in two games for the Ferris State football team where he played as a wide receiver.

Daniels recently began a coaching career this past winter as a junior varsity assistant coach for the Big Rapids High School.

After graduation from Ferris State University in May, Daniels plans to work at Detroit Southwestern High School where he has already been hired as an assistant coach for the 2008-09 basketball season.

With a little over a week and a half left in the regular National Hockey League season, teams look to earn crucial points to reach playoff spots. A dozen teams are within striking distance of the final playoff spots in both conferences. Home ice advantage for the top four seeds in both conferences are also in the air. Other than the Detroit Red Wings holding down first place in the Western Conference, teams have been shuffling up and down through out the second half of the season.

The Eastern Conference has seen its number one seed fluctuate late in the regular season as the top eight teams are separated by only 10 points. Currently the Montreal Canadians occupy first place by a point over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadians have come on strong after trading starting goaltender Christobal Huet to the Washington Capitals. Montreal has ridden goaltender Carey Price into first place, winning seven of its last 10 games.

The Penguins are currently right on the heals of the Canadians. With superstar Sidney Crosby in and out of the lineup with a high ankle sprain, the Penguins are getting strong numbers from their young sensation Evgeni Malkin and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has helped the Penguins win seven games in their last 10.

The bottom four teams in the Eastern Conference are all three points apart. The Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabers are on the outside looking in as the only two teams with a chance to make it in. The Capitals are three points out of eighth place and the Sabers are out by five. I think with the season winding down, one of the bottom four seeds will become cold and the streaking Capitals, with NHL scoring leader Alexander Ovechkin, will sneak into the eighth spot.

Montreal and Pittsburgh are going to battle for first place and home ice throughout. Carolina, New Jersey, Ottawa, New York and Boston may move up and down depending on their final regular season games. The Philadelphia Flyers are currently in eighth place but have recently slipped up and I believe this is who the Washington Capitals are going to catch and pass to make their playoff bid.

In their last 10 games, the San Jose Sharks have climbed into second place in the Western Conference by winning eight games. The Sharks have clinched the Pacific Division behind goaltender Evgeni Nabokov ahead of the defending champion Anaheim Ducks. San Jose is now in a race with the Red Wings for first place overall and the President’s trophy.

With Dominik Hasek out for Detroit, the Red Wings are relying on Chris Osgood and dynamic duo Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk scored 10 points and Zetterberg has scored nine points in Detroit’s last five games.

Behind the Wings and Sharks, anything can happen. The bottom six teams in the Western Conference are separated by 10 points with the Nashville Predators currently occupying eighth place.

Everyone counted out the Edmonton Oilers from making a little run towards the playoffs, but currently the Oilers are only two points out of eighth place. Edmonton has used a tandem goaltender system with Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson to win six of their last 10 games.

Vancouver is currently tied with Nashville with 86 points but is sitting in ninth place. The Canadians have been on a short slump in their last 10 games, winning only four of them. If Vancouver is going to make the playoffs, it needs a stronger performance from goaltender Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins.

I think that the top seven teams in the Western Conference are safe; they may move up and down but will most likely be in the playoffs. The Predators are under attack and because of Vancouver and Edmonton’s goaltender play, but I believe they will falter and yield the eighth playoff spot to either of those teams.

The Western Conference is pretty solid and I expect it to remain that way until the end of the regular season. I received my information from NHL.com.

Men’s Tennis
The Bulldogs aced the Lake Superior State Lakers on Friday, winning 9-0, as the Bulldogs swept the Singles and Doubles flights.

The Bulldogs won the Doubles with scores of 8-4, 8-2 and 8-0. The closest score in the singles flight was 6-3, 6-1.

The Bulldogs continued to annihilate their opponents, defeating the Michigan Tech Huskies 9-0 on Saturday. The Bulldogs swept both flights, defeating the Huskies in straight sets in the singles flight, and sweeping the doubles round. The closest doubles score was 8-4.

Golf
Results from the men’s tournament at the Wisconsin-Parkside Invite and the women’s tournament at the Northern Kentucky Invite results were unavailable at press time.

The men will compete at the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament II in Georgetown, Ky., and the women will compete in the Illinois Classic in Urbana, Ill.