BLOOMINGTON ­­­— Michigan’s lone Achilles heel has been its defense in some crucial situations. On Sunday, Michigan played a little role-reversal. Although the suspense aspect of the game wasn’t evident, and there weren’t many crucial situations, the Wolverines did a good job of eliminating errors and taking advantage of mistakes by the Hoosiers.

In the second inning of yesterday’s first game, freshman first baseman Samantha Findlay grounded to Indiana freshman shortstop Rachel Carlson. Carlson misplayed the ball, and Findlay reached on an error. Michigan took advantage of the extra out when junior leftfielder Stephanie Bercaw homered to dead centerfield.

“It sets the tone for the day and really gets the team pumped,” Bercaw said. “I’m just glad I could help contribute to that.”

Bercaw came to the plate once again in the fifth inning, and, with runners on first and second, she singled up the middle. Senior designated player Nicole Motycka scored on the play, but junior third baseman Grace Leutele was caught in a pickle between second and third base. But Indiana sophomore third baseman Rachel Terry bobbled a throw, and Leutele safely reached third while Bercaw jogged into second. Leutele then scored on the ensuing at-bat when junior Becky Marx hit a ground ball to Carlson, who misplayed it again, allowing Marx to reach first base.

“We always try to take advantage of every scoring opportunity we have,” Bercaw said. “That’s a big focus of our team — to take advantage of extra bases and extra chances.”

After committing two errors in the Purdue series on Friday and Saturday, Michigan’s defense had no errors yesterday. The Wolverines had a pretty uneventful first game in the field. They watched 15 batters come up and go back to the dugout. Aside from nine Ritter strikeouts, the other six Hoosier batters were retired by relatively routine ground balls to infielders. The outfielders saw no action on the day.

“It's never boring to see your pitcher do so well,” Bercaw said.

Michigan’s infield was tested more in the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader. After sophomore Lorilyn Wilson struck out the first six batters of the game, she got into a bit of a bind in the third inning. After walking leadoff batter Heather Hohs, Wilson got centerfielder Kim Richards to hit a sharp grounder to shortstop. Merchant turned to her backhand side and snagged the ball, getting a force out at second.

After giving up an RBI double the following at-bat, Wilson faced the first tense situation of the day. With runners on second and third, the Hoosiers had the tying run in scoring position. On top of that, their cleanup hitter — rightfielder Lauren Hines — was at the plate. Hines hit a sharp grounder down the middle, but Wilson made a great reflex stop. Wilson then proceeded to throw the ball home, where Indiana second baseman Ashley Griffiths was tagged out in a rundown.

The Wolverines escaped the inning with the lead, and, after back-to-back home runs by Merchant and Findlay, never faced a jam again.

“I was the most pleased this weekend that we played good defense over anything,” coach Carol Hutchins said. “The defense starts on the mound. The pitcher sets the tone of the game. And when she’s in command of the game, it gives the rest of the team confidence.”