The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? indelible mark, finishing his Michi- gan career third all time in wins (28), third in strikeouts (281) and seventh in earned run average (3.11). "It definitely brings a sense of joy and pride when you talk about one of the all-time winningest programs in the country, the first varsity sport at Michigan, and to be at the top of the record books at a program like that is very special," Fetter said. "Just talking about it right now is giving me chills." After redshirting in his freshman campaign, Fetter enjoyed a solid de- but for the Maize and Blue in 2006, going 5-2 with a team-leading 2.22 ERA in 16 total appearances. Oppo- nents hit just .248 against him while he struck out 48 in 73 innings. He pitched 13 2/3 shutout innings in his final two regular-season Big Ten starts, helping Michigan to the first of three consecutive conference crowns. He also pitched U-M to a Big Ten Tournament victory over Northwestern and would garner first-team all-league honors for his performance. Never a power pitcher with a big arm, Fetter found success in his rookie season and throughout his ca- reer by hitting his spots while using a repertoire of off-speed pitches to outwit the batter standing 60 feet, six inches away. "It took me until my fifth year for the velocity to shoot up, so my first three years I relied on work- ing the edges of the plate, changing arm angles, pitches, getting by with feel," Fetter said. "I wasn't the kind of pitcher that could overwhelm a lineup. "I give Coach [Rich] Maloney and our pitching coach, Coach [Bob] Keller, a lot of credit because they believed in me and gave me the con- fidence to go out there and pitch my game." Following his sensational rookie year, Fetter slumped in 2007, going 6-3 with a 4.71 ERA during regular- season action. Michigan won the Big Ten title, however, and after beat- ing Memphis in an NCAA opening- round matchup, the Wolverines pulled off a 4-3 upset of No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt. The Commodores rallied with a 10-7 victory in the rematch, setting up a winner-takes-all regional final. Maloney turned to Fetter to take the hill. "I had put a lot of pressure on my- self going into my sophomore year to live up to what I did the year previ- ously, and one thing after another compounded my struggles, but I was given a clean slate going into the NCAA Tournament," Fetter said. "I don't remember the conversa- tion exactly, but the morning of the game, we went over our plan and whatever Coach Maloney and Coach Keller said to me worked because I approached the game with a lot of confidence." That Vanderbilt team featured six players that would spend time in Major League Baseball, including ace David Price, a five-time MLB All-Star and the 2012 Cy Young Award win- ner.