amanda chidester

The M softball team lost the second game today 10-7 against #17 LA Lafayette.  This game had 9 lead changes.  Haylie got the start and was roughed up early.  She did not get out of the 1st inning.  Sara came on in relief and did not fare much better.  Stephanie came in to settle things down but the damage was done.

The offense came alive and garnered 10 hits.  Ashley Lane went 2 for 3 (both were bombs) and 2 runs scored with 3 RBIs.  Chiddy also went deep and went 2 for 3 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.  Even Amy boinked one.  But it was not enough.

Coach is continuing to juggle the lineup as Ashley was playing 1st and Lyndsay was playing RF.  I suspect that Amy is going to be the regular 2nd Baseman.  Chiddy and Stephanie have secured their spots at 3rd and SS respectively.  1st base is still open in my mind as Mandy is still adapting.  Ashley and Mandy have been rotating at 1B.  Colie and Bree have LF and CF locked up.  RF is a little more fluid with Lyndsay and Lauren has almost solidified the catcher position.

This loss hurts.  There is no way to make any sense out of it.  Our weakness has been hitting and our strength has been our pitching with the Freshman.  But with tonights game and the hitting was awesome, the pitching was not-so-good.  This will drop us at least 2 spots and maybe even 4 or 5. 

I am still very proud of our kids.  The Freshmen are a little unpredictable, I agree but they ARE Freshmen.  Keep up the good work ladies.  Your hard work will payoff and we have your back.  We will continue to support you regardless of your record.  Keep studying and dont let losses get to you.  The Michigan Family is 100% behind you.

The Softball team split today winning 3-1 against Illinois State in the first game.  They lost in the second game 1-0 against UMass.  The team is in Clearwater this weekend.

Haylie Wagner got the win in the first game.  She gave up 1 ER on 4 hits, she struck out 8 and walked only 2.  Chiddy was the big bat today hitting a 3 run Bomb in 3 AB.  Colie went 2 for 3 and scored on Chiddys dinger.

In the second game against UMass, we could not get the bats going.  We could only muster 2 untimely hits.  Sara Driesenga took the loss.  She pitched very well though.  She gave up 1 ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks and 2BB.  Lauren Sweet was a sweet-spot in the lineup with a double.

UMass is a good team.  If everyone remembers, we had a couple of close games with them last year.  This year UMass is 4-3 so maybe they are down a little.

Overall not too disappointing, although I am sure Coach is kicking some @ss.  In close games, anything can happen.  This game was going down to the wire and the lucky team was going to win this one.....and they did.  Sometimes in softball, the best team doesnt always win.  Congrats to UMass for hanging around and getting it done.  They deserved the win today.  This will be a learning curve for us with out a doubt.

We play again tomorrow at 3:30 and 6pm.

Amanda Chidester exploded last year.  She was an All-American selection.  This year she is on the "Watch List" along with teammates Ashley Lane and Bree Evans.  However, Chiddy has started a little slow during the first two games but she made up for all of that tonight.

Chiddy hit a walk-off HR to lead us to a 5-4 victory.  She went 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs.  This is almost mid-season form for her.  I am so happy for her.  Ashley Lane went 2 for 3 tonight as well.

Stephanie Spiereman was in the circle tonight and Caitlan Blanchard was her battery mate.  Stephanie gave up 3 runs (2 ER) off 5 hits, 3 BB and 1K in 4.2 innings of work.  Strike outs are not Stephanie's strong point.  She is more of a low ball pitcher that gets hitters to ground out instead of over-powering hitters.

Haylie Wagner came in to calm things down as Stephanie got into a jam in the 5th inning.  Haylie gave up 1 ER on 1 hit, 2 BB and 2K in 2.1 innings of work.

It is good to see Coach mix things up a little. The outfield is set with Bree sandwiched between Lindsay and Colie.  These three also are at the top of the order with 1, 2 ,3 being Bree, Lindsay and Colie.  I would not expect Coach to tinker much with this. 

The real question is what to do at 1st base.  We have so many options with Taylor and Mandy both capable of doing a good job.  Then that leaves Ashley as DP.  This is a good situation to have but it will take a few more games to settle in.  Typically it takes about 8-10 games to get everything situated.

We finish up tomorrow in a non-league game against Penn State, who lost to La Tech and LSU thus far. 

Congrats ladies on a 3-0 record.  Dont worry about the close scores thus far, Coach is just tryint to figure out WHO we are first.

The USA Softball Association released its pre-season All-American Watch List recently.  Michigan has 3 players on that list: Sr. Amanda Chidester, Sr. Bree Evans and Jr. Ashley Lane.  This is a very impressive feat for a team located in the "Snowy North".

While Cal, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas lead the way among universities with three athlete representatives each, the Big 12 Conference and the Pacific-12 (Pac-12) Conference have six member schools represented.  Northwestern (2) and Nebraska (1) are the only other B1G school that has players on the list. 

Congrats to Chiddy, Bree and Ashley.  You have made us all proud.  Keep up the good work and we look forward to seeing you starting this Friday.

Four members of the Michigan Softball team earned All-American Honors by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).  Amanda Chidester, Jordan Taylor, Ashley Lane and Bree Evans were selected.  The honors were released today

There are not many surprises here.  Chiddy came on strong for M and was selected Big 10 Player of the Year.  She lead the team in several batting categories and played a helleva 3B.  She made first team. 

JT was lights out all year.  She got roughed up a little in the regionals and that may have hurt slightly as she was selected to the second team. 

My All-American selection Ashely Lane was chosen for the second team as well.  Her hitting power was the spark we needed in the 5 hole.  She may have made first team but she had a few too many strikeouts including several called thrid strikes.  Coaches HATE called third strikeouts.

Bree Evans was a slight surprise, I'm sure, to the rest of the nation but not to us.  She was the spark that got the rally going.  Her OB% and her speed is awesome.  She is not a home run hitter as we all know, but she gets the job done.

Left out was Dorian Shaw.  This was somewhat of a surprise to me because Dorian's numbers were still very good and deserved a Third Team honor.  However, she slipped in the second half of the season and that hurt her.

Another point.  If Colie did not get injured and was able to play in the Regionals, it would have been a completely different outcome.  Combine that with a bad call in the first KY game on Chiddy, and we could have won the regionals and played Cal in the Supers.  JT's stock would have been higher for sure.

Softball is a very fickle game.  Both losses in the regionals were by 1 run.  A bad call, a bad bounce, a hit's batmen, and a simple Texas Leaguer was enough to keep JT off the First Team.

Congrats to these 4 ladies and thanks for a wonderful season.  We wish JT luck in her professioinaln career and the remining 3 let's come back in the fall with piss and vinegar to kick some butt.  Its great.....to be .......a Michigan Wolverine.

Here is the link to the mothership:  www.mgoblue.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/060111aaa.html

The Michigan Softball team won again today aganist Minny 8-1.  This comes off a lack-luster 4-2 victory yesterday.  Game-time temperature was 64 degrees under sunny skies.

Jordan Taylor got the start today.  Hutch is starting the "tourney run" today by pitching JT in back to back games.  I suspect JT will get the ball from here on out.  Hutch has been very good at not over pitching JT this year.  JT has 205 IP and SS has 120 IP.  Hutch has given Stephanie an equal amount of innings so that JT doesnt get burned out.  Now, with JT all tuned up, JT can begin the chase for the NC.

JT finished the day with 6 innings pitched.  She gave up 1 ER off 6 hits, with 10Ks, 3 BB and 1 HBP.  Stephanie Speierman came in the 7th to close it down. 

With her 10 strikeouts today, senior RHP Jordan Taylor has registered double-digit strikeouts in four of Michigan's last six games. She is the only Michigan pitcher in program history to surpass 250 strikeouts in each of her collegiate seasons.

Amy Knapp was the offensive hero today by going 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs and 1 run scored.  Amanda Chidester went 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs and a run scored.  Bree Evans went 2 for 4 with a RBI and run scored.

We dominated this game from the first pitch.  We came very close to another mercy rule win.  We play 2 against Lil Sister next weekend in a home and home series.  The Tournament pairings should be out Monday 16th or Tuesday the 17th with the tourney starting on Friday the 20th.