For Michigan students spring break is halfway done and coincidentally Michigan Softball's spring break tour of Southern California is halfway complete as well. This past weekend was the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, CA, and this upcoming weekend will be the Louisville Slugger Tournament in Los Angeles, CA, hosted by UCLA.

With six games already having been played, this week's Softball Roundup column will be heavy on game recaps and the weekend preview, while lighter on national talk and overall thoughts about the trajectory of the season (that will wait for next week, after the spring break tour is done). But now let's jump right into the recaps

Last Weekend: Where's the offense? (13-6)

Game 1: Loyola Marymount 2, Michigan 1

Welp. Your author referred to this game as the "ease in to the weekend" game a week ago and that... did not happen. The good news? Meghan Beaubien began what was a dominant weekend in style in this game, having one inning get away from her (the second) but was otherwise impeccable. That second inning in particular stung, as Beaubien had no-on and two outs before proceding to allow back-to-back singles, followed by a walk to the #9 hitter, letting the .500-hitting Molly Grumbo come up and she hit a 2 RBI single.

Michigan took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an Abby Skvarce RBI single but otherwise could do nothing against hurler Linnay Wilson. The Wolverines hit a lot of balls hard but the Lions' defense produced web gem after web gem to keep the lead intact. Despite retiring the final 15 batters she faced, and the Michigan offense not striking out until the 7th, the Wolverines still had no answer and stranded the game-tying runner at second in the final frame, losing a stinger 2-1.

Game 2: Texas 1, Michigan 0

If you want deja vu, I've got deja vu for you. Michigan seemed to get a stroke of luck in facing Longhorn #2 starter Shaelyn O'Leary, instead of ace Miranda Elish. That didn't seem to matter however, as the 4 Michigan hits over 7 innings they'd get off of O'Leary would translate into nothing on the scoreboard. The first three innings were perfection from both sides, with Beaubien and O'Leary dueling in dominance, 18 up and 18 down.

The Wolverines would leave 2 on in the fourth and seventh, as well as another runner on in the fifth, getting shut out through seven frames. Meanwhile Meghan Beaubien did not allow a base runner until the sixth, but in that inning gave up a lead-off double and two sacrifices brought the run in. That's all that Texas would need to win the game. It's hard to understate how much it hurts to lose a game where your pitcher pitches as well as she did in this game but Texas manufactured a run and Michigan could not. End of the story.

Game 3: Michigan 8, Texas Tech 2

After being silenced for so long, the Michigan bats finally arose in this game. Against excellent pitcher Erin Edmoundson, Julia Jimenez hit a lead-off HR (her first career HR) and then Michigan tacked 6 on in the bottom of the 2nd to lead 7-0 by the end of that frame. They got up to run rule territory in the 4th with an 8-0 lead before Texas Tech dodged that mark with 2 in the bottom half.

Alex Storako went 7 innings allowing 2 hits and 3 walks, collecting 13 strikeouts in the process. She was overall very sharp and Texas Tech's defense was rough, allowing 4 errors, with things particularly cascading in that second inning. The big story for Michigan offensively was Lexie Blair having a four hit game to break the slide and the Wolverines finally put it together for an 8-run win.

Game 4: Washington 10, Michigan 2

When you're facing the #2 team in the country, you need everything to go right. Everything did not in fact, go right on this day. When I was handed the lineup sheet in the Anderson Family Field press box, I was scratching my head as to why Alex Storako was starting in the circle and not Meghan Beaubien against a mighty Washington lineup, given the impressive stuff we had seen from Beaubien.

The first inning immediately confirmed those fears. The Huskies had hung 7 runs on Michigan by the end of the second inning, 4 of them coming on another crucial HR allowed by Storako, and it again came with two strikes. Though Michigan tacked 2 on the board in the bottom of the first against Washington ace Gabbie Plain, pitching placed them in such a huge hole that they failed to ever recover.

After Storako was bounced we saw Lauren Esman in her first NCAA start in the circle, as well as Chandler Dennis. Both freshmen were effectively wild and did a decent job to keep the ship together, but you just can't get bombed against a top 5 team and expect to win. Michigan got bombed and did not win.

Game 5: Michigan 1, Colorado State 0

The final game in Fullerton was a replay of the Texas and Loyola Marymount games. Meghan Beaubien was in the circle and (surprise) she dominated again. Over 7 shutout innings she allowed just four hits (and just one was a hard hit ball, to my recollection), meanwhile allowing one walk and collecting 14 strikeouts. Michigan got doubles in the second and fourth innings but stranded those, going all the way down to the final frame before breaking the tie.

With extras and the tiebreaker rule about to come into play, senior Madison Uden stroked a two-out solo HR to walk it off for the Wolverines. It was not a no doubter from my vantage point, rather being a ball that carried and carried until it was over the fence. Michigan salvaged the Judi Garman, but still went a disappointing 2-3.

Game 6: Michigan 4, St. John's 2

Like the Texas Tech game, MIchigan got out to a fast start and then mostly let Alex Storako do the work. They got runs via an error and a Uden single in the first to go ahead 2-0, then tacked two more on in the second thanks to a Lou Allan RBI single, helped out by an error. Storako surrendered a HR in the second and another run in the third but limited the Red Storm to 2 runs over 7 innings, racking up 15 strikeouts in the process. Michigan's offense went cold after putting up the four runs in the first two frames, but that proved to be enough with Storako in charge.

[AFTER THE JUMP: a few takes and more previews]

Some Brief Thoughts On the Weekend

Again I pledged not to talk to big picture, season stuff until we know what happens this weekend, but I do have a few thoughts on events of the past weekend that I got to see in person. Here they are:

Lexie is back? Last week this column had a section on Lexie Blair's strange slump to begin the 2020 campaign. This week's column has a section on her seeming resurgence. Blair raised her average over .100 points in one weekend thanks to going 1/3, 2/3, 4/5, 1/3, 1/3 in the five games. This is especially impressive given the context of the games I just described to you: Michigan struggled to hit the softball, to say the least. Lexie (and JuJu Jimenez) were the two bright lights on the weekend offensively. The Wolverines need 2019 Lexie Blair to be a rock at the top of the batting order and Fullerton was an encouraging sign of that returning.

Hard contact on 0-2 will kill me. Those who listened to this weekend's coverage on WCBN Sports may have heard your author harping about the hard contact that Alex Storako gave up in two-strike counts, and, yeah. The home run problem has been much discussed around the Michigan Softball community, but there's a big distinction in when the homer occurs.

Giving up a homer in a 2-2 count because you were forced to challenge the hitter over the plate? Not great, but fine. But giving up a homer in 1-2 and 0-2 counts, as Storako did against Washington and has several other times this season? That's maddening. Especially when Storako is a pitcher with as deadly of a repertoire as she does. Pitches in those counts need to induce swings and misses outside the zone, not leaving stuff over the plate. That's been happening far, far too often this season.

Meghan Beaubien is still the ace. Not sure what else really needs to be said here, but anyone who saw all five games this weekend, as I did, came away with one conclusion: despite Alex Storako's strong start to the season, when Michigan needs to shut down an elite lineup, Beaubien is the only option. She was simply terrific on the weekend, allowing just 3 runs (only 1 earned) in 20 innings of work with 22 strikeouts. Expect to see a lot more of her down the stretch.

Will someone come through, please? The biggest question right now is when the offense will begin producing consistent, clutch hits. They didn't have much of an issue with it in Tampa and to a lesser extent, Chapel Hill, but this weekend combined with South Carolina was a grim picture. Michigan's offense has scored less than 2 runs in 7 of the last 10 games and while some of it has been against elite pitching, a good chunk hasn't been. This offense is simply sputtering and there isn't an obvious answer of how to restart the bats right now. But it needs to happen, and fast.

This Weekend: So we have to play UCLA, I guess

Michigan now gets its second weekend of softball in Southern California, and unlike last weekend, the competition is a bit lighter. Except for the one game they're there to play specifically: UCLA. The Wolverines will play 2 games Thursday and then 2 games Friday before heading back to Ann Arbor and so here's the quick rundown of the weekend:

Cal State Fullerton: 45th RPI last year

Michigan gets to face CS Fullerton this weekend, ironically *after* they just played a tournament at Cal State Fullerton's home field. The Titans were a powerhouse softball program in the 80s and 90s under Judi Garman (the namesake of last week's tournament) and while not quite that anymore, they are still pretty darn solid, finishing RPI top 50 in 2019. At 12-7 on the season, they proved their mettle at home this weekend, knocking off Texas Tech, California, Illinois, and Boise St., showing that they are a very solid softball team.

Much like Loyola Marymount and Liberty, this is not a pushover that Michigan can write off as a win. There's nothing that really jumps off the page about the Titans, with a .259 team average and a 3.51 team ERA, but they have some good hitters like Zoe Richard and Megan Delgadillo and the scope of their resume is evidence that CS-Fullerton must be taken seriously.

UCLA: 19-1, 2nd RPI last year

Welp, here it is. UCLA is the best team in college softball after winning the national title last season and they appear to be a horrifying juggernaut. They're 19-1 on the season, defeating Auburn, Florida, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Florida St., Alabama, Georgia, and USF, with their one loss being an extra-inning defeat to #3 Texas. What is there else really to say? They've played excellent competition and have a team batting average of .382, and a team ERA of 1.42. Aliyah Jordan might be college softball's best hitter and ace Megan Faraimo is one of college softball's best pitchers.

There are no weaknesses on this team. The silver lining is that Michigan did manage to beat UCLA last year and how they did it provides a roadmap for this year: let Meghan Beaubien dominate and hope you scratch across a couple runs. Who knows! But it happened last year, maybe it can happen again.

Boston U: 11-4, 93rd RPI last year

The Terriers of Boston University are the easiest team Michigan will face this weekend, but again, they aren't terrible at all. Arkansas is the only notable team the Terriers have played, losing 4-1 and 10-2 in those two games. Otherwise, Boston U. mostly hasn't played anyone yet, but they were another not good, not terrible team last year.

Again, this is a game Michigan should win. The Wolverines are the better team on paper, but softball, as we know, isn't played on paper. Ali DuBois and Emily Gant are the pillars of the Terriers in the circle and both have sterling pitching stats, which doesn't necessarily bode well given the skid Michigan is on offensively. That said, as stated previously, the Wolverines are a cut above most of what Boston U. has faced this season, so a win should be present here.

UCF: 16-2, 51st RPI last year

After a pedestrian season that left them just outside the RPI top 50 a year ago, UCF appears to be vastly improved in 2020. They cleaned Indiana's clock to start the season, swept an Iowa State team that defeated Michigan, bombed Tennessee in a two game sweep, and have lost just two games, one to Duke (by one run) and one to #2 Washington.

Based on the resume, UCF looks like a top 25, if not top 20, team this season that will prove to be a real test for Michigan this weekend. Hitting .348 as a team on the year, UCF has slugged their way to the hot start and ace Alea White has held her own in the circle. The Knights seem to be well rounded and dangerous and will be a quality win, should Michigan be able to down Central Florida.

Upshot for the weekend: This is pretty obvious. 3-1 should be the objective. No reasonable person should expect Michigan to beat UCLA, although if it happens then that would obviously be massive. If Michigan can take care of CS-Fullerton and Boston University, and then scratch out a win against UCF, that will be a successful weekend. Still, Michigan is running out of opportunities to bank more marquee victories and UCLA would provide the biggest you could possibly get.