M Softball Gets Back On-track; Wins 3-1
The Michigan Softball team righted the ship this morning by defeating Mississippi State 3-1 in Clearwater Florida. This comes off the heels of two disappointing losses Friday and Saturday. Haylie started in the circle and yielded 1ER off 4 hits with 1 BB and 2 HBP. Sara came in to relieve Haylie in the 5th inning. Sara finished allowing 0 ER and 1 hit; she had 1 K and 0 BB. Coach is keeping the youngsters on a short leash today.
The offense was led by Caitlin Blanchard who went 1 for 2 with an RBI and a run scored. She hit a crucial hit to knock in Chiddy from second. Bree Evans was awarded an RBI after she worked the pitcher to full count while the bases were loaded and managed to get a good call along the way for the base on balls which scored a run. Chiddy went 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Now this is Michigan Softball that we know and love. Great pitching, timely hitting and ZERO errors today can make a coach smile. Coach Hutch uses many bench players today as well. Katie Luetkens, Brandi Virgil, and Jaclyn Crummey got into the game.
The two losses this weekend hurts. There is no doubt about that. We will drop more than a few spots in the polls next week. However, mid-season polls are useless. It gives fans and alums something to brag about before the Big Ten season starts. I personally wish they would release polls starting on May 1st leading into Regionals. Either way, GREAT job this morning ladies.
The team will stay in Florida for Spring Break and play Wednesday against USF in Tampa. This week we will play some top teams so we will get tested through this coming weekend. I have faith in the ladies and Coach will ensure they are ready to play.
February 26th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
losses are tough to swallow cause we didnt score in one, then go nuts in the other and still lose. But they are a young team and the future looks real bright for them. Plus it is hard to play this many games away from home.
February 26th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^
is there a michigan baseball account ? Would love to see updates from them as well and BTW great game for Umich softball !!!
February 26th, 2012 at 2:18 PM ^
is the best place to follow baseball, they have a a game tracker for all games, schedules, results all that other stuff your probably looking for. They released the Big Ten Networks baseball games this year and U of M will only have 5 games on television this year.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^
Good to get back on the winning track. It seems that the team is a little erratic at this point, but it's still very early & there's a lot of youth on the team. Hopefully they'll have things settled down by B10 season.
February 26th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^
Baseball beat iona today in a 6-5 thriller. Will Drake scored on a walkoff single to improve their record to 5-2.
MGoSoftball, I've noticed that Sara Driesenga is struggling a little bit like in the game yesterday against hofstra for example how she loaded the bases in the 9th. Do you think she's having growing pains or needs to adjust to the college game?
February 26th, 2012 at 5:54 PM ^
Sara is adjusting to softball at the highest level. Frankly, Im surprised that the Freshmen are doing so well. These ladies are only 18 years old, playing for a legendary coach. The pressure is immense.
Sara could be trying different pitches too. Keep in mind that she has a new pitching coach that is "tweaking" her delivery too. Everything will be just fine. A few losses for this young team is expected. All I care about is hosting a Regional.
February 26th, 2012 at 4:57 PM ^
had to pitch in both games yesterday, which for a freshman in this big of a stage has to make for some lumps. Going into yesterday her ERA was only .92 so she is doing very well IMO.