SB vs #9 Baylor Open Thread
The Softball Team got off to a good start today with a 9-1 Mercy-Rule win over San Jose State. We play #9 Baylor at 8pm at the annual Jdi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton.
Yesterday we lost to #1 Florida and #21 ASU. So another win today against #9 Baylor will certainly help the ole' spirits.
Premium Audio here: http://www.baylorbears.com/collegesportslive/?media=484096
Tonight's Lineup:
Lawrence-CF, Christner-LF, Romero-2B, Blanco-1B, Sweet-C, Susalla-RF, Falk-DP, Swearingen-3B, Ramirez-SS. Wagner at P
2 out single, but nothing else. 0-0 Middle of the first.
2-0 way to start the game!!!! needed that!
to be the best coach ever at spotting talent. Kelly and Tera have been awesome so far this year.
Coach has not had a miss since Mandy Garder a few years ago.
Tera really fell into Hutch's lap. Her dad is a well known travel ball coach, as you know, and she was a big time prospect since before she even reached high school (I think she committed in 8th grade, though maybe it was her freshman year in HS). They are huge Michigan fans and she was never going anywhere else. I think they recruited Hutch more than the other way around.
we want MOAR!!!!!!!
now 3-0.
ill take that...I know weve had some big games already this year but I think beating Baylor is Major...losing to #1 Florida twice isnt bad especially since we had them on the ropes both games so we know we can hang..Beating Baylor will give us another top 10 win and erase some of the pain from yesterday and solidify our top 3 standing..its a Big game for this team..Every season there are certain pivotal games that send your team in one direction or another and I just think a win tonight against a quality opponent will mentally lift the team moving forward..
Middle of the 2nd, 3-0 us.
somebody showed up to play! Every run matters in these top 10 matchups
Good Girls 4 Bad news Bears 0
6-0 Michigan through 2
Baylor seems to be self-destructing.
Good game for the girls
Consistency from the first pitch of the season...Even in our losses weve been in Every game..8 inning loss yesterday to ASU which we swept in Tempe and two narrow losses to #1 Florida but weve come out and fought hard and played well every game...
cemented the #1 slot and is going to be difficult to beat. However, our loses have not been blowouts. A sweep today will go a long way for us.
depending on how minnesota regroup after a rough week last week, this could be our last game against a ranked opponent until regionals
In two innings of play, Michigan has scored more runs against Baylor than #2 Oregon managed in two games.
Oregon lost to Florida today 5-1
2 loses to Florida, same as us.
what to do what to do!
8-0 now as Romo singles home a run and Blanco draws a walk! Bases still juiced!
Kind of crazy that a team pitched around Christner to load the bases for the Lady of the Seven Inningdoms.
The Hits just keep on coming...Run Rule win here is MIGHTY impressive...
10-0 now
This entire rally has happened with two out. I think that's seven straight who have reached.
Big chance for Falk to break out here with the bases loaded.
Edit: She gets the hit but Sweet thrown out trying to score from second.
11-0 through three innings.
does it seem like our pitchers have very few strike outs for how few runs we give up? anyone have a brief description of their styles?
Our 3 pitchers all use quite distinct styles. Betsa is very much a strike-out pitcher, full stop. She led the team in Ks last year, despite pitching many fewer innings than Wagner, and is doing so again this year as well. She's giving up a few too many walks right now, but is a strong player.
Wagner, by contrast, is much more of a ground-out, pop-up pitcher. She gets a few Ks, but does rely on her defense to clean things up. Fortunately, she's good at making things easy on them - opposing hitters make contact, but rarely good contact.
Driesenga is a bit more in the middle. We've seen her surprisingly little this year; overall, I'd say she's more of a balanced attack type, but I have less of a read on her.
thanks! any insight on 3rd base? is Montemarano's bat not producing well enough or are the freshmen too good to be kept on the bench?
I think it's a bit of both. She's playing alright, but not outstanding, and there are a number of other players who have earned a chance. It'll be interesting to see if anyone can lock down that position, or if it continues to rotate.
This could get real ugly.
HUGE 3rd inning for the Maize and Blue! Baylor is a very strong team, having handed Oregon one of their few losses on the season. We're now three outs away from decisively run-ruling them. This is a massive, massive result for this team if we can make it hold up!
Up 11-0 in the 3rd against the #9 ranked team.
Only Hutch.
a 1 hitter. She gave up a 1st inning, 2 out single; then shut the rest down
Great response from her after yesterday. You know she'd love to have that Florida game over again, but there are no second chances - it's just about how you come out & play at the next opportunity. She's showing great resiliency here.
Honest question:
I know that it is spring break now, but it seems that the SB team has been in the warm weather for multiple weeks. How is this managed? Do they come back for classes M-Th and travel on long weekends? Is it the same with baseball?
Thanks in advance....I'll hang up and listen (I know I'll get a detailed answer that all can enjoy)
They definitely come back back because every week MGoBlue posts interviews with certain players or Hutch from the Shepherd Softball Building.
Thanks
Basically, they travel on the weekends a lot in the early season. I suspect they try to schedule their spring term classes to have open Fridays due to travel needs. This week & last were Spring Break, so they came down to Arizona for one tournament and then went straight to Cali for another. It's a grueling grind for sure, and just one of the ways in which in takes a special kind of young woman to come play for our program.
They scheduled a home series with kent state next week while most big ten teams will still be on the road in warm weather for one more week. think the weather will allow it to happen?
It seems we often have a game or series against a MAC-type team right before B10 season, I guess maybe to get a little break from the rigors of the road. Tough to tell w/ the weather this year.
Thanks
in weekend tourneys starting in early February. Then during speing break Hutch takes the team on the road.
blowouts is that Coach Hutch gets some of the Freshmen into the game. It is difficult to get some of the other player in the game during close games and conference play.
Vargas in for Silo and gets a single. Nice job Amanda.
to replace Haylie.
As if right on cue, per your comment about getting the back-ups in. :)
I'm glad Romo got a walk there at the end. Otherwise she would have reached base on only two out of three attempts, and a .666 OBP would have lowered her season numbers.
lol
That shows what a great player Romo is. She is one of the better offensive players in a few years.
I thnk this was THE most important game of the season to date....and to come out and looks like were going to run rule #9 Baylor is just GINORMOUS...There is little doubt in my mind that Michigan is a SOLID#2 behind Florida....Oregon may get the #2 spot but thatll only be because they are in the Pac12 and theres alot of voting bias towards them and their league strength...Our wins so far are way more impressive than Oregon and we both lost to Florida..Our two losses we were in both in games we had our chances to win...Now we just have to have no letdown against San Diego St tommorow...For those who remember SDSU gaves us FITS last year in the Tempe Regional and is no slouch either
LSU will probably be #2 since they're still unbeaten, but Michigan should end up at #3 or #4 as long as they take care of SDSU.
Hutch is that she will allow her pitchers to work out of jams. Tera has 2 on and 2 out and gave up a RBI single. I have seen many coaches over the year that would pull a pitcher who was having a bad inning.
This is one of the "little things" that makes Hutch such a great coach.
Amen - same story with Betsa against ASU in the 7th yesterday. Even though we did lose in the 8th, Betsa did a phenomenal job to get out of that bases-loaded situation, and that's valuable experience down the road.
Ball-game! 11-1 run rule blowout of a top ten team! Last ranked team Michigan will face for a while, and what a fantastic result! Michigan will go into Big Ten play with a 7-3 record against ranked opposition, including a 5-2 record against top-ten teams!