SB Wins: Romo is the Hero
The Softball Team #37 won its final game today at the Ragin Cagin Invitational in Lafayette La. We squeeked by Boston College in the final game by winning 6-5.
Romo was the hero in this game. We fell behind 4-0 heading into the top of the 6th inning. We scored 2 runs in the 6th on some critical hitting to close the gap 4-2. In the top of the 7th, we loaded the bases with 0 outs. The Lyndsay and Colie flew out and put the weight of the world on Romo's shoulders. She did not disappoint.
She was down in the count (1-2) when she did what she does best; she lined a single to lf. When the lf bobbled the ball she advanced to second. The throw came in off-line and she took the opportunity to advance to 3B. Romo was credited with 2RBIs on the single. This play cleared the bases for 3 runs, which gave us the lead. BC scored a run in the botton of the 7th and stranded 2 but Sara gets the 6-5 win.
Romo finished the game 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Colie went 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Haylie even got into the action by getting a single as she came in to pitch an inning in relief.
Sara pitched 4 2/3 innings. She gave up all 5 of BC's runs (5 ER) off 6 hits. She had 3 Ks and 4 BBs. Haylie and Megan each pitched an inning in relief.
Overall a very nice trip this weekend. The team is now 7-2. Romo will certainly get recognition for her performance this weekend and boost her chances for All-American honors.
Here is the link for the stats. http://www.sidearmstats.com/ragincajuns/softball/
February 16th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^
I'll admit, I read the headline and thought it was about pro football and was posted from an insane alternate reality.
February 16th, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
You're not alone.
February 16th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
February 16th, 2014 at 4:01 PM ^
only in Madden
February 16th, 2014 at 6:32 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 9:59 AM ^
covering the Softball team, but I have noticed you talk about a lot of them on a first-name basis. Do you have some close connection to the team, like having a relative playing or on the coaching staff maybe?
February 17th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^
that I (we) use first names. Softball in general is more of a first name or nick name type sport. You will rarely hear a Coach call a player by their last name.
I personally like to use nicknames and will even allow my girls to put their nicknames on the back of their jerseys if they choose. I do take some heat from outsiders for this but it is from those that do not understand the close-nit softball family-type atmosphere.
Second I know some former players and some will stop by my (football and softball) tailgate. I have some former players come to my annual softball tourney to speak to the girls (10U through 14U). I have had some current player's parents at my softball tailgates. So I guess you could say that first names are part softball culture and part familiarity.
I have said this several time previously, I have coached elite youth softball for 20 years. I have coached my daughters D1 Club Team a few years ago as well. So even though I do not have any relatives on Team #37, the use of first names or nick names is just second nature for me.
February 17th, 2014 at 4:14 PM ^
Adds a nice touch to the coverage you give the team here.
Having had one of my daughters play softball at the high school level, I can attest to the "family-type" atmosphere you described that seems to be more common in softball than other sports. It makes a sport that is already fun to watch even more enjoyable when it becomes "family" as much as family.
February 17th, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^
deserving of an upvote. You should post more often!
As for Romo, there's this: My brother is a huge Cowboys /Romo fan, he's been kidded many a time that as long as Romo keeps playing like a girl, his Cowboys are doomed.
February 16th, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^
February 16th, 2014 at 2:12 PM ^
February 16th, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^
February 16th, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^
I was thinking the same thing looking at her stats so far. Is she playing with an injury?
February 17th, 2014 at 2:31 PM ^
Sara is an All-American Pitcher. Is she Jordan Taylor elite yet? Well I think so but others may disagree. Throughout her career, Sara has been a slow-starter. Each of the past 2 years there has been at least 2 games where we had a lead and Sara took the loss.
Now some of this is simply the batters getting used to her pitching style on the third time through. Sometimes it is a simple defensive error that starts a snowball effect. I cannot explain it and I have contemplated doing a PhD on why softball players "fall apart" after a simple error as compared to baseball. I do not understand why this is. I have seen it on more than one occassion per year in all my years of softball coaching.
Some can question; "if Sara is prone to having a poor last inning, why keep her in the game?" This is a legitimate question for those that do not truly understand softball. I have had this same argument with some former assistant coaches in the past who just cannot grasp the concept. If a pitcher is hitting her spots, turning the ball over correctly, and her mechanics are all good; why take her out? She is doing what she is supposed to do. If the batters get hot, or the defense makes an error, why penalize the pitcher?
I had an arguement with a former assistant coach several years ago. We were in the State Finals Tournament. My pitcher was pitching a very good game and we were winning going into the bottom of the 7th. The wheels came off and my assistant coach was angry with me because I did not pull the pticher. The #2 pitcher was injured but could pitch some. My #1 was hitting her spots, her ball to strike ratio was even getting better, and her velocity was not dropping. The batters were just getting hot. We ended up loosing the game and the coach blamed it on the pitcher and me for not pulling her.
Years ago, softball rules were the same as baseball rules. Once a pitcher is removed from the mound (circle) she can not pitch again in that game. The rules have changed so that a pitcher can be removed from the circle once per inning as long as she stays in the game. Coach Hutch will do this occasionally.
My assistant coach's argument was to change for the sake of change. Now I agree that sometimes a coach will make a change to throw batters off but this was not the case. I almost fired the @sshole because the pitcher heard him and me arguing and she felt that she was the reason we lost. I did end up firing the guy several years later. It was difficult because he was my friend as well. I could not cover for him anymore and if you always do the right thing; you can never be wrong.
I have not read in any published reports that Sara is injured. Coach Hutch will NEVER take the chance of increasing the injury so we have to trust Coach Hutch. Sara will get better as the season progresses.
I am disapointed that we lost to UF but on Memorial Weekend when we win our Regionals, no one will remember that game...trust me on that. We have to keep focused on what is important.
February 16th, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^
UM was down 4-0 in the 6th and was looking and getting no hit...The way they pulled this out was very encouraging...They really needed this win... I know its early but early season losses sometimes affect you at the end and can be the difference between hosting a super regional or not. Michigan needs to stay up in the elite team status and a 3rd loss this early would have been problematic..Michigan has a number of non-con games against Top 10 and 20 teams. Losing to BC would have been difficult
February 16th, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^
Scary to come that close to a true bad loss. Losses to UF & ULL (esp. given that it was at ULL) are someting you can live with, even though a loss is never enjoyable of course. BC was a team we needed to beat, though, and it's great that the ladies came through.
Romo, probably to no one's surprise, is certainly off to a blistering start, which is very good news for this team. From MGoBlue.com, this weekend Romo "batted .533 (8-for-15) over Michigan's five games, including two home runs, one double, eight runs batted in and six runs scored". She's also 4-6 with 12 RBI with the bases loaded. If this is what's she's playing like right out of the gate, the thought of her midseason form has got to be *terrifying* for the rest of the Big Ten.
February 16th, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
The weekend ended on a good note with the win over BC. Everyone contributed to all the wins this past weekend, this Team 37 is going to some amazing things. We have 3 very strong pitchers and if the hitting continues, we will be a team to contend with. With Sierra Lawrence hitting not one but two grandslams in two games, she is another phenomenal hitter. Haylie is back to pitching, and doing what she did her freshman year, helping the team win games. She got 3 of the 4 wins this weekend, including the win against BC and she got to hit. Everyone is a hero on this team, doing their part to get on base and score runs. Good luck next weekend ladies!
February 16th, 2014 at 7:43 PM ^
Michigan's fielding is much better than it was last year. They have made only 3 errors so far this season in 9 games, the fewest in the Big 10. Good fielding is so crucial in college softball. But for 2 errors in the top of the 7th, BC would have beaten Michigan today. But for the error by 3B Kelsey Susalla in the top of the 7th, Michigan would have beaten Florida 4-0 last week. (It was not a hard-hit grounder. It went right between Kelsey's legs and she wasn't able to get a glove on it.) Since the Florida game, freshman Lindsay Montemarano has started every game at 3rd base and has made no errors. In my opinion, Monte has a better arm, better range and better overall fielding ability than Kelsey. I think Monte will be at 3rd for most of this season even if she doesn't get to the plate too often. Romo has made only one error at short, a significant improvement over her error-prone start last year. I credit the Michigan coaches and Romo's determination in helping her to develop into an outstanding fielding shortstop. Freshman Abby Ramirez has been superb at 2B with many fine fielding plays and no errors. As outstanding a hitter that Ashley Lane was last year, she was not a good fielding 2B. Abby has greatly strengthened the infield defense for Michigan this year. Freshman Kelly Christner is a fine outfielder. It is also obvious that the coaches have confidence in Kelly at 1B where she has started several times this year. However, she needs to start hitting better to play much more at 1B where she is, in effect, substituting for a light-hitting Lauren Sweet as Caitlin moves over to catcher. To round out the infield, Caitlin at 1B and Lauren at catcher are very reliable fielders. Silo (or Kelly) in LF, Lyndsay in CF and NIcole in RF form a very solid outfield. It is great to see Lauren and Nicole starting to hit as they did at the Lafayette tournament. .I don't think Sara has an injury. After the Florida game, Hutch said that Sara just lost her confidence. I hope Sara regains her form of last year. I think Haylie has regained her freshman form and freshman Megan Betsa is obviously off to a great start.
February 17th, 2014 at 2:55 PM ^
to call out players for making errors. It is my personal preference. I have not and will not EVER publish the name of any player who makes a mistake. Its a softball thing I guess.
When the team wins, the players get the credit. When the team loses, the coach gets the blame. It is the coaches responsibility to prepare the team and scout the opposing team to formulate a strategy.
One of my former assistant coaches could not grasp this concept. In one game, we needed a bunt, the girl at bat was a poor bunter (10% success rate). He was coaching 3rd base and I told him to give the batter the swing away. He gave her the bunt sign and she failed. After I asked him why did he do that when he knew she could not bunt well? His reply was simple, "She has to do what I tell her to do and if she doesnt, then its her fault not mine. She should know how to bunt"
I laughed at him because I could not help myself. If the girl does not know how to bunt, by giving her the bunt sign isnt going to make her enlightened to bunt perfectly. We lost out on a good opportunity to score and win but he just did not understand basic statistics and elite Coaching. It was the Coaching Staffs fault that the girl could not bunt, not hers.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:48 PM ^
...to pick apart errors that our team makes. Obviously you want a good fielding team, but nine games is such a small sample size that it's tough to tell right now. Romero would be the first to admit that she needs to be a better fielder. She only had one error, but she mishandled a couple of balls (scored officially as hits) that she knows she should have had. On the flip side, she made a couple of stellar plays that I think few other players make, and I'll wear an OSU shirt to class if you can find me a better hitter in college softball. The positives from this weekend show that Haylie is looking like an elite pitcher again and that Betsa can play with the best of them. I also don't think Sara has an injury, or else she wouldn't be pitching an even amount of innings with the other two. She just needs to find her form and regain some confidence. But you are right in saying that this team is likely better defensively than teams in the past. Abby Ramirez alone is one of the most surehanded softball players I have ever seen.
February 16th, 2014 at 11:16 PM ^
There's so many softball posters on here. I love it.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:25 AM ^
Nice that you keep posting these game summaries so that the MGoBlog community backs another UM sport. But you're summary of the BC game is not accurate. Sappenfield had a bases loaded walk to bring in one run in the 7th inning.
In my view, the hitting and fielding is ahead of the pitching. We don't have the shut-down starter we'll need to advance to the post-season. For instance, the Minnesota starter is a true stud. But, we have time. These losses don't matter much.
February 17th, 2014 at 3:17 PM ^
RBI for the bases loaded BB. We were down 4-2 at that point. Colie's walk made it 4-3. Romo's single plus the error scored 3 runs for the 6-4 lead. I did not mention Colie's 2 out walk although it was very important. I will make sure to mention something like this in the future.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:37 PM ^
In the initial post you said that with the bases loaded and nobody out, Doyle and Colie flew out. It was actually Abby Ramirez and Doyle that flew out, and Colie battled through a tough at bat to draw the walk and make the Romo hit possible. Also, credit to Caitlin Blanchard for the bases-loaded, 2-RBI single in the T6.
MGoSoftball, do you have a way for me to contact you? Twitter or something? I'd love to talk to you some more about Michigan softball.