Softball 2017 Schedule Released

Submitted by South Bend Wolverine on

Something to look forward to after all the glumness in these parts over the last few days: the schedule for softball's Team 40 is up, and it's packed with good stuff.

The Wolverines waste no time in challenging themselves, taking on perennial powerhouse Florida on just the 2nd day of the season.  Stern tests against UCLA, FSU, and ASU, as well as challenges from major confernece foes like ND, NC State, Baylor, Kentucky, and Texas A&M lie in wait throughout the non-conference schedule.  As always, the Wolverines like to challenge themselves early & often, and 2017 will be no exception.

The Big Ten schedule is a bit of a mixed bag.  Once again, the geniuses at Big Ten HQ failed to schedule a regular season showdown between the conference's top two teams, Michigan & Minnesota.  The rest of Michigan's opponents are spread fairly evenly throughout last year's standings, so it's neither a top nor bottom heavy slate overall.

There's additional excitement in store at Alumni Field, though, as Michigan has been tapped to host the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since its revival a few years ago.  May 11-13 will be a great chance to watch a ton of softball in Ann Arbor, and hopefully to see the Wolverines hoist a trophy at home!

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November 29th, 2016 at 3:16 PM ^

I'll be digging into the numbers a bit more in a couple months when I put together my season preview, but my initial read is that this will be a bit of a rebuilding year, but still a strong team.  We lose our best player ever along with several other stars & senior leaders.  We do return some powerful bats, though, and we've got a senior ace in the circle with Megan Betsa.  There has also been a rotating cast of role players who have battled for the bottom 2-3 spots in the batting order for the last couple of years.  If those players, now thrust into a more prominent role, can step up their game accordingly, we can be a very strong team.

Overall, my view at the moment is that this is Megan Betsa's team, and it'll go as far as she takes it, esp. in the post-season when teams lean heavily on their ace.  She's been on the boundary of good & elite for the last couple seasons.  Getting firmly into elite territory could be the key to a WCWS berth.  My current guess is that we host a regional but not a super-regional, and have a 50/50 shot at the WCWS.

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