Softball Fall Ball Schedule Released

Submitted by South Bend Wolverine on

What better way to get over the malaise of realizing how much work is ahead of us in football (although major progress has clearly already been made & the rest is underway!) than a reminder of the payoff that patience can have?  Carol Hutchins took over a program in a low place in the softball pantheon and built a perennial powerhouse in Ann Arbor, but it took her years of steady improvement to do it.  Now we get our first glimpse of the 2016 edition of her work, although things will look very familiar to those fans who followed the 2015 season.

The team will play 6 fall exhibition games, 4 in a mini tournament in Traverse City against Oakland, WMU, and CMU (round robin + championship/consolation games) and 2 more in a home-and-home with Sparty.  Not as exciting of a slate as last fall, when we hosted Kentucky is what was billed as a "fall super-regional", but it'll be a good chance to get a first look at the team.  The number 1 question will be who is behind the plate on defense.  If we settle in with a catcher early on, especially one with a solid bat, we're gonna have a good time.

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Mark46

September 4th, 2015 at 6:20 PM ^

I think I can answer your #1 question, the catcher will no doubt be Alex Sobczak. She comes in with great credentials. Outside chance it could be Aidan Falk but she's got a ways to go as a defensive catcher and will likely be DH again although there will be a real dog fight for that position.

Joined: 04/28/2009

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South Bend Wolverine

September 4th, 2015 at 8:37 PM ^

She'll definitely be a contender for the position.  The question with her is will she be able to hit well enough to make it worth keeping one of Swearingen/Vargas/Monte (the triad I see battling it out for some of the lower spots in the order) on the bench?  Conversely, of course, as you note, Falk has the question of whether her defense will be strong enough to keep her in the position.  You're probably right to give the edge to the player playing her natural position, and if it's close, I lean towards giving it to the freshman.  We saw last season how awesome having a 4-year catcher can be.

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