Softball Super Regional
After dropping game one of the super regional to Tennessee 5-0, Michigan is in a bind today. We need to win both games in order to advance. Game one is at 4:30, and the if necessary game will be at 7. The first game will be on ESPNU, and if we push it to three games, the second will be on ESPN2.
Let's go Blue, this thing is far from over!
...looked extremely out of character. Having watched this team play all season, this was the first time they have looked lost out there. Hopefully they can get their act together tonight.
What terrible luck for that girl. I only caught a few innings on TV, but my stomach dropped when she took that line drive.
article just said she would be x-rayed and Hutch would reveal her status sometime today. Apparently she was back in the dugout with a sling later in the game. Poor girl, as soon as the announcers said someone was down, I just had this horrible sickening feeling it was going to be Bree...
Hopefully it's not too bad and she'll recover quickly. I feel like if Shaw had hit a ball to me, my arm would have shattered, luckily Bree is much tougher than I am. Big blow to the team regardless, hopefully they can rally and win these next two and if she's not back today, Bree can rejoin them for the World Series.
About an inning later she came back to the dugout with a sling.
For Shaw's next AB, the whole team ducked behind the dugout fence, while one assistant donned a catcher's mask and mitt. Though very unfortunate and unlucky for Evans, it looks like the team had a little fun with it.
That girl has the worst luck.
It's unfortunate we wasted yet another fine pitching performance from Jordan Taylor last night (11K's, and four of the runs she allowed were unearned). For a team that scores so much, to get shutout at home was just shocking.
She could have helped herself if she had caught that soft liner bunt that tipped off the end of her glove that opened the door for TN's big inning. She might have been able to get two on that play if she fields it cleanly. I also thought her location was poor and she left too many pitches in the middle of the plate, compared to the TN pitcher who was much better at working the corners.
Had she improved ALL of that, we still would have lost.
Does anyone have a link to the espnu feed?
If you have it available, the 2nd game will be streamed on ESPN3, not that it matters when the game will be on ESPN2 anyway. I've got nothing on ESPNU for the first game just yet.
not lookin good so far...keep on fightin! thats why i love baseball/softball its not over till the last out.
...4-0 Tenn in the bottom of the 4th (they're the home team for this game). Need to get out of this inning and then we'll need some effective rally hats.
...a two run shot with two outs in the top of the 5th to make it a 4-2 Tenn lead. Keep the rally hats on, people!
That was huge. Hard to imagine us coming back without scoring at least something in the 5th.
...now on in relief. Last night's winning pitcher who only gave up 2 H and 2 BB will try to douse the flames.
I only have live stats, but she seems much less attractive than the starter. Dammit, I was going to make a joke about hopefully her pitching being uglier than the starter, too. Unfortunately, I think that's probably crossing the line. I wouldn't want Tennessee fans making fun of Michigan's roster either.
...for Dorian Shaw and we're now within one, 4-3. One out in the top of the 6th.
...4-3 Tenn.
Let's Go Blue!
...strikes out the side in the bottom of the 6th. Michigan has the bottom of the order up to try to manufacture at least one run to keep us in the tourney.
...and the ladies have rally helmets on in the dugout. It's a good look, but I prefer not to have to see it.
...with a base hit into left field. First and second, one out.
...Hutch holds Kirkpatrick at 3rd and Bausher barely got back to 2nd after making a wide turn not realizing 3rd wasn't open.
Bases loaded, one out. Viefhaus up to bat.
...goes down swinging. Last out.
Roya St. Clair is our last hope.
That is a brutal way to end a distinguished career. I hope she doesn't have nightmares about it.
I'm not going to go easy on her because she's a young woman. Viefhaus disappeared this series (although she made her presence known with that error in Game 1). Needed her to step up and she didn't. Brutal is right.
...and the game is over. Michigan goes down 4-3 and loses the series 2-0.
Disappointing not to make the WCWS, but this was a great season for the team. Here's hoping they can build on this for next year.
Was at the game today. Just disappointing. A great game to attend, but we couldn't catch a single break. They had 3 solo homers, one that made it out by about a foot. We had several at-em balls, including Roya's to end the game. And as has already been mentioned, Viefhaus disappeared. She needed to put the ball in play in the seventh and couldn't do it. Roya's blast with the bases loaded landed 10 feet foul.
And the biggest one of all - Bree's broken arm. How unlucky can a team be in 2 games?
Great crowd today, though. A sell out, obviously, and a loud supportive crowd. Too bad they aren't playing right now.
Also, for anyone that watched the game:
What was the deal with Hutch pinch hitting in the seventh and not bunting the lead off walk over? That was a weird call.... I know they were expecting a bunt and that you run the risk of giving up the force at second, but geesh what a wasted at-bat.
Not that it would really have mattered, I think a subsequent walk moved her over.
And Findlay's single should have tied it... I think the runner on second paused unneccesarily before heading to third, forcing Hutch to hold her. Anyone see the replay on that?
...they didn't show the replay of Kirkpatrick's base running, only Bausher's bang-bang play diving back into 2nd.
I was very surprised that Hutch didn't send Kirkpatrick with one out and no guarantee of a bullseye throw to home from CF. Now I know why she held her up.