Softball vs. Sparty, tonight at 6

The Michigan Softball team takes on Michigan State in the first game of a 3-game series, and the only game of that series at home. The brand new Donald R. Shepard softball facility, a more than 5 million dollar building, will be dedicated tonight. Sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero and junior pitcher Haylie Wagner have been named finalists for national POY. Through 36 games, Romero is hitting .505 with 42 RBI and slugging .882. She has as many homers as she does strikeouts (10), which is considerably lower than last years pace for her, but teams have been avoiding her bat like the plague. She gets walked about 33% of the time. Haylie Wagner has been dominant in the circle this year: 18-0 with a 0.94 ERA. The two-time B1G Pitcher of the Week has tossed 11 complete games and 6 shutouts. A welcome addition to the lineup this year has been the OP (offensive player, similar to a DH) Taylor Hasselbach. The senior has been a role player in recent years, only seeing spot duty here and there. She had 1 HR in all of last year. This year she is batting .434 with 26 RBI, and slugging .811. She also has 4 HR, 3 of which came in two games last weekend against Ohio State. Come on out and support the team tonight, and check out the new facility and new field surface if you haven't seen it yet. The addition of the AstroTurf was a fantastic idea. EDIT: Television alert! Sunday's game in East Lansing airs on BTN at noon, and two games next weekend against Minnesota are on BTN. Check your local listings, you certainly don't want to miss the Minnesota series.