Softball Wraps Up Perfect Fall
Michigan rounded out its set of fall scrimmages on Tuesday (and then Mgoblue.com took two more days to post any results) with a 16-3 drubbing of EMU, the encore performance to last Thursday's 17-1 pounding of the Hurons. This puts Michigan at 7-0 for the fall, scoring 62 runs while allowing only 8. Obviously we're dealing with scrimmages against over-matched competition, but it is still encouraging to see the team put such a great effort on the field.
Mgoblue posted a brief Q&A with Coach Hutch & junior pitcher Haylie Wagner (http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/101113aaa.html). I was not at all surprised to see Hutch talking up the senior leadership of Colie Sappingfield, who has been a key part of Michigan's team for several years now. Hutch also praised the pitching, especially singling out the addition of freshman Megan Betsa. Everyone knows this Michigan team can score runs, even with the loss of Ashley Lane's power, so if the defense can improve to match, we could be in for a fun season.
That's just about it for softball news until the season starts approaching in a few months. I'm expecting this team to do some great things as they look to defend their Big Ten Championship and get back to Oklahoma!
October 11th, 2013 at 4:01 AM ^
Go Red Sox!!!!
October 11th, 2013 at 5:16 AM ^
October 11th, 2013 at 5:59 AM ^
While it is true that there are Red Sox fans on the board, trolling multiple threads in this manner when it is not relevant to the discussion is something that I will guarantee does not aid your current - shall I say - "situation". Please don't go that route.
October 11th, 2013 at 5:20 AM ^
October 11th, 2013 at 8:40 AM ^
Glad you enjoyed the updates! I'd say that your tailgate source knows what they're talking about. We lost about as little as you can reasonably expect to lose off of a B10 championship/top 6 team and make some nice additions from Hutch's recruiting. Also, Haylie Wagner was injured much of last year, so having her healthy improves our pitching significantly right there. Lots to look forward to this spring!
October 11th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^
Have you heard anything about what is going to happen with the pitching situation? I see hutch's quotes about Betsa but they dont add any insight as to how this may be handled. Obviously it is a nice luxury to have 3 quality pitchers but reality is you rarely ever find teams that use more than 2 pitchers once conference play comes around. Is Betsa likely to supplant Wagner or Driesenga or is she likely to be the one that doesnt get many innings when B1G play starts. Next year will also be strange situation as all 3 of those will be around plus they have a star pitcher from Cali coming in who some say is better than all 3....will be hard to keep everyone happy then.
October 11th, 2013 at 3:26 PM ^
That's a very good question about the pitching - definitely something that we can file under "good problems to have"! There are a few teams that do make use of three pitchers, although there is definitely something of a hierarchy among them. I imagine that this is just the sort of thing that will get worked out on the field as the season goes along. Fortunately softball has a long non-conference schedule (although for us that's often at least as tough as the league!), so Hutch will have some time to tinker and see who's getting the job done most effectively.
I would say that I would be very surprised to see Haylie get bumped, since I'm thinking back to her fantastic freshman year, which is the last time we saw her at 100%. Word is that she's back, she's healthy, and she's in better shape than she's been before, so if Betsa unseats her, it will be because she is *very* good. Driesenga made some big strides last year too, though, so it will be a real battle - she does have the advantage of being the better hitter of our returning pitchers, so she can get on the field in multiple capacities. Definitely going to be a fun aspect of this team to watch!
I'm not sure if I've heard about this up & coming pitcher from California - do you have any detail or references about her? It sounds like if everyone stays on track & healthy, we may have a real embarrassment of riches next year!
October 11th, 2013 at 5:12 PM ^
Her name is Tera Blanco and she is out of the Orange County area.
Here is a link to a youtube video of her dad talking about her commitment to Michigan. The buzz I have heard is that she will be better than the other 3 they have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zS3tBn1v0Q
October 12th, 2013 at 1:31 AM ^
Awesome, that is great to hear. I admit that I don't generally follow recruiting a whole lot (in any sport) until the players are pretty close to stepping on campus, so I often miss these sorts of things. Great to learn more about the up & coming stars who will be guiding Michigan into the future. Sounds like the competition is going to be pretty fierce next year for pitching duty if we have two established seniors & two stand-out under-classmen as well. That gives me a lot of confidence that whoever does end up in the circle will be really, really good, which is encouraging, since based on the talent we have, IMO this year & next are legitimate chances for us to reclaim the WCWS title.
October 11th, 2013 at 5:38 AM ^
They may be playing scrubs, but outscoring your opponents 62-8 is pretty impressive regardless.