FWIW, I was told recently by a knowledgeable person that Leah Crockett will not be getting a redshirt.. I had assumed Leah would be getting a redshirt. Leah's redshirt was burned when she pitched 1 inning (1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks) against VaTech on Feb. 21, according to this knowledgeable person. That was the only action Leah saw this past season. i have not seen anything to contradict this knowledgeable person's claim.
Today was a complete reversal of their pre-Judi Garman performances, where Megan and Tera often had serious control problems. Today, Megan threw 67% of her pitches for strikes and Tera threw 65% of her pitches for strikes, both of which are in the optimal zone, in my opinion. . Both Megan and Tera generally stayed ahead of batters in the count, which usually makes for successful pitching. (The Illinois State pitcher kept the Michigan hitters pretty much in check because she also had good control: 63% of her pitches were strikes, 2 walks, 1 HBP, and she was usually ahead in the count.) It looked like Abby tweaked her ankle sliding into third in the top of the 4th inning of the Dayton game. She was able to walk off the field unassisted but she was walking quite gingerly (not limping but walking quite gingerly). I thought I saw her walk out of the dugout later in the game without apparent difficultly. My guess is that she will be OK but we will see if she plays tomorrow. Rain is in the forecast so there is a chance the games may not be played.
Aside from P/1B Lauren Haeger, OF Bailey Castro, and SS Kathlyn Medina, Florida returns all of its starters and all of its pitchers. In addition, Florida adds the top 2 recruits in the nation to its roster as ranked by FloSoftball. Freshman OF Amanda Lorenz is the #1 recruit in the HS class of 2015 and freshman P Kelly Barnhill is the #2 recruit. According to FloSoftball, “[Barnhill] throws consistently in the 69-70 mph range and […] hit the low 70's many times [last] year, but it's not just heat she throws--she has a rise and drop that are tough to lay off of and when batters start anticipating her speed she'll buckle knees with a brutal change-up.” Barnhill made the Womens’ National Team (“Team USA”) at the tryouts earlier this month in Irvine, CA, the only college freshman and the only current college pitcher to do so. She joins college graduates Jackie Traina (Alabama-2014), Sara Nevins (USF-2014), Ally Carda (UCLA-2015), and Jessica Moore (Oregon-2013) on the Team USA pitching staff. Florida seniors 2B Kelsey Stewart and C Aubree Munro also made Team USA. Florida Sophomore INF Nicole DeWitt made the Team USA 2nd team (called the “Elite Team”). The graduation of Lauren Haeger is a big loss, but Florida will still be plenty tough this season. I won’t be surprised if Barnhill starts against Michigan on February 13. Michigan will get its chance to show it is #1.
The Michigan roster is usually 20-21 players. This year, the roster is 24 players. The challenge for the coaches will be give each of the players enough playing time to develop their softball skills. No easy task, especially on a team loaded with skilled returning players. WRT the large freshmen class (7 players), their HS and travel ball bios are now posted on MGOBLUE.com. The four major recruits are Alex Sobczak, Faith Canfield, Natalie Peters, and Leah Crockett. I believe the other three freshmen are preferred walk-ons: Katie Alexander, Courtney Richardson, and Mackenzie Nemitz.
1. #15 Alex Sobczak
I covered Alex’s TC play in my previous comments. As many of you know, Alex was one of the best hitters in Michigan HS history. This past summer, Alex was selected to participate in a national HS graduating senior Top 10 Hitters contest in conjunction with the PGF Nationals in Cali. She won that contest and was named the MVP competiting against players who will star for their respective college teams such as Florida, Washington, Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama, and Tennessee. Alex will star for Michigan for the next four years.
2. #25 Faith Canfield
Faith started 2 games at TC (at 3B and 2B). She is a very good fielder and an outstanding hitter with power. Her hitting style reminds me of Ashley Lane in that Faith can club high pitches for home runs. She made no errors at TC and got a couple of hits. She played high level HS and travel ball in SoCal. (Her travel ball team, the SoCal Athletics, lost the U18 championship game to the OC Batbusters at the PGF Nationals this summer. Faith batted clean-up and played 3B. She was batting over .600 going into the championship game.). Faith probably won’t start many games this season for Michigan, but I think she will see a lot of playing time as one of the first players off the bench.
3. #11 Natalie Peters
Natalie is a speedy RH OF and LH slapper who makes good contact most of the time. She played both RF and LF at TC and fielded her position well. She also got a couple of hits. Natalie played for the OC Batbusters team that beat Faith’s SoCal Athletics in the U18 championship game at the PGF Nationals this summer. Natalie batted 9th and played RF. As readers may recall, Natalie has been favorably compared to CF Bree Evans, one of the best, if not the best, outfielders to play for Michigan in recent years, IMO. I think Natalie will see a fair amount of playing time this season as a primary substitute.
4. #4 Leah Crockett
Leah didn’t get to pitch at TC. If not TC, then when? I am sure the coaches are focusing on getting Megan Betsa, Tera Blanco and Sara Driesenga ready for the regular season. That doesn’t leave much opportunity to develop a relatively raw but promising freshman pitcher. Depending on how Michigan’s pitching needs develop, I would not be surprised if this were a RS season for Leah. I am not aware of any pitching verbal commits for Michigan in the Class of 2016. The phenomenal LHP Megan Beaubien will be a freshman at Michigan after she graduates from HS in 2017. So, it seems to me, a RS for Leah would probably be good for her and good for Michigan.
5. #17 Katie Alexander
I discussed Katie’s play at TC in my previous post. While it is still very early, I see her as the backup catcher for Alex Sobczak. You will note from her Michigan softball bio that she hit over .600 during her junior and senior years at Saline HS. She also hit for power and was a 1st Team Div 1 All-State Catcher her junior and senior years.
6. #19 Courtney Richardson
Courtney is an OF who saw limited action at TC. I don’t recall that she got any hits or made any mistakes in the field. I think Courtney played for Bonnie Tholl’s brother in travel ball. If so, the Michigan coaches should have a good read on Courtney’s potential.
7. #44 Mackenzie Nemitz
Mackenzie is a SS who also saw limited action at TC. She didn’t make any errors and I don’t think she got any hits. Mackenzie is a younger sister of Nikki Nemitz, a very fine pitcher and hitter for Michigan several years ago. Mackenzie will probably not get much playing time this season.
SOPHOMORES:
As is the case every year, last year’s freshman class was an excellent class. Sophomore year is a year to see if dramatic improvements can be made. Think Kelly Christner--from promising freshman with limited playing time to 1st Team All-American outfielder her sophomore year. While Kelly’s degree of advancement is very unusual, I look for noticeable improvement among all of this year’s sophomores.
Tera Blanco was a decent 1B whose hitting improved considerably over the last half of last season. She had a sore arm so she saw very limited action in the circle. Throughout her HS and travel ball careers, Tera was one of the outstanding pitchers in SoCal and in the nation. I think Hutch is counting on Tera to be an outstanding starting pitcher for the remainder of her years at Michigan. Tera started and pitched most of 2 games at TC. She was excellent. She also hit very well at TC, almost getting a HR (went for a double) and making several other hits. When not pitching, I expect she will usually be the DP but probably not the 1B.
Aidan Falk also had a great second half of last season at the plate. I look for further improvement at the plate this season. Aidan hit well at TC. I think she is a very solid 1B. The coaches also tried Taylor Swearingen at 1B. She hit well at TC and is a good fielder. But I think Aidan is likely to see the bulk of the playing time at 1B. But whether it is Aidan or Taylor at 1B, we will have a good fielder who is also a talented hitter. Both can hit for power. Taylor is a better base runner than Aidan.
Amanda Vargas got some playing time at TC. I am not sure if she subbed at 2B but she did get several solid hits. I think Amanda is a very promising player, especially as a hitter. I hope she gets enough playing time to show her skills.
Nikki Wald is a member of our valuable and experienced pinch-running crew along with seniors Mary Sbonek and Olivia Richvalsky. All three saw pinch-running action at TC and, I think, some time in the field and at the plate as well. Morgan Swift was one of the bullpen catchers last season and it appears that will be her role this season. She didn’t play at TC.
JUNIORS:
What a class. Four starters. Kelly Christner was Michigan’s best hitter at TC. At one point, she was 8 for 10, including a HR and one or two doubles. Kelly, as you know, is also a great fielder and base runner. Abby Ramirez played her usual excellent SS. She batted 9th and 2nd at TC. (One version of the lineup was like last season’s and the other version had Kelly batting 1st, Abby 2nd and Romo 3rd. Taylor Swearingen and Lindsay Montemarano both batted 5th behind Kelsey Susalla.) Abby is another batter whose performance improved considerably over the second half of last season. She made solid contact at TC, which is what she needs to do to be an effective slapper.
Monte was spectacular at 3rd. She made four or five exceptional plays, including snagging a line shot and a hard grounder in the hole and backhanding a hard grounder to start a 5-4-3 DP. While the all-around fielding at TC by Michigan was very good, there was no one close to Monte at TC. Monte also hit very well at TC. She had a home run to left and several other hits. While there has been some discussion on this blog that Monte might lose her starting position due to her relatively low batting average last year, I just don’t see it. She is an experienced junior and proven high-quality 3rd baseman. She plays a key role in team chemistry (originator of the pizza cheers). She seems poised for the break-out hitting year that some of us expected last year. The last member of the junior class is Megan Betsa. There is no reason to think that she won’t be as good as or even better than last year. Her performance at TC supports this prediction.
SENIORS:
There is not too much to say about the seniors. This is their last year. They know what they need to do. I am confident the two Sierras, Kelsey Susalla and Sara Driesenge will get it done. The other seniors will play their roles well: Mary Sbonek and Olivia Richvalsky as pinch runners and dugout cheerers, and Lauren Connell (“LC”) as bull pen catcher, dugout cheerleader, and chronicler of Team 39.
FINAL COMMENTS:
While Team 39 is just starting and many things can happen, this team shows great promise. Team 38 had a phenomenal year—28 wins in row from the 2nd Minnesota game to the LSU game at the WCWS. We are not likely to see a streak like that at Michigan any time soon. But, in my opinion, Team 39 has the potential to be a better team than Team 38. We shall see.
Alex Sobczak caught 3 of the 4 games. She looked good behind the plate. I expect she will be the starting catcher for the entire season. Alex hit OK but nothing spectacular. Given her reputation as a hitter, I am sure she will put up good numbers as the season progresses. Katie Alexander, a freshman walk-on from Saline HS, caught Megan Betsa and Sara Driesenga in the CMU game (game #3).. She also looked good behind the plate even though catching Betsa, with all her movement, is no easy task. Katie is a tall, strong young woman. She didn't get any hits but made good contact on a couple of at bats. Katie gunned down a CMU runner attempting to sleal 2nd. Aidan Falk did not catch, so it looks like the coaches are slotting her for first base, where she split the time with Taylor Swearingen (each played 2 games). Tera Blanco may have played an inning or two at first, but I am not sure.
Leah Crokett did not pitch. Tera Blanco (11 innings), Megan Betsa (7 innings), and Sara Driesenga (8 innings) were all excellent. Tera looked very strong. She was in command. I would guess her fast ball was in the upper 60s. She also showed good movement and off-speed pitches. Sara looked completely recovered from her rib injury. Her drop-ball was lethal. Megan was just as good as she was last year.
As a general observation, the entire team looked very fit and strong. Team speed will be excellent, just like last year.
I will try to have more of my observations on the TC Games sometime later on Monday.
Dorian Shaw is an Assistant Coach at Stanford and Jordan Taylor is a Volunteer Assistant Coach at Boston University. Roya St. Clair is an Assistant Coach at the University of Memphis.
I have read and/or been told that Abby hit her home runs in HS as a RH hitter and that her travel ball team (Beverly Bandits) converted her to a lefty slapper to take advantage of her speed.
Of note: (1) 2 games against national champ Florida; (2) 2 games against FSU (back-to-back); (3) 2 games against national runner-up Alabama; (4) 1 game against Baylor; (5) 3 games against ASU (one back-to-back with Florida at the Judi Garman Classic); (6) 1 game against San Diego State, (7) 1 game against USF (later the same day Michigan plays Florida at the USF Tournament).(8) 2 games against Lipscomb, and (9) 1 game against James Madison. So Michigan will be playing 7 games against 4 teams that appeared in the WCWS last year (Florida, Alabama, FSU and Baylor) including 4 games against the #1 and #2 finishers (Florida and Alabama) and 8 games against 5 teams that lost in the Regional round of the NCAA tournament last spring (ASU, San Diego State, USF, Lipscomb and James Madison). That’s a schedule that will determine Michigan’s seeding in the Regional and Super Regional tournaments next year.
A few comments on the Kentucky games.
(1) In the last 2 games Silo led off and Romo batted second. They both hit the ball extremely well. Romo now has 7 home runs in 7 Fall Ball games. She is an amazing player. Silo is pretty amazing herself. I expect that Hutch will keep Silo and Romo at the top of the order when the regular season starts with Monte batting third. I think Kelly will eventually make it into the clean-up spot (she batted 5th in Games 2 and 3 had 2 hard-hit doubles). Lauren batted 4th in Games 2 and 3, but will probably prove to be too inconsistent to remain the #4 hitter. I suspect Tera will be the eventual #5 hitter although she hasn’t hit particularly well so far this fall (just a home run against Kentucky and a couple of singles at TC).
(2) None of the freshmen have hit very well in Fall Ball. In Game 3, Amanda had two very hard-hit balls for outs and she lined out to short in Game 2. If she continues to make good contact, she will get some playing time. She played a good 2nd base in Game 3. Aiden still needs to work on her hitting. But I thought she looked very natural and comfortable playing first base. Taylor got just 1 hit against Kentucky. She started in right in Games 2 and 3 and 1B in Game 1. Tera, of course, hit a 2-run home run in Game 2. Tera started at 1B in Games 2 and 3 and Aiden subbed at the end of each game.
(3) Michigan’s 6-3 win in Game 3 was much more impressive than the 14-6 win in Game 2. Poor control in Game 2 by the starting Kentucky pitcher, Shannon Smith, allowed Michigan to score most of its runs. She gave up 5 hits, 4 of them home runs, and 8 walks. Before she settled down, Haylie gave up a lot of hits (5 hits and 2 earned runs in the 1st inning and 3 more hits and 1 more earned run over the next 3 innings). Megan gave up 2 home runs to Griffin Joiner which drove in 3 runs. In Game 3, Michigan faced one of the best pitchers in Div. I softball, Kelsey Nunley. In 3 innings, Michigan hit 4 home runs against Nunley to account for all 6 runs. Nunley had good control (only 1 walk). Michigan just hit her very well. Romo was 3-3 against Nunley with 2 home runs in Game 3 and a double in Game 1. After giving up a 2-run home run to Griffin Joiner in the first inning, Sara pitched a great game. From the 2nd through the 6th Sara gave up only 1 hit. She was on the top of her game. Except for the Joiner home run, Kentucky hit no fly balls to the outfield against Sara indicating that her drop ball must have been working very well. She had 9 strikeouts and gave up only 1 walk. After Sara gave up 2 hits (one a very hard-hit line drive to left), a walk, and a run in the top of the seventh, Haylie relieved to get that final out on a strikeout. This was a superior pitching performance by Sara against a very good hitting team.
(4) Megan pitched 6 innings, 3 in Game 1 and 3 in Game 2. Of the 18 outs she recorded against Kentucky, 16 were by strikeouts, an impressive performance. Over all, she gave up 4 runs on 7 hits. She also gave up 4 walks and 1 HBP. All 4 runs were scored on hits by Griffin Joiner (on a single and 2 home runs). While Megan could have been sharper, she still showed a lot of promise for the coming season. In addition to Monte, Hutch singled Megan out on WTKA the other day for her fitness and attitude on returning to Ann Arbor after the summer break. Hutch said Megan was "much improved, stronger, fitter, confident." Hail To The Blue said earlier that Megan could be the horse for Michigan this year. I think that’s right.
I would like to second Hail to The Blue’s observations on the Traverse City games and add a few observations of my own. All three pitchers had very good weekends. Sara was a little rocky in the first game but steadily improved throughout the weekend. It gives me hope that she will return to her sophomore form this season. Megan was awesome. She had many strikeouts (8 of the 9 outs against WMU, I think) and very good control. Haylie was Haylie. A very good and steady pitcher. Michigan pitchers gave up very few walks, HBPs, or hits. The hits they did give up were mostly softly hit flares. Here is the approximate line-up for the final game against CMU. It will give you an idea of how the coaches view the hitting potential of the players. 1. Silo (LF), 2. Kelly (CF), 3. Romo (2B), 4. Lindsay (3B), 5. Taylor Swearingen (1B), 6. Kelsey Susalla (RF), 7. Lauren (C), 8. Aidan Falk (DP), 9. Abby (SS). Lindsay was in the 5-spot for the first 3 games but moved up to the 4-spot after Tera Blanco struggled a bit at the plate in the game against Oakland. Tera did bat for Aiden at the end of the CMU game and hit a long fly to right that was caught. In the first 3 games, Tera batted clean-up and played 1B. It won’t surprise me if Taylor starts the season at 1B with Tera batting in the DP spot. Taylor is a very good fielder and was the best hitter among the freshmen last weekend. Lindsay batting #5 and #4 shows that she must have had a very good fall practice and a very good summer prep. As noted by HTTB, she hit the ball very hard on both days. Her two-run single with the bases loaded in the first inning of the final CMU game was an extremely hard-hit line drive up the middle. And Kelly also had several well-hit balls. Romo showed that she may have an even more outstanding season this coming year than she had the last two years. She homered 3 times during the weekend (a long 2-run home run to center her first time up, a long 3-run home run to right center, and a solo drive to left which is discussed below), had a couple of other hits, made only a few (hard) outs and walked a lot. In the final CMU game, Romo walked the first 2 or 3 times up. Then, with the score 4-2, she homered to left, a solo shot. Pitchers should not give Romo anything to hit. Romo was also very self-assured in the field, making all the plays with ease. It remains to be seen if Kelsey will be a good enough fielder to be a regular in right. She hit pretty well, not great, but pretty well, so I hope she shows she will not be a defensive liability in right. Abby did not have a good weekend at the plate. In my opinion, she needs to learn to place her slap hits better to take advantage of her speed. I am sure she is working on that. I think that Abby will be our only slapper this season. Amanda Vargas played 2nd in the first 3 games with Abby moving over to short. I don’t think Amanda got any hits, but, in her final at-bat, she hit a very hard line drive that the Oakland 3rd baseman caught and turned into a double play. I heard Hutch complement Amanda on her line drive. Hutch was clearly impressed. I thought Lauren hit pretty well. If I remember correctly, I think she had a couple of doubles in the final CMU game. Her first double, a line drive off the first baseman’s glove, drove in the final two runs in the first inning. Her second double was a drive to the fence in right center. I don’t have anything to add to HTTB’s comments on Aiden. Let’s hope she can quickly adapt to the pace and intensity of college ball. Silo was very good as the leadoff hitter. Given her many abilities, I think that will prove to be a great spot for her and for the team. She had Michigan’s other home run this weekend (Romo 3, Taylor 1, Silo 1), a deep solo shot to left in the first CMU game. We will learn a lot more about the team this coming weekend when Michigan plays 3 games against Kentucky at Alumni Field. Ohio State played a DH against Kentucky in Lexington on Sunday losing the first game 3-1 and winning the second game 4-2. I haven’t seen any reports on who pitched for Ohio State, but if RS junior Alex DiDomenico has sufficiently recovered from the arm injury that sidelined her most of last year, she and senior Olivia O’Reilly should make a pretty formidable pitching duo this coming season.
My understanding is that Michigan will be playing in Traverse City on September 27-28 and at Alumni Field on Oct. 4-5 against Kentucky. The exhibition games against Kentucky and the tough pre-Big Ten Schedule show that the coaches are preparing the team for post-season play.
from her Finesse travel ball coach, Donny Dreher, as quoted on studentsports.com last fall..
“Aidan is also from New York and the people there say she reminds them of Bryce Harper but I call her Roy Hobbs after the lead character in The Natural. She’s a left-handed hitter, a great power hitter and the best first baseman I’ve ever had by far. I first saw her at a Notre Dame camp I was working at. Last year, she joined up for my team at Nationals and had a hard decision choosing between Notre Dame and Michigan but the Wolverines won out."
I think Aidan will be playing first base for Michigan for the next four years but she can also play in the outfield and will probably be a much-needed backup catcher for Lauren next year. She bats and throws left.
to close out the Big Ten season. Michigan takes all 3 at Illinois and 2 of 3 against Wisconsin in Ann Arbor. Nebraska loses 1 of 2 at Wisconsin but wins all of its games at MSU and at home against Indiana. Purdue has a tough closing schedule—3 at Wisconsin and 3 at home against Minnesota. I think Purdue wins 1 in each series. Minnesota sweeps PSU at home and Northwestern sweeps OSU in Columbus and MSU at home.
Each Big Ten softball team plays 23 conference games including 7 three-game series and a mid-week doubleheader. Since there are 12 teams in the Big Ten, each team plays 8 Big Ten teams and doesn’t play 3 Big Ten teams. Here are the “don’t plays.” Michigan, PSU, and Purdue don’t play Iowa, Nebraska, and Northwestern and vice versa. Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin don’t play Indiana, MSU, and OSU and vice versa. To think about the implications of the Big Ten schedule, I would group the Big Ten teams into three tiers—Top Tier, Middle Tier, and Bottom Tier. Here are my groupings by team ranking within each tier. Top Tier: Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Middle Tier: Purdue, OSU, Illinois and Iowa. Bottom Tier: MSU, Indiana, and PSU. Obviously, others may have differing opinions as to the composition of the tiers and the rankings within the tiers, however, I think most will see my choices as reasonable. As SBW pointed out in his/her Big Ten preview, Michigan has a relatively favorable Big Ten schedule compared to the other leading contenders. Michigan plays only 2 of the other 4 Top Tier teams and plays those 2 teams at home. Michigan plays all 3 of the Bottom Tier teams and 3 of the 4 Middle Tier teams. In contrast, Minnesota plays all 4 of the other Top Tier teams (2 at home and 2 away). In addition, Minnesota plays only 1 of the 3 Bottom Tier teams and 3 of the 4 Middle Tier teams. If Minnesota wins the Big Ten regular season title, they will have earned it. Nebraska plays 3 of the other 4 Top Tier teams (1 at home and 2 away). Nebraska also plays 2 of the 3 Bottom Tier teams and 3 of the 4 Middle Tier teams. Northwestern’s schedule is similar to Nebraska’s, except that they play 2 of their Top Tier opponents at home and 1 away. Wisconsin’s schedule is similar to Minnesota’s, except that they play 1 of their Top Tier opponents at home and 3 away. Michigan has one other scheduling advantage courtesy of the split series with MSU (1 game in Ann Arbor and 2 games in East Lansing). Michigan has 13 home games and 10 away games. All other Big Ten teams have 12 or 11 home games and 11 or 12 away games. Wisconsin has 11 home games and 12 away games. The other 3 Top Tier teams have 12 home games and 11 away games.
On the opening weekend of the Big Ten season, the Bottom Tier teams (Indiana, MSU, and PSU) upheld their status going a collective 0-9, losing to Michigan, OSU and Purdue. In Top Tier battles, Northwestern went 2-1 over Wisconsin at home and Minnesota went 2-1 over Nebraska at Nebraska. In a Mid Tier series, Iowa went 2-1 over Illinois at Illinois.
Yes, there will be a DH on Friday with start times at 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM. The first game will be streamed on the BTDN but apparently not the second game. Game on Saturday at 2 PM will be streamed. No game on Sunday.
On WTKA's Michigan Insider today, Coach Hutch confirmed Hail To The Blue's predictions. She said the field is ready to go due to the new artificial turf and artificial dirt and the hard work of the grounds crew in clearing the ice off of the field. She also said the Sunday game may be moved to Friday for a Friday DH due to projected freezing temperatures on Sunday. All three Indiana gams will be streamed on-line on the Big Ten Digital Network. Here is a link to the Michigan softball games scheduled to be shown on the BTN and BTDN networks this season
Warm weather softball teams have significant advantages, especially in recruiting and scheduling. Before Arizona State played Michigan on Mar 2 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, CA, it had played its first 24 games at home (21-3). These games help Arizona State build its record for NCAA seedings for the NCAA Regional and Superregional tournaments. Imagine if Michigan could start its season with 24 straight home games. Except for the Judi Garman games, where ASU went 5-0, ASU's only remaining away games will be at Pac 12 opponents. Michigan's success in recruiting top players and its success in the pre-Big 10 season is a testament to the softball program developed by Coach Hutch and her excellent assistant coaches.
If you have access to the Pac-12 Networks, you can see Michigan's game against UCLA at 7 PM (PT) on Wednesday, March 5. This game will be played at UCLA. Michigan also plays UCLA on Friday afternoon, February 28, at the Mayfair Invitational at Mayfair Park in Lakewood, CA. Here is a link to the UCLA schedule: http://www.uclabruins.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30500&SPID=126919&…;
UCLA, undefeated at 16-0, is a top 10 team and was ranked last week at #8/#9. This is a brutal stretch for Michigan. After playing the Wednesday night game at UCLA, Michigan then plays top 5 teams Arizona State and Washington back-to-back the next afternoon at the Judi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton. On Friday afternoon, Michigan plays Houston and #14 Arizona back-to-back followed by #25 Texas on Saturday morning. MIchigan will be sorely tested on its Cali trip. This trip should be great for recruiting.
You might also mention freshman Kelly Christner. While she didn't play against FAU, she played 1B, RF and CF in the other 4 games at the FAU tournament. As an outfielder she has great range and can go back and catch fly balls that often give other softball outfielders difficulty. She is also supposed to have a very good arm. I don't doubt it. I won't be surprised to see Kelly in CF next year. Kelly has also turned into a very capable first baseman. She fields grounders and bunts very well and throws accurately and quickly to first on bunts. She doesn't drop throws to first. In the key Kentucky game, Hutch played Kelly at first just for her defensive abilities (i.e., she didn't bat). She just needs to improve her hitting and I am sure she will. She has had her moments but she has not been consistent. To show you how much the team has relied upon these three freshman fielders, they rank through Saturday #3 (Abby), #4 (Kelly) and #5 (Monte) in chances after #1 Lauren and #2 Caitlin. Romo is #6 in chances. Monte and Abby are #1 and #2 in assists, respectively. Romo is #3 in assists trailing Monte by 11 assists and Abby by 7 assists. Yet, despite their high team ranking in chances and assists, the three freshmen have made no errors so far this season. These freshmen are great. And so is the fourth freshman, Megan.
Megan has shown she has great stamina. She seems to get better as the game proceeds. In today's game, she retired FAU's final 15 batters from the bottom of the 3rd to the bottom of the 7th. (Technically, I suppose, she didn't retire the last FAU batter in the bottom of the 3rd. With an FAU runner on 2nd (the first batter of the inning with a bunt single), that batter hit a hard grounder that caromed off of Megan's glove. From 3B, Monte alertly moved to her left to field the carom and easily threw out the runner, who was trying to score from 2nd, at home. The batter was given a single.) Megan finished the game by striking out 2 batters in the 5th and 2 batters in the 7th. In the USF game, she retired the last 6 batters to preserve a 1-run lead, striking out the last 2 batters in the bottom of the 7th. She has pitched complete games in 4 of the 5 games she has started. The only exception is the Bethune-Cookman run-rule game where she split the innings with Sara. Hutch has been concerned about Megan's control. However, in the two games she pitched this weekend, Megan gave up only 2 walks, 1 HBP, and 0 WP.
Romo actually entered the game in the bottom of 5th replacing Kelsey in the field but playing SS. Abby, who had been playing SS, moved over to 2nd, where Kelsey had been playing. Batting after Silo in Kelsey's spot, Romo got the IBB following Silo's double with 2 outs leading, eventually, to the winning run. . That is the second time this season where intentionally walking Romo in a close game has not proven to be a successful strategy. In the USF game with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the top of the 6th with 2 outs, Romo was given an IBB. Caitlin followed with a 2-run single to provide the tying and winning runs.
Michigan's fielding is much better than it was last year. They have made only 3 errors so far this season in 9 games, the fewest in the Big 10. Good fielding is so crucial in college softball. But for 2 errors in the top of the 7th, BC would have beaten Michigan today. But for the error by 3B Kelsey Susalla in the top of the 7th, Michigan would have beaten Florida 4-0 last week. (It was not a hard-hit grounder. It went right between Kelsey's legs and she wasn't able to get a glove on it.) Since the Florida game, freshman Lindsay Montemarano has started every game at 3rd base and has made no errors. In my opinion, Monte has a better arm, better range and better overall fielding ability than Kelsey. I think Monte will be at 3rd for most of this season even if she doesn't get to the plate too often. Romo has made only one error at short, a significant improvement over her error-prone start last year. I credit the Michigan coaches and Romo's determination in helping her to develop into an outstanding fielding shortstop. Freshman Abby Ramirez has been superb at 2B with many fine fielding plays and no errors. As outstanding a hitter that Ashley Lane was last year, she was not a good fielding 2B. Abby has greatly strengthened the infield defense for Michigan this year. Freshman Kelly Christner is a fine outfielder. It is also obvious that the coaches have confidence in Kelly at 1B where she has started several times this year. However, she needs to start hitting better to play much more at 1B where she is, in effect, substituting for a light-hitting Lauren Sweet as Caitlin moves over to catcher. To round out the infield, Caitlin at 1B and Lauren at catcher are very reliable fielders. Silo (or Kelly) in LF, Lyndsay in CF and NIcole in RF form a very solid outfield. It is great to see Lauren and Nicole starting to hit as they did at the Lafayette tournament. .I don't think Sara has an injury. After the Florida game, Hutch said that Sara just lost her confidence. I hope Sara regains her form of last year. I think Haylie has regained her freshman form and freshman Megan Betsa is obviously off to a great start.
If you click on the link and the 2014 Judi Garman schedule doesn't show, click on 2014 Judi Garman in the right sidebar under 2014 Season. BTW, this post and the previous post were intended as a reply to post #9 by MGoBrewMom.
There may be a mistake in the 2014 MIchigan softball schedule posted on MoGoBlue.com. Here is a link to the schedule for the 2014 Judi Garman Classic posted on the Cal State Fullerton web site. http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/w-softbl/2013-14/files/2014_JG_To…; Instead of playing Long Beach State on Thursday as per the Michigan schedule, the JG schedule shows Michigan playing Arizona State. Instead of playing San Jose State on Friday as per the Michigan schedule, the JG schedule shows Michigan playing Arizona. If that is correct, what a schedule for Michigan. Arizona State and Washington on Thursday, Houston and Arizona on Friday and Texas on Saturday. What a tournament--5 of the 8 WCWS participants plus Wisconsin, Arizona, Houston and the 4 Cal State schools. We'll know a lot about Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin after this tournament.
I was fortunate enough to watch the games in Traverse City. I have also read Coach Hutch's post-TC comments. My impressions:
(1) Michigan's defense is going to be a lot better than it was last year. We were already pretty solid in the outfield with Silo, Lyndsay, and Nicole returning. Over the last year, Romo has improved tremendously at shortstop. She now makes all the plays with great ease and confidence. I don't believe she made any errors last weekend. She made one especially outstanding play lunging to the right to snag a low line drive. Hutch obviously has decided that Silo will remain in left and that freshman Abby Ramirez will be the second baseman at Michigan for the foreseeable future. Abby played every inning over the weekend at second and made many fine plays. Romo at short and Abby at second for three years will be a significant strength for Michigan. Kelsey and Taylor Hasselbach fielded well at first. Caitlin, who is out with a broken thumb, won the first base job last year when Kelsey and Taylor dropped too many balls at first during the early season last year.Both Kelsey and freshman Lindsay Montemarano were flawless at third. Monte, in particular, showed that she will be a very reliable third baseman. The excellent Lauren Sweet played every inning as catcher. There was a difficult ball that Abby didn't field cleanly but I don't think that was an error. Other than possibly that play, I don't think Michigan made any errors over the 5 games.
(2) In 2012, Michigan depended mostly on Haylie in the circle. Last season, Sara carried the team especially in the pre-Big Ten and post-Big Ten seasons. Next year, barring any injuries, Michigan will have three very strong pitchers. Freshman Megan Betsa pitched 10 scoreless innings in TC. I think she gave up only 2 or 3 hits and only 1 walk. Haylie and Sara were almost as good. Each gave up only one run and very few hits and walks. As Hutch has noted, Haylie looks a lot fitter than she did last year. That was obvious to me. But note that the pitching of most Big Ten teams and not just Nebraska is going to be very good next year.
(3) As Hutch also noted, the hitting could have been better in TC. Romo (2 home runs and several doubles and singles), Kelsey and freshmen Kelly Christner had the best weekends at the plate, in my opinion. In general, they hit the ball hard and on a line. Silo and Monte also had pretty good weekends as batters. Lauren Sweet was disappointing as the clean-up hitter and Abby was disappointing as the #9 hitter. Abby batted almost entirely as a left-handed slapper and had trouble making good contact. I think she hit her home runs in high school as a right-handed hitter. I expect Abby to improve her hitting considerably as the season progresses. With the possible exception of Megan, the pitchers did not hit well. I am not sure how long Hutch will be able to let the pitchers hit for themselves.
(4) My big takaways from the weekend in TC. (a) Kelsey will be playing as a regular at third, at first (if Caitlin is not available) or as DP, probably as the #5 hitter as has been suggested. (b) The four freshman all showed they are ready to make significant contributions to Team 37. It is obvious that Hutch feels that way. Abby is going to be a great up the middle partner with Romo. Monte will be a very good backup or starter at third. Hutch indicated that she will have to find a spot for Kelly. At TC, Kelly played left, center and first. She looked very good at each position. She was especially impressive as a hitter. Over the weekend, she batted 8th and 2nd. This coming season, she will be playing in the field or as DP. She is too good not to have her bat in the lineup. Finally, Megan was outstanding as pitcher. As Hutch's comments indicate, I think she will be treated as co-equal with Haylie and Sara. . .
Softball fans in the stands almost always shout out encouragement to their players using their first names. "Amy, time for a hit." "Great pitch, Sara." etc. Yes, it's a softball thing.
FWIW, Coach Hutch. to avoid confusion, refers to Sierra Romero as "Romo" and Sierra Lawrence as "Silo (pronounced Seelo)."
Recent Comments
FWIW, I was told recently by a knowledgeable person that Leah Crockett will not be getting a redshirt.. I had assumed Leah would be getting a redshirt. Leah's redshirt was burned when she pitched 1 inning (1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks) against VaTech on Feb. 21, according to this knowledgeable person. That was the only action Leah saw this past season. i have not seen anything to contradict this knowledgeable person's claim.
Today was a complete reversal of their pre-Judi Garman performances, where Megan and Tera often had serious control problems. Today, Megan threw 67% of her pitches for strikes and Tera threw 65% of her pitches for strikes, both of which are in the optimal zone, in my opinion. . Both Megan and Tera generally stayed ahead of batters in the count, which usually makes for successful pitching. (The Illinois State pitcher kept the Michigan hitters pretty much in check because she also had good control: 63% of her pitches were strikes, 2 walks, 1 HBP, and she was usually ahead in the count.) It looked like Abby tweaked her ankle sliding into third in the top of the 4th inning of the Dayton game. She was able to walk off the field unassisted but she was walking quite gingerly (not limping but walking quite gingerly). I thought I saw her walk out of the dugout later in the game without apparent difficultly. My guess is that she will be OK but we will see if she plays tomorrow. Rain is in the forecast so there is a chance the games may not be played.
Aside from P/1B Lauren Haeger, OF Bailey Castro, and SS Kathlyn Medina, Florida returns all of its starters and all of its pitchers. In addition, Florida adds the top 2 recruits in the nation to its roster as ranked by FloSoftball. Freshman OF Amanda Lorenz is the #1 recruit in the HS class of 2015 and freshman P Kelly Barnhill is the #2 recruit. According to FloSoftball, “[Barnhill] throws consistently in the 69-70 mph range and […] hit the low 70's many times [last] year, but it's not just heat she throws--she has a rise and drop that are tough to lay off of and when batters start anticipating her speed she'll buckle knees with a brutal change-up.” Barnhill made the Womens’ National Team (“Team USA”) at the tryouts earlier this month in Irvine, CA, the only college freshman and the only current college pitcher to do so. She joins college graduates Jackie Traina (Alabama-2014), Sara Nevins (USF-2014), Ally Carda (UCLA-2015), and Jessica Moore (Oregon-2013) on the Team USA pitching staff. Florida seniors 2B Kelsey Stewart and C Aubree Munro also made Team USA. Florida Sophomore INF Nicole DeWitt made the Team USA 2nd team (called the “Elite Team”). The graduation of Lauren Haeger is a big loss, but Florida will still be plenty tough this season. I won’t be surprised if Barnhill starts against Michigan on February 13. Michigan will get its chance to show it is #1.
Michigan softball Associate Head Coach Bonnie Tholl was on WTKA this morning. To get her perspective on Team 39, you can listen at the following link:
http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=901&c=4701&f=4881583
FRESHMEN:
The Michigan roster is usually 20-21 players. This year, the roster is 24 players. The challenge for the coaches will be give each of the players enough playing time to develop their softball skills. No easy task, especially on a team loaded with skilled returning players. WRT the large freshmen class (7 players), their HS and travel ball bios are now posted on MGOBLUE.com. The four major recruits are Alex Sobczak, Faith Canfield, Natalie Peters, and Leah Crockett. I believe the other three freshmen are preferred walk-ons: Katie Alexander, Courtney Richardson, and Mackenzie Nemitz.
1. #15 Alex Sobczak
I covered Alex’s TC play in my previous comments. As many of you know, Alex was one of the best hitters in Michigan HS history. This past summer, Alex was selected to participate in a national HS graduating senior Top 10 Hitters contest in conjunction with the PGF Nationals in Cali. She won that contest and was named the MVP competiting against players who will star for their respective college teams such as Florida, Washington, Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama, and Tennessee. Alex will star for Michigan for the next four years.
2. #25 Faith Canfield
Faith started 2 games at TC (at 3B and 2B). She is a very good fielder and an outstanding hitter with power. Her hitting style reminds me of Ashley Lane in that Faith can club high pitches for home runs. She made no errors at TC and got a couple of hits. She played high level HS and travel ball in SoCal. (Her travel ball team, the SoCal Athletics, lost the U18 championship game to the OC Batbusters at the PGF Nationals this summer. Faith batted clean-up and played 3B. She was batting over .600 going into the championship game.). Faith probably won’t start many games this season for Michigan, but I think she will see a lot of playing time as one of the first players off the bench.
3. #11 Natalie Peters
Natalie is a speedy RH OF and LH slapper who makes good contact most of the time. She played both RF and LF at TC and fielded her position well. She also got a couple of hits. Natalie played for the OC Batbusters team that beat Faith’s SoCal Athletics in the U18 championship game at the PGF Nationals this summer. Natalie batted 9th and played RF. As readers may recall, Natalie has been favorably compared to CF Bree Evans, one of the best, if not the best, outfielders to play for Michigan in recent years, IMO. I think Natalie will see a fair amount of playing time this season as a primary substitute.
4. #4 Leah Crockett
Leah didn’t get to pitch at TC. If not TC, then when? I am sure the coaches are focusing on getting Megan Betsa, Tera Blanco and Sara Driesenga ready for the regular season. That doesn’t leave much opportunity to develop a relatively raw but promising freshman pitcher. Depending on how Michigan’s pitching needs develop, I would not be surprised if this were a RS season for Leah. I am not aware of any pitching verbal commits for Michigan in the Class of 2016. The phenomenal LHP Megan Beaubien will be a freshman at Michigan after she graduates from HS in 2017. So, it seems to me, a RS for Leah would probably be good for her and good for Michigan.
5. #17 Katie Alexander
I discussed Katie’s play at TC in my previous post. While it is still very early, I see her as the backup catcher for Alex Sobczak. You will note from her Michigan softball bio that she hit over .600 during her junior and senior years at Saline HS. She also hit for power and was a 1st Team Div 1 All-State Catcher her junior and senior years.
6. #19 Courtney Richardson
Courtney is an OF who saw limited action at TC. I don’t recall that she got any hits or made any mistakes in the field. I think Courtney played for Bonnie Tholl’s brother in travel ball. If so, the Michigan coaches should have a good read on Courtney’s potential.
7. #44 Mackenzie Nemitz
Mackenzie is a SS who also saw limited action at TC. She didn’t make any errors and I don’t think she got any hits. Mackenzie is a younger sister of Nikki Nemitz, a very fine pitcher and hitter for Michigan several years ago. Mackenzie will probably not get much playing time this season.
SOPHOMORES:
As is the case every year, last year’s freshman class was an excellent class. Sophomore year is a year to see if dramatic improvements can be made. Think Kelly Christner--from promising freshman with limited playing time to 1st Team All-American outfielder her sophomore year. While Kelly’s degree of advancement is very unusual, I look for noticeable improvement among all of this year’s sophomores.
Tera Blanco was a decent 1B whose hitting improved considerably over the last half of last season. She had a sore arm so she saw very limited action in the circle. Throughout her HS and travel ball careers, Tera was one of the outstanding pitchers in SoCal and in the nation. I think Hutch is counting on Tera to be an outstanding starting pitcher for the remainder of her years at Michigan. Tera started and pitched most of 2 games at TC. She was excellent. She also hit very well at TC, almost getting a HR (went for a double) and making several other hits. When not pitching, I expect she will usually be the DP but probably not the 1B.
Aidan Falk also had a great second half of last season at the plate. I look for further improvement at the plate this season. Aidan hit well at TC. I think she is a very solid 1B. The coaches also tried Taylor Swearingen at 1B. She hit well at TC and is a good fielder. But I think Aidan is likely to see the bulk of the playing time at 1B. But whether it is Aidan or Taylor at 1B, we will have a good fielder who is also a talented hitter. Both can hit for power. Taylor is a better base runner than Aidan.
Amanda Vargas got some playing time at TC. I am not sure if she subbed at 2B but she did get several solid hits. I think Amanda is a very promising player, especially as a hitter. I hope she gets enough playing time to show her skills.
Nikki Wald is a member of our valuable and experienced pinch-running crew along with seniors Mary Sbonek and Olivia Richvalsky. All three saw pinch-running action at TC and, I think, some time in the field and at the plate as well. Morgan Swift was one of the bullpen catchers last season and it appears that will be her role this season. She didn’t play at TC.
JUNIORS:
What a class. Four starters. Kelly Christner was Michigan’s best hitter at TC. At one point, she was 8 for 10, including a HR and one or two doubles. Kelly, as you know, is also a great fielder and base runner. Abby Ramirez played her usual excellent SS. She batted 9th and 2nd at TC. (One version of the lineup was like last season’s and the other version had Kelly batting 1st, Abby 2nd and Romo 3rd. Taylor Swearingen and Lindsay Montemarano both batted 5th behind Kelsey Susalla.) Abby is another batter whose performance improved considerably over the second half of last season. She made solid contact at TC, which is what she needs to do to be an effective slapper.
Monte was spectacular at 3rd. She made four or five exceptional plays, including snagging a line shot and a hard grounder in the hole and backhanding a hard grounder to start a 5-4-3 DP. While the all-around fielding at TC by Michigan was very good, there was no one close to Monte at TC. Monte also hit very well at TC. She had a home run to left and several other hits. While there has been some discussion on this blog that Monte might lose her starting position due to her relatively low batting average last year, I just don’t see it. She is an experienced junior and proven high-quality 3rd baseman. She plays a key role in team chemistry (originator of the pizza cheers). She seems poised for the break-out hitting year that some of us expected last year. The last member of the junior class is Megan Betsa. There is no reason to think that she won’t be as good as or even better than last year. Her performance at TC supports this prediction.
SENIORS:
There is not too much to say about the seniors. This is their last year. They know what they need to do. I am confident the two Sierras, Kelsey Susalla and Sara Driesenge will get it done. The other seniors will play their roles well: Mary Sbonek and Olivia Richvalsky as pinch runners and dugout cheerers, and Lauren Connell (“LC”) as bull pen catcher, dugout cheerleader, and chronicler of Team 39.
FINAL COMMENTS:
While Team 39 is just starting and many things can happen, this team shows great promise. Team 38 had a phenomenal year—28 wins in row from the 2nd Minnesota game to the LSU game at the WCWS. We are not likely to see a streak like that at Michigan any time soon. But, in my opinion, Team 39 has the potential to be a better team than Team 38. We shall see.
Alex Sobczak caught 3 of the 4 games. She looked good behind the plate. I expect she will be the starting catcher for the entire season. Alex hit OK but nothing spectacular. Given her reputation as a hitter, I am sure she will put up good numbers as the season progresses. Katie Alexander, a freshman walk-on from Saline HS, caught Megan Betsa and Sara Driesenga in the CMU game (game #3).. She also looked good behind the plate even though catching Betsa, with all her movement, is no easy task. Katie is a tall, strong young woman. She didn't get any hits but made good contact on a couple of at bats. Katie gunned down a CMU runner attempting to sleal 2nd. Aidan Falk did not catch, so it looks like the coaches are slotting her for first base, where she split the time with Taylor Swearingen (each played 2 games). Tera Blanco may have played an inning or two at first, but I am not sure.
Leah Crokett did not pitch. Tera Blanco (11 innings), Megan Betsa (7 innings), and Sara Driesenga (8 innings) were all excellent. Tera looked very strong. She was in command. I would guess her fast ball was in the upper 60s. She also showed good movement and off-speed pitches. Sara looked completely recovered from her rib injury. Her drop-ball was lethal. Megan was just as good as she was last year.
As a general observation, the entire team looked very fit and strong. Team speed will be excellent, just like last year.
I will try to have more of my observations on the TC Games sometime later on Monday.
Dorian Shaw is an Assistant Coach at Stanford and Jordan Taylor is a Volunteer Assistant Coach at Boston University. Roya St. Clair is an Assistant Coach at the University of Memphis.
I have read and/or been told that Abby hit her home runs in HS as a RH hitter and that her travel ball team (Beverly Bandits) converted her to a lefty slapper to take advantage of her speed.
I just noticed that the opponents for the pre-Big Ten Tournaments have been filled in on the 2015 Michigan Softball schedule.
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/w-softbl/sched/mich-w-softbl-sched.html
Of note: (1) 2 games against national champ Florida; (2) 2 games against FSU (back-to-back); (3) 2 games against national runner-up Alabama; (4) 1 game against Baylor; (5) 3 games against ASU (one back-to-back with Florida at the Judi Garman Classic); (6) 1 game against San Diego State, (7) 1 game against USF (later the same day Michigan plays Florida at the USF Tournament).(8) 2 games against Lipscomb, and (9) 1 game against James Madison. So Michigan will be playing 7 games against 4 teams that appeared in the WCWS last year (Florida, Alabama, FSU and Baylor) including 4 games against the #1 and #2 finishers (Florida and Alabama) and 8 games against 5 teams that lost in the Regional round of the NCAA tournament last spring (ASU, San Diego State, USF, Lipscomb and James Madison). That’s a schedule that will determine Michigan’s seeding in the Regional and Super Regional tournaments next year.
A few comments on the Kentucky games.
(1) In the last 2 games Silo led off and Romo batted second. They both hit the ball extremely well. Romo now has 7 home runs in 7 Fall Ball games. She is an amazing player. Silo is pretty amazing herself. I expect that Hutch will keep Silo and Romo at the top of the order when the regular season starts with Monte batting third. I think Kelly will eventually make it into the clean-up spot (she batted 5th in Games 2 and 3 had 2 hard-hit doubles). Lauren batted 4th in Games 2 and 3, but will probably prove to be too inconsistent to remain the #4 hitter. I suspect Tera will be the eventual #5 hitter although she hasn’t hit particularly well so far this fall (just a home run against Kentucky and a couple of singles at TC).
(2) None of the freshmen have hit very well in Fall Ball. In Game 3, Amanda had two very hard-hit balls for outs and she lined out to short in Game 2. If she continues to make good contact, she will get some playing time. She played a good 2nd base in Game 3. Aiden still needs to work on her hitting. But I thought she looked very natural and comfortable playing first base. Taylor got just 1 hit against Kentucky. She started in right in Games 2 and 3 and 1B in Game 1. Tera, of course, hit a 2-run home run in Game 2. Tera started at 1B in Games 2 and 3 and Aiden subbed at the end of each game.
(3) Michigan’s 6-3 win in Game 3 was much more impressive than the 14-6 win in Game 2. Poor control in Game 2 by the starting Kentucky pitcher, Shannon Smith, allowed Michigan to score most of its runs. She gave up 5 hits, 4 of them home runs, and 8 walks. Before she settled down, Haylie gave up a lot of hits (5 hits and 2 earned runs in the 1st inning and 3 more hits and 1 more earned run over the next 3 innings). Megan gave up 2 home runs to Griffin Joiner which drove in 3 runs. In Game 3, Michigan faced one of the best pitchers in Div. I softball, Kelsey Nunley. In 3 innings, Michigan hit 4 home runs against Nunley to account for all 6 runs. Nunley had good control (only 1 walk). Michigan just hit her very well. Romo was 3-3 against Nunley with 2 home runs in Game 3 and a double in Game 1. After giving up a 2-run home run to Griffin Joiner in the first inning, Sara pitched a great game. From the 2nd through the 6th Sara gave up only 1 hit. She was on the top of her game. Except for the Joiner home run, Kentucky hit no fly balls to the outfield against Sara indicating that her drop ball must have been working very well. She had 9 strikeouts and gave up only 1 walk. After Sara gave up 2 hits (one a very hard-hit line drive to left), a walk, and a run in the top of the seventh, Haylie relieved to get that final out on a strikeout. This was a superior pitching performance by Sara against a very good hitting team.
(4) Megan pitched 6 innings, 3 in Game 1 and 3 in Game 2. Of the 18 outs she recorded against Kentucky, 16 were by strikeouts, an impressive performance. Over all, she gave up 4 runs on 7 hits. She also gave up 4 walks and 1 HBP. All 4 runs were scored on hits by Griffin Joiner (on a single and 2 home runs). While Megan could have been sharper, she still showed a lot of promise for the coming season. In addition to Monte, Hutch singled Megan out on WTKA the other day for her fitness and attitude on returning to Ann Arbor after the summer break. Hutch said Megan was "much improved, stronger, fitter, confident." Hail To The Blue said earlier that Megan could be the horse for Michigan this year. I think that’s right.
I would like to second Hail to The Blue’s observations on the Traverse City games and add a few observations of my own. All three pitchers had very good weekends. Sara was a little rocky in the first game but steadily improved throughout the weekend. It gives me hope that she will return to her sophomore form this season. Megan was awesome. She had many strikeouts (8 of the 9 outs against WMU, I think) and very good control. Haylie was Haylie. A very good and steady pitcher. Michigan pitchers gave up very few walks, HBPs, or hits. The hits they did give up were mostly softly hit flares. Here is the approximate line-up for the final game against CMU. It will give you an idea of how the coaches view the hitting potential of the players. 1. Silo (LF), 2. Kelly (CF), 3. Romo (2B), 4. Lindsay (3B), 5. Taylor Swearingen (1B), 6. Kelsey Susalla (RF), 7. Lauren (C), 8. Aidan Falk (DP), 9. Abby (SS). Lindsay was in the 5-spot for the first 3 games but moved up to the 4-spot after Tera Blanco struggled a bit at the plate in the game against Oakland. Tera did bat for Aiden at the end of the CMU game and hit a long fly to right that was caught. In the first 3 games, Tera batted clean-up and played 1B. It won’t surprise me if Taylor starts the season at 1B with Tera batting in the DP spot. Taylor is a very good fielder and was the best hitter among the freshmen last weekend. Lindsay batting #5 and #4 shows that she must have had a very good fall practice and a very good summer prep. As noted by HTTB, she hit the ball very hard on both days. Her two-run single with the bases loaded in the first inning of the final CMU game was an extremely hard-hit line drive up the middle. And Kelly also had several well-hit balls. Romo showed that she may have an even more outstanding season this coming year than she had the last two years. She homered 3 times during the weekend (a long 2-run home run to center her first time up, a long 3-run home run to right center, and a solo drive to left which is discussed below), had a couple of other hits, made only a few (hard) outs and walked a lot. In the final CMU game, Romo walked the first 2 or 3 times up. Then, with the score 4-2, she homered to left, a solo shot. Pitchers should not give Romo anything to hit. Romo was also very self-assured in the field, making all the plays with ease. It remains to be seen if Kelsey will be a good enough fielder to be a regular in right. She hit pretty well, not great, but pretty well, so I hope she shows she will not be a defensive liability in right. Abby did not have a good weekend at the plate. In my opinion, she needs to learn to place her slap hits better to take advantage of her speed. I am sure she is working on that. I think that Abby will be our only slapper this season. Amanda Vargas played 2nd in the first 3 games with Abby moving over to short. I don’t think Amanda got any hits, but, in her final at-bat, she hit a very hard line drive that the Oakland 3rd baseman caught and turned into a double play. I heard Hutch complement Amanda on her line drive. Hutch was clearly impressed. I thought Lauren hit pretty well. If I remember correctly, I think she had a couple of doubles in the final CMU game. Her first double, a line drive off the first baseman’s glove, drove in the final two runs in the first inning. Her second double was a drive to the fence in right center. I don’t have anything to add to HTTB’s comments on Aiden. Let’s hope she can quickly adapt to the pace and intensity of college ball. Silo was very good as the leadoff hitter. Given her many abilities, I think that will prove to be a great spot for her and for the team. She had Michigan’s other home run this weekend (Romo 3, Taylor 1, Silo 1), a deep solo shot to left in the first CMU game. We will learn a lot more about the team this coming weekend when Michigan plays 3 games against Kentucky at Alumni Field. Ohio State played a DH against Kentucky in Lexington on Sunday losing the first game 3-1 and winning the second game 4-2. I haven’t seen any reports on who pitched for Ohio State, but if RS junior Alex DiDomenico has sufficiently recovered from the arm injury that sidelined her most of last year, she and senior Olivia O’Reilly should make a pretty formidable pitching duo this coming season.
My understanding is that Michigan will be playing in Traverse City on September 27-28 and at Alumni Field on Oct. 4-5 against Kentucky. The exhibition games against Kentucky and the tough pre-Big Ten Schedule show that the coaches are preparing the team for post-season play.
from her Finesse travel ball coach, Donny Dreher, as quoted on studentsports.com last fall..
“Aidan is also from New York and the people there say she reminds them of Bryce Harper but I call her Roy Hobbs after the lead character in The Natural. She’s a left-handed hitter, a great power hitter and the best first baseman I’ve ever had by far. I first saw her at a Notre Dame camp I was working at. Last year, she joined up for my team at Nationals and had a hard decision choosing between Notre Dame and Michigan but the Wolverines won out."
I think Aidan will be playing first base for Michigan for the next four years but she can also play in the outfield and will probably be a much-needed backup catcher for Lauren next year. She bats and throws left.
to close out the Big Ten season. Michigan takes all 3 at Illinois and 2 of 3 against Wisconsin in Ann Arbor. Nebraska loses 1 of 2 at Wisconsin but wins all of its games at MSU and at home against Indiana. Purdue has a tough closing schedule—3 at Wisconsin and 3 at home against Minnesota. I think Purdue wins 1 in each series. Minnesota sweeps PSU at home and Northwestern sweeps OSU in Columbus and MSU at home.
Each Big Ten softball team plays 23 conference games including 7 three-game series and a mid-week doubleheader. Since there are 12 teams in the Big Ten, each team plays 8 Big Ten teams and doesn’t play 3 Big Ten teams. Here are the “don’t plays.” Michigan, PSU, and Purdue don’t play Iowa, Nebraska, and Northwestern and vice versa. Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin don’t play Indiana, MSU, and OSU and vice versa. To think about the implications of the Big Ten schedule, I would group the Big Ten teams into three tiers—Top Tier, Middle Tier, and Bottom Tier. Here are my groupings by team ranking within each tier. Top Tier: Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Middle Tier: Purdue, OSU, Illinois and Iowa. Bottom Tier: MSU, Indiana, and PSU. Obviously, others may have differing opinions as to the composition of the tiers and the rankings within the tiers, however, I think most will see my choices as reasonable. As SBW pointed out in his/her Big Ten preview, Michigan has a relatively favorable Big Ten schedule compared to the other leading contenders. Michigan plays only 2 of the other 4 Top Tier teams and plays those 2 teams at home. Michigan plays all 3 of the Bottom Tier teams and 3 of the 4 Middle Tier teams. In contrast, Minnesota plays all 4 of the other Top Tier teams (2 at home and 2 away). In addition, Minnesota plays only 1 of the 3 Bottom Tier teams and 3 of the 4 Middle Tier teams. If Minnesota wins the Big Ten regular season title, they will have earned it. Nebraska plays 3 of the other 4 Top Tier teams (1 at home and 2 away). Nebraska also plays 2 of the 3 Bottom Tier teams and 3 of the 4 Middle Tier teams. Northwestern’s schedule is similar to Nebraska’s, except that they play 2 of their Top Tier opponents at home and 1 away. Wisconsin’s schedule is similar to Minnesota’s, except that they play 1 of their Top Tier opponents at home and 3 away. Michigan has one other scheduling advantage courtesy of the split series with MSU (1 game in Ann Arbor and 2 games in East Lansing). Michigan has 13 home games and 10 away games. All other Big Ten teams have 12 or 11 home games and 11 or 12 away games. Wisconsin has 11 home games and 12 away games. The other 3 Top Tier teams have 12 home games and 11 away games.
On the opening weekend of the Big Ten season, the Bottom Tier teams (Indiana, MSU, and PSU) upheld their status going a collective 0-9, losing to Michigan, OSU and Purdue. In Top Tier battles, Northwestern went 2-1 over Wisconsin at home and Minnesota went 2-1 over Nebraska at Nebraska. In a Mid Tier series, Iowa went 2-1 over Illinois at Illinois.
Yes, there will be a DH on Friday with start times at 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM. The first game will be streamed on the BTDN but apparently not the second game. Game on Saturday at 2 PM will be streamed. No game on Sunday.
On WTKA's Michigan Insider today, Coach Hutch confirmed Hail To The Blue's predictions. She said the field is ready to go due to the new artificial turf and artificial dirt and the hard work of the grounds crew in clearing the ice off of the field. She also said the Sunday game may be moved to Friday for a Friday DH due to projected freezing temperatures on Sunday. All three Indiana gams will be streamed on-line on the Big Ten Digital Network. Here is a link to the Michigan softball games scheduled to be shown on the BTN and BTDN networks this season
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/031914aaa.html
Warm weather softball teams have significant advantages, especially in recruiting and scheduling. Before Arizona State played Michigan on Mar 2 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, CA, it had played its first 24 games at home (21-3). These games help Arizona State build its record for NCAA seedings for the NCAA Regional and Superregional tournaments. Imagine if Michigan could start its season with 24 straight home games. Except for the Judi Garman games, where ASU went 5-0, ASU's only remaining away games will be at Pac 12 opponents. Michigan's success in recruiting top players and its success in the pre-Big 10 season is a testament to the softball program developed by Coach Hutch and her excellent assistant coaches.
If you have access to the Pac-12 Networks, you can see Michigan's game against UCLA at 7 PM (PT) on Wednesday, March 5. This game will be played at UCLA. Michigan also plays UCLA on Friday afternoon, February 28, at the Mayfair Invitational at Mayfair Park in Lakewood, CA. Here is a link to the UCLA schedule: http://www.uclabruins.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30500&SPID=126919&…;
UCLA, undefeated at 16-0, is a top 10 team and was ranked last week at #8/#9. This is a brutal stretch for Michigan. After playing the Wednesday night game at UCLA, Michigan then plays top 5 teams Arizona State and Washington back-to-back the next afternoon at the Judi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton. On Friday afternoon, Michigan plays Houston and #14 Arizona back-to-back followed by #25 Texas on Saturday morning. MIchigan will be sorely tested on its Cali trip. This trip should be great for recruiting.
You might also mention freshman Kelly Christner. While she didn't play against FAU, she played 1B, RF and CF in the other 4 games at the FAU tournament. As an outfielder she has great range and can go back and catch fly balls that often give other softball outfielders difficulty. She is also supposed to have a very good arm. I don't doubt it. I won't be surprised to see Kelly in CF next year. Kelly has also turned into a very capable first baseman. She fields grounders and bunts very well and throws accurately and quickly to first on bunts. She doesn't drop throws to first. In the key Kentucky game, Hutch played Kelly at first just for her defensive abilities (i.e., she didn't bat). She just needs to improve her hitting and I am sure she will. She has had her moments but she has not been consistent. To show you how much the team has relied upon these three freshman fielders, they rank through Saturday #3 (Abby), #4 (Kelly) and #5 (Monte) in chances after #1 Lauren and #2 Caitlin. Romo is #6 in chances. Monte and Abby are #1 and #2 in assists, respectively. Romo is #3 in assists trailing Monte by 11 assists and Abby by 7 assists. Yet, despite their high team ranking in chances and assists, the three freshmen have made no errors so far this season. These freshmen are great. And so is the fourth freshman, Megan.
Megan has shown she has great stamina. She seems to get better as the game proceeds. In today's game, she retired FAU's final 15 batters from the bottom of the 3rd to the bottom of the 7th. (Technically, I suppose, she didn't retire the last FAU batter in the bottom of the 3rd. With an FAU runner on 2nd (the first batter of the inning with a bunt single), that batter hit a hard grounder that caromed off of Megan's glove. From 3B, Monte alertly moved to her left to field the carom and easily threw out the runner, who was trying to score from 2nd, at home. The batter was given a single.) Megan finished the game by striking out 2 batters in the 5th and 2 batters in the 7th. In the USF game, she retired the last 6 batters to preserve a 1-run lead, striking out the last 2 batters in the bottom of the 7th. She has pitched complete games in 4 of the 5 games she has started. The only exception is the Bethune-Cookman run-rule game where she split the innings with Sara. Hutch has been concerned about Megan's control. However, in the two games she pitched this weekend, Megan gave up only 2 walks, 1 HBP, and 0 WP.
Romo actually entered the game in the bottom of 5th replacing Kelsey in the field but playing SS. Abby, who had been playing SS, moved over to 2nd, where Kelsey had been playing. Batting after Silo in Kelsey's spot, Romo got the IBB following Silo's double with 2 outs leading, eventually, to the winning run. . That is the second time this season where intentionally walking Romo in a close game has not proven to be a successful strategy. In the USF game with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the top of the 6th with 2 outs, Romo was given an IBB. Caitlin followed with a 2-run single to provide the tying and winning runs.
Michigan's fielding is much better than it was last year. They have made only 3 errors so far this season in 9 games, the fewest in the Big 10. Good fielding is so crucial in college softball. But for 2 errors in the top of the 7th, BC would have beaten Michigan today. But for the error by 3B Kelsey Susalla in the top of the 7th, Michigan would have beaten Florida 4-0 last week. (It was not a hard-hit grounder. It went right between Kelsey's legs and she wasn't able to get a glove on it.) Since the Florida game, freshman Lindsay Montemarano has started every game at 3rd base and has made no errors. In my opinion, Monte has a better arm, better range and better overall fielding ability than Kelsey. I think Monte will be at 3rd for most of this season even if she doesn't get to the plate too often. Romo has made only one error at short, a significant improvement over her error-prone start last year. I credit the Michigan coaches and Romo's determination in helping her to develop into an outstanding fielding shortstop. Freshman Abby Ramirez has been superb at 2B with many fine fielding plays and no errors. As outstanding a hitter that Ashley Lane was last year, she was not a good fielding 2B. Abby has greatly strengthened the infield defense for Michigan this year. Freshman Kelly Christner is a fine outfielder. It is also obvious that the coaches have confidence in Kelly at 1B where she has started several times this year. However, she needs to start hitting better to play much more at 1B where she is, in effect, substituting for a light-hitting Lauren Sweet as Caitlin moves over to catcher. To round out the infield, Caitlin at 1B and Lauren at catcher are very reliable fielders. Silo (or Kelly) in LF, Lyndsay in CF and NIcole in RF form a very solid outfield. It is great to see Lauren and Nicole starting to hit as they did at the Lafayette tournament. .I don't think Sara has an injury. After the Florida game, Hutch said that Sara just lost her confidence. I hope Sara regains her form of last year. I think Haylie has regained her freshman form and freshman Megan Betsa is obviously off to a great start.
If you click on the link and the 2014 Judi Garman schedule doesn't show, click on 2014 Judi Garman in the right sidebar under 2014 Season. BTW, this post and the previous post were intended as a reply to post #9 by MGoBrewMom.
There may be a mistake in the 2014 MIchigan softball schedule posted on MoGoBlue.com. Here is a link to the schedule for the 2014 Judi Garman Classic posted on the Cal State Fullerton web site. http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/w-softbl/2013-14/files/2014_JG_To…; Instead of playing Long Beach State on Thursday as per the Michigan schedule, the JG schedule shows Michigan playing Arizona State. Instead of playing San Jose State on Friday as per the Michigan schedule, the JG schedule shows Michigan playing Arizona. If that is correct, what a schedule for Michigan. Arizona State and Washington on Thursday, Houston and Arizona on Friday and Texas on Saturday. What a tournament--5 of the 8 WCWS participants plus Wisconsin, Arizona, Houston and the 4 Cal State schools. We'll know a lot about Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin after this tournament.
I was fortunate enough to watch the games in Traverse City. I have also read Coach Hutch's post-TC comments. My impressions:
(1) Michigan's defense is going to be a lot better than it was last year. We were already pretty solid in the outfield with Silo, Lyndsay, and Nicole returning. Over the last year, Romo has improved tremendously at shortstop. She now makes all the plays with great ease and confidence. I don't believe she made any errors last weekend. She made one especially outstanding play lunging to the right to snag a low line drive. Hutch obviously has decided that Silo will remain in left and that freshman Abby Ramirez will be the second baseman at Michigan for the foreseeable future. Abby played every inning over the weekend at second and made many fine plays. Romo at short and Abby at second for three years will be a significant strength for Michigan. Kelsey and Taylor Hasselbach fielded well at first. Caitlin, who is out with a broken thumb, won the first base job last year when Kelsey and Taylor dropped too many balls at first during the early season last year. Both Kelsey and freshman Lindsay Montemarano were flawless at third. Monte, in particular, showed that she will be a very reliable third baseman. The excellent Lauren Sweet played every inning as catcher. There was a difficult ball that Abby didn't field cleanly but I don't think that was an error. Other than possibly that play, I don't think Michigan made any errors over the 5 games.
(2) In 2012, Michigan depended mostly on Haylie in the circle. Last season, Sara carried the team especially in the pre-Big Ten and post-Big Ten seasons. Next year, barring any injuries, Michigan will have three very strong pitchers. Freshman Megan Betsa pitched 10 scoreless innings in TC. I think she gave up only 2 or 3 hits and only 1 walk. Haylie and Sara were almost as good. Each gave up only one run and very few hits and walks. As Hutch has noted, Haylie looks a lot fitter than she did last year. That was obvious to me. But note that the pitching of most Big Ten teams and not just Nebraska is going to be very good next year.
(3) As Hutch also noted, the hitting could have been better in TC. Romo (2 home runs and several doubles and singles), Kelsey and freshmen Kelly Christner had the best weekends at the plate, in my opinion. In general, they hit the ball hard and on a line. Silo and Monte also had pretty good weekends as batters. Lauren Sweet was disappointing as the clean-up hitter and Abby was disappointing as the #9 hitter. Abby batted almost entirely as a left-handed slapper and had trouble making good contact. I think she hit her home runs in high school as a right-handed hitter. I expect Abby to improve her hitting considerably as the season progresses. With the possible exception of Megan, the pitchers did not hit well. I am not sure how long Hutch will be able to let the pitchers hit for themselves.
(4) My big takaways from the weekend in TC. (a) Kelsey will be playing as a regular at third, at first (if Caitlin is not available) or as DP, probably as the #5 hitter as has been suggested. (b) The four freshman all showed they are ready to make significant contributions to Team 37. It is obvious that Hutch feels that way. Abby is going to be a great up the middle partner with Romo. Monte will be a very good backup or starter at third. Hutch indicated that she will have to find a spot for Kelly. At TC, Kelly played left, center and first. She looked very good at each position. She was especially impressive as a hitter. Over the weekend, she batted 8th and 2nd. This coming season, she will be playing in the field or as DP. She is too good not to have her bat in the lineup. Finally, Megan was outstanding as pitcher. As Hutch's comments indicate, I think she will be treated as co-equal with Haylie and Sara. . .
Softball fans in the stands almost always shout out encouragement to their players using their first names. "Amy, time for a hit." "Great pitch, Sara." etc. Yes, it's a softball thing.
FWIW, Coach Hutch. to avoid confusion, refers to Sierra Romero as "Romo" and Sierra Lawrence as "Silo (pronounced Seelo)."