Also, this never came out during all of the transfer talk (unless I missed it), but Sierra Kersten from Clarkston is no longer on the team. Google tells me she has landed at Liberty.
I'm guessing they're giving her a shot at pitcher, as they also lost Lexi Kilfoyl to transfer. Esman is 6-0 in the Florida Gulf Coast League with 34k's in 24.2 innings and a 1.70 ERA, according to the Twitters. Reading between the lines, she probably wasn't thrilled with two true freshman getting pitching innings ahead of her this year and being, at best, 5th on the depth chart. Three of the girls that were in front of her are gone now, but it doesn't sound like the staff had much confidence in her.
Nice write up, and I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I've commented on here about the lack of hitting for years, so no use in beating that horse any further. However...
Someone is going to have to explain to me how you lose a tournament game - a game that would put you into the regional championship where you'd have to lose twice NOT to make supers - with your best pitcher sitting on the bench? To me, it's inexcusable that Alex Storako didn't at LEAST get the call in the 7th inning with 2 outs and the tying run on 2nd base (and probably should have been in before that).
It's troubling that, over the last several years, a team as offensively challenged as Michigan has lost Lou Allan (.349, 8HR, 34RBI 1st Team ASUN), Julia Jimenez (.325, 10HR, 52 RBI, 1st Team Pac 12), Morgan Overaitis (.316, 1.001 OBPS, 2nd Team All ACC playing for the #3 team in the country, Michigan native), and now our prized recruit from last year's class in Widra. Alabama has 6 girls in the portal already, so maybe she's headed home?
Glad to read in the comments here that Blair is staying, but she's going to need some help. Lilly Vallimont will be counted on right away, but she lost her high school senior season to Tommy John surgery. She'll need to come back and make an immediate impact.
Something seems a little "off" with this program right now. I know there are people that used to steer recruits toward Michigan that aren't doing that anymore. I'd heard weeks ago that Carson would be leaving, and with her and Storako being as close as they are wasn't surprised to see her go, too. Maybe they end up as a package deal somewhere. We have a long tenured staff that's been very successful, but maybe it's time to shake things up a bit with some new eyes. I would love to see Marissa Young come back and lead.
Last year's 2nd Team All-Big Ten second baseman is also hitting .333 with 7 HRs in the Pac 12 and Morgan Overaitis is hitting over .300 for the #3 team in the country. Add those two to the lineup, along with Lou Allan, and the offense would be a bit more prolific. Not sure what's going on, but losing those 3 hurt. We're playing small ball while the best teams in the country are trotting around the bases.
And if you stray from safe conversational ground with BryMac on Twitter, he’ll have a meltdown and block you. So, yes…best to stick to the common ground with him.
Same story, different year. Pitching will have to hold us in, because the hitting is not good enough for this team to be elite. Pretty concerning that the last really explosive offensive teams we've had were the Sierra Romero squads 5+ years ago. Hope some of the young sticks come around.
This is exactly right. Sierra Lawrence was so overlooked because Romero was so good, and it was exciting when either one of them came to the plate. There is nobody on the roster now that you feel like you have to watch...although I was in Tampa and the freshman left fielder Lexie Blair looks like she is going to be very good. Something else I noticed in Florida is how much smaller (physically) Michigan is than teams like Florida and Arizona. Beaubien will be fine, we'll get into Big Ten play and win our fair share of games, but this team needs a big time infusion of offensive talent.
I was at both games today, wasn’t drinking, and don’t think I had heat stroke, but I swear Schaefer pitched an inning in the first game. It’s not mentioned in the game story, on Twitter, or in the box score. Maybe someone spiked my pop.
He was definitely out there when they went 3 wide once in the first half, but that was the only time I saw him. He was the WR lined up nearest to the sideline.
Iowa is not always tough. They've been pretty awful for the last 4 years. Gayle Blevins aint walking through that door. This wasn't a good loss.
Having said that, I'm glad to see that it appears Lou Allan has finally seized a spot in the every day lineup. Great player and lots of good things to come from her. Unfortunately, our pitching staff is just not good enough. Beaubien is a stud that can beat anybody, Schaefer is doing a nice job as a freshman, and Blanco is a senior that will give you some decent innings but in the end won't live up to her recruiting hype (as a pitcher, anyway...she's been great with the bat!). We'll be in the hunt for the B1G championship because the conference is so weak and will have to ride Beaubien as far as she'll take us in the tournament.
I may have missed this somewhere, but is there any word on when Lou Allan will be back? Or what's wrong with her? Also, I believe Taylor Bump had a thumb injury that may have slowed her down early, but I'm surprised she's seen so little time for such a highly rated recruit. I'd love to see these two in the lineup to see if they can give a little offensive boost.
This team will go as far as Meghan Beaubien will take them. She's clearly the ace and the only one capable of going 7 innings against elite competition. Looking forward to watching her improve as the season goes on, but she looks darn good this weekend already!
As for the offense, I think Hutch has her hands tied a little bit this weekend. Does anybody know what's wrong with Lou Allan and when she's expected back? She didn't make the trip. Also, Taylor Bump has a thumb issue and hasn't seen the field at all. Natalia Rodriguez started the last game at short, which did add another slapper to the lineup. I would've probably put Falk in right and bumped Swearingen from 3rd to 1st to get Alex Sobczak's bat in the lineup in place of Gonzalez for a little more pop, but it's early and a good time to experiment I guess.
The schedule doesn't seem quite as difficult as it has been in years past. I think we'll win a lot of games, but the quality of the wins might not be enough to get us into the top 16 and a home regional again.
Enjoyed the write up, great work. I'm in Tampa now cheering the team on. I was surprised not to see Ramirez in the leadoff spot today. We'll see how that spot plays out as the season wears on. Also, I wouldn't necessarily call Betsa a "flame thrower". She lives and dies with the off-speed stuff, and her change was working for her today.
Glad to hear Ace still has his Twitter up and running and is still posting shitty takes. Fortunately for me, I was blocked in a show of solidarity with BiSB post-election. I hope they've emerged from their respective safe spaces and are still able to function.
I thought it had been clearly established on the message board that listing specific names of transfers/5th year guys not coming back were strictly prohbited? Wise up, man!
International tie breaker bastardizes the game and there's no way they would ever bring it in for the World Series. This is what softball is all about. Why ruin a great game like this by going to the ITB?!
Not enough fake points to start my own post, but the Michigan softball team beat the NPF all-star team tonight. This is only the second loss for the NPF all star team in it's three year history of playing college squads. Freshman shortstop (and, by the looks of her bio, STUD) Sierra Romero hit a two-run HR in the fifth as Michigan came back from a 2-0 deficit.
One need only look at the batting averages to see how inaccurate that is. Softball is all about speed and putting pressure on the defense, especially at this level. Much better than fielding a groundball, pounding the ball into the glove five times and still getting the runner by 3 steps, in my opinion.
I've done some Googling but haven't been able to find much info on whether UM Flint studentts are eligible for student tickets and what the cutoff date is? Any UM Flinters that can help me out?
Gave up a solo bomb with one out in the top half of the 8th. Got the leadoff batter on base to start the bottom half but couldn't push her across. First loss in the BIG.
Just a quick update on game 2...Michigan fought back from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits and knotted the score at 4 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning, with the 4th run scoring on an IU error. They're in the 8th now.
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She coached at Duke several years ago.
Also, this never came out during all of the transfer talk (unless I missed it), but Sierra Kersten from Clarkston is no longer on the team. Google tells me she has landed at Liberty.
Interesting to me that none of Carson, Widra or Esman have commented on the retirement on their Instagram accounts.
I'm guessing they're giving her a shot at pitcher, as they also lost Lexi Kilfoyl to transfer. Esman is 6-0 in the Florida Gulf Coast League with 34k's in 24.2 innings and a 1.70 ERA, according to the Twitters. Reading between the lines, she probably wasn't thrilled with two true freshman getting pitching innings ahead of her this year and being, at best, 5th on the depth chart. Three of the girls that were in front of her are gone now, but it doesn't sound like the staff had much confidence in her.
Nice write up, and I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I've commented on here about the lack of hitting for years, so no use in beating that horse any further. However...
Someone is going to have to explain to me how you lose a tournament game - a game that would put you into the regional championship where you'd have to lose twice NOT to make supers - with your best pitcher sitting on the bench? To me, it's inexcusable that Alex Storako didn't at LEAST get the call in the 7th inning with 2 outs and the tying run on 2nd base (and probably should have been in before that).
It's troubling that, over the last several years, a team as offensively challenged as Michigan has lost Lou Allan (.349, 8HR, 34RBI 1st Team ASUN), Julia Jimenez (.325, 10HR, 52 RBI, 1st Team Pac 12), Morgan Overaitis (.316, 1.001 OBPS, 2nd Team All ACC playing for the #3 team in the country, Michigan native), and now our prized recruit from last year's class in Widra. Alabama has 6 girls in the portal already, so maybe she's headed home?
Glad to read in the comments here that Blair is staying, but she's going to need some help. Lilly Vallimont will be counted on right away, but she lost her high school senior season to Tommy John surgery. She'll need to come back and make an immediate impact.
Something seems a little "off" with this program right now. I know there are people that used to steer recruits toward Michigan that aren't doing that anymore. I'd heard weeks ago that Carson would be leaving, and with her and Storako being as close as they are wasn't surprised to see her go, too. Maybe they end up as a package deal somewhere. We have a long tenured staff that's been very successful, but maybe it's time to shake things up a bit with some new eyes. I would love to see Marissa Young come back and lead.
Go Blue!
Last year's 2nd Team All-Big Ten second baseman is also hitting .333 with 7 HRs in the Pac 12 and Morgan Overaitis is hitting over .300 for the #3 team in the country. Add those two to the lineup, along with Lou Allan, and the offense would be a bit more prolific. Not sure what's going on, but losing those 3 hurt. We're playing small ball while the best teams in the country are trotting around the bases.
Anybody know where Ellie Sieler has been? Don’t think she’s played since Clearwater.
EDIT: And just as I say that I see her pinch hitting.
Ann Arbor, MI - BLACK MAN'S LIVED EXPERIENCES LEAD TO MOSTLY PEACEFUL POST-GAME HANDSHAKE WITH WHITE ASSAILANT
Oops...didn't notice that she'd transferred hs. My bad!
And if you stray from safe conversational ground with BryMac on Twitter, he’ll have a meltdown and block you. So, yes…best to stick to the common ground with him.
Any idea why Jimenez transferred? Seems odd to me.
Ace is a fucking loser.
Same story, different year. Pitching will have to hold us in, because the hitting is not good enough for this team to be elite. Pretty concerning that the last really explosive offensive teams we've had were the Sierra Romero squads 5+ years ago. Hope some of the young sticks come around.
This is exactly right. Sierra Lawrence was so overlooked because Romero was so good, and it was exciting when either one of them came to the plate. There is nobody on the roster now that you feel like you have to watch...although I was in Tampa and the freshman left fielder Lexie Blair looks like she is going to be very good. Something else I noticed in Florida is how much smaller (physically) Michigan is than teams like Florida and Arizona. Beaubien will be fine, we'll get into Big Ten play and win our fair share of games, but this team needs a big time infusion of offensive talent.
Beaubien didn’t give up anything as far as runs go, but she got hit HARD on a few occasions.
I was at both games today, wasn’t drinking, and don’t think I had heat stroke, but I swear Schaefer pitched an inning in the first game. It’s not mentioned in the game story, on Twitter, or in the box score. Maybe someone spiked my pop.
He was definitely out there when they went 3 wide once in the first half, but that was the only time I saw him. He was the WR lined up nearest to the sideline.
There are currently single tickets available on the MSU website for face plus fees ($92). Just got mine...buy them up!
He's also wrong.
Iowa is not always tough. They've been pretty awful for the last 4 years. Gayle Blevins aint walking through that door. This wasn't a good loss.
Having said that, I'm glad to see that it appears Lou Allan has finally seized a spot in the every day lineup. Great player and lots of good things to come from her. Unfortunately, our pitching staff is just not good enough. Beaubien is a stud that can beat anybody, Schaefer is doing a nice job as a freshman, and Blanco is a senior that will give you some decent innings but in the end won't live up to her recruiting hype (as a pitcher, anyway...she's been great with the bat!). We'll be in the hunt for the B1G championship because the conference is so weak and will have to ride Beaubien as far as she'll take us in the tournament.
I may have missed this somewhere, but is there any word on when Lou Allan will be back? Or what's wrong with her? Also, I believe Taylor Bump had a thumb injury that may have slowed her down early, but I'm surprised she's seen so little time for such a highly rated recruit. I'd love to see these two in the lineup to see if they can give a little offensive boost.
This team will go as far as Meghan Beaubien will take them. She's clearly the ace and the only one capable of going 7 innings against elite competition. Looking forward to watching her improve as the season goes on, but she looks darn good this weekend already!
As for the offense, I think Hutch has her hands tied a little bit this weekend. Does anybody know what's wrong with Lou Allan and when she's expected back? She didn't make the trip. Also, Taylor Bump has a thumb issue and hasn't seen the field at all. Natalia Rodriguez started the last game at short, which did add another slapper to the lineup. I would've probably put Falk in right and bumped Swearingen from 3rd to 1st to get Alex Sobczak's bat in the lineup in place of Gonzalez for a little more pop, but it's early and a good time to experiment I guess.
The schedule doesn't seem quite as difficult as it has been in years past. I think we'll win a lot of games, but the quality of the wins might not be enough to get us into the top 16 and a home regional again.
Rivas is a well-known, legendary asshole. I've heard quite a few stories similar to this about him.
Enjoyed the write up, great work. I'm in Tampa now cheering the team on. I was surprised not to see Ramirez in the leadoff spot today. We'll see how that spot plays out as the season wears on. Also, I wouldn't necessarily call Betsa a "flame thrower". She lives and dies with the off-speed stuff, and her change was working for her today.
Thanks again!
My way or the highway! I've heard Ace on the podcasts and he's...not good. I think I'll survive this Twitter exile.
Glad to hear Ace still has his Twitter up and running and is still posting shitty takes. Fortunately for me, I was blocked in a show of solidarity with BiSB post-election. I hope they've emerged from their respective safe spaces and are still able to function.
I thought it had been clearly established on the message board that listing specific names of transfers/5th year guys not coming back were strictly prohbited? Wise up, man!
Final was 7-1. Game was called when the rain started up again.
This site used to be so good...
Wagner got the W.
Why wouldn't you just wait until the start of the next inning and put in a pinch-runner at 2nd base?
Not enough fake points to start my own post, but the Michigan softball team beat the NPF all-star team tonight. This is only the second loss for the NPF all star team in it's three year history of playing college squads. Freshman shortstop (and, by the looks of her bio, STUD) Sierra Romero hit a two-run HR in the fifth as Michigan came back from a 2-0 deficit.
Cuz it's not.
can't get the win and save.
One need only look at the batting averages to see how inaccurate that is. Softball is all about speed and putting pressure on the defense, especially at this level. Much better than fielding a groundball, pounding the ball into the glove five times and still getting the runner by 3 steps, in my opinion.
Do you have a link for that 50% rejected stat? I'd love to be able to use that one.
I was just able to get 2 together at 1045 this morning.
I've done some Googling but haven't been able to find much info on whether UM Flint studentts are eligible for student tickets and what the cutoff date is? Any UM Flinters that can help me out?
Thanks in advance.
Don't take yourself too seriously and remember, IT'S JUST AN INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. Sheesh.
I wish they'd put it directly behind the pitcher in dead-center so you could get a better idea of where some of these pitches really are.
I was going to ask why the OP stated that he WAS a Michigan lean? Has something changed with that?
Gave up a solo bomb with one out in the top half of the 8th. Got the leadoff batter on base to start the bottom half but couldn't push her across. First loss in the BIG.
Just a quick update on game 2...Michigan fought back from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits and knotted the score at 4 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning, with the 4th run scoring on an IU error. They're in the 8th now.