Hello: Lauren Sweet (SB)

This is the third (Driesenga, Wagner) in a series of profiles of players that have committed to Michigan.  Like the previous 2 "Hello" posts, the National LOI signing for softball is in November.   So this is more of a player profile than a recent commit as we have been accustomed to.

I waited for tosu debacle to "calm down" a little so Lauren can get the proper MGoRespect she deserves.  This young lady will be a valuable asset to the team.  She brings that "pop" in the lineup that we lost when Dorian graduated.

Lauren is from the Southern California southwest of LA, Corunna Santiago.  Her high school is in the same league as Jordan Taylor's and Ashley Lane's high schools.  This area has produced several dozen D1 softball players.  This is primarily due to the fact that these young ladies can play ball year round.  I doubt many even know what a "snow day" means.

Lauren is a catcher for Corona Santiago.  She finished the season with a .496 average, an .564 OBP, 1.000 SP,  tied an Inland area record with 15 home runs and set a school record with 50 runs batted in.  Another great thing about Lauren is she is a lefty, something we have not had is a few years: LH bat with power.

Lauren was selected as the California Division 1 Player of the Year.  That is not an easy award to get considering California has so many great players.

I suspect that Hutch will try to get her into game-shape as soon as possible.  Last year Chiddy started at catcher and Blanchard finished up.  This was due to Stephanie tearing her knee up after game 10, forcing Amy from 3rd to SS, Chiddy from C to 3rd and Fr Blanchard off the bench to starting C.

Lauren has more pop in her bat so she will probably take over as the starting catcher somewhere early in the season. 

Welcome Lauren.  I hope you brought your long johns and 4-wheel-drive.  We hope your stay in A2 is enjoyable and we wish you all the best.  Everyone should think about getting your tickets early as I predict a better team this coming spring than the 2010 team.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/varsitytimesinsider/2011/06/softball-la…

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/preps/tag/_/name/lauren-sweet

Also, HS So. Erica Romero, Lauren's battery mate, is also rumored to be looking hard at Michigan.  Hutch has developed this area of California as a Wolverine breeding ground.  Most of these kids are ripe for the Pac-10 but Hutch cracked that nut a few years ago.  That would be a nice pick up as well for the future.

Its Great to be A Michigan Wolverine.