UM Softball Recruit is perfect

She's cute. I'm that much older than her so I guess I can say that?

So is Beaubien.  She won't be on campus for us next season.

3rd-level MI softball is a poor guage of what she will be at the college level.  Gotta look at what she does during the summer travel circuit against the best in the US.

None-the-less, congrats to our future Wolverine.

If the Susalla analogy holds up, then that would be very good news indeed.  Took Kelsey a couple of years to become a regular contributer, but finished her career with 2 excellent seasons.  Wouldn't mind having another one of those.

Given her track/CC background, it seems likely that Hoogenraad could see the field early in a Mary Sbonek sort of role as a base-running specialist.  That could get her into some games while her bat catches up to D-I pitching.

Flo Softball on Meghan Beaubien

Meghan had a magical year in 2015 that pushed her to the elite stratosphere as a franchise-type player. First, she led her Michigan high school team to a Div. 3 state title capping it off with a shutout in the title game and scoring her team’s runs with a two-run homer. She went 33-3 with a 0.31 ERA and 456 K’s while batting .438 with 35 RBI, a sophomore campaign that won her 1st Team FloSoftball All-American honors as well as the Gatorade State Player of the Year selection. Then, at PGF 16U Nationals, she took her team to the championship game by going 7-2 with a 1.12 ERA and 75 K’s in 62 1/3 inning, coming just a hair short of winning the title. Meghan is a lefty with an incredible change-up—perhaps the best in her class if not all of club ball—and complements it with a rise, screw and drop. She’s incredibly intelligent and driven and already is adept at understanding her strengths and opposing batters’ weaknesses. Meghan is also confident in when to throw which pitch and isn’t shy at throwing any pitch—including her 64 mph fastball—at any time.

Lou Allan is ranked #24 overall, and the #2 overall 1B in the country. Taylor Bump is at #54.

The #1 pitcher and #2 overall player (Alexis Holloway, ND) is Meghan's teammate with the Beverly Bandits.

Those next couple years definitely give some area for concern.  Not panic, of course, but we'll need to see Blanco and/or Crockett show a lot more than we've seen yet if we're going to have the staff we want for the tournament.  One ace is great, but one of the biggest differences between this year and last was when Betsa struggled against OU, there was no Haylie Wagner to turn to like there was in 2015.  Blanco has it in her, and Crockett may well have it also, but it hasn't showed up on the field yet.  Will breathe easier once I see one or both of those two throw some quality innings.