16 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 18, 2006
How senior
transfer Becky Marx
grew from small-school
catcher to Michigan
home-run hero
i
I
of change
By Amber Colvin I Daily Sports Writer
On June 7, 2005, the winds of change
were blowing through Hall of Fame Sta-
dium in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Michi-
gan softball team was vying not just for its
own first national championship, but also
the first for any team east of the Missis-
sippi River. Standing in the way was 10-
time national champion UCLA.
Down by one game in the three-game
series, Michigan had yet to score a run
against the Bruins. But in the fifth inning
of game two, No. 8 batter Becky Marx
stepped up to the plate. Things were about
to change - not only for the team, but
for Marx herself. And for the St. Joseph
native, change was nothing new.
Young Talent
She was supposed to play soccer. Or
dance ballet. Anything but softball.
"I was supposed to be the soccer kid,'
Marx said. "Mom thought softball was
too dangerous."
But Marx's soccer coach had a softball
team, too. And when one of his players
broke her arm, the team found itself one
player short of eligibility for competition.
The coach suggested the 9-year-old Marx
try out.
The tryout was simple: if Marx hit the
ball, she was on the team. And much to
her mother's dismay, Marx made contact.
"I was afraid she'd get hit in the head
with the ball and get hurt,' Marx's mother,
Debra, said. "I really wasn't thrilled with
it. Then, it became the love of her life."
The change of sports suited Marx well.
She showed talent from the beginning,
moving from recreational leagues to travel
teams at age 12. At first, that meant hour-
long commutes to practice in Kalamazoo
every week. As traveling softball grew
more popular, a local team started up,
allowing Marx to play closer to home.
On the more competitive teenage
teams, Marx stood out.
"It was pretty apparent early on that
she was quite a gifted athlete," said Ron
Harrah, who coached Marx when she was
13. "She was definitely head and shoul-
ders above anybody else in her position at
that age."
Harrah, who describes Marx as
"extremely coachable," played her in any
position he could, except for pitcher. She
moved around the field without complaint,
but it was obvious that Marx's favorite
spot was behind the plate, where she could
control the game.
Ever since she was little, she liked to be
in control. Debra Marx recalls her 3-year-
old daughter bossing her parents around
the house, telling them where they could
and couldn't sit.
"She's a born leader," Debra said. "She
likes to be calling shots."
As a catcher, Marx could do just that.
"The catcher is the base" Marx said.
"I think if the catching position is solid,
then everything else can kind of flow from
that."
Marx's desire to be a leader translated
into big roles off the field as well. She
served as drum major of a 243-mem-
ber marching band and president of the
National Honor Society at Stevensville-
Lakeshore High School.
Lakeshore had the reputation of being
a softball powerhouse, with a trophy
case full of state championships to back
it up. During Marx's four years, the team
nabbed three district championships but
fell short of adding another state crown.
Marx, who batted .418 as a high school
senior, was selected to the all-state team
twice. Naturally, being in the state's soft-
ball spotlight garnered some attention
from college recruiters.
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins, who
had seen Marx at Michigan's summer
camps, was among those recruiters. But
Marx's heart was set on something else.
Big City, Small Team
Looking at colleges, Marx had a few
choices. The one that instantly grabbed
her attention was Loyola, a small Jesuit
university in Chicago. A campus visit
confirmed her interest, especially when
she met the softball team.
"I instantly fell in love with the girls,"
Marx said. "I love Chicago. I'm a huge
Cubs fan. It was perfect."
On top of that, Loyola offered Marx a
complete scholarship. Back in Ann Arbor,
the only offer on the table was the chance
to be a utility player on a roster that already
had standout catcher Monica Schock.
"I was just going to be a number," Marx
said of Michigan.
With under 15,000 students, Loyola
guaranteed Marx more than just immedi-
ate playing time. Small classes and per-
sonal attention from professors were also
luring qualities. At Loyola, Marx enrolled
in a math class where she was the lone
student.
She also felt the effects of being at a
small university on the softball field. Her
freshman year, the team had just 12 play-
ers. With injuries and a player suspended,
that number continued to dwindle.
"We were down to nine, and then our
other pitcher got injured," Marx said. "We
actually had to call a game. They said it
was because of weather, but really we just
didn't have enough players to play"
As a freshman, Marx saw limited
action behind the plate, playing most of
the games as the designated player. Being
unable to contribute defensively frustrated
Marx, who loved being involved in the
game as much as possible.
On the offensive end, Marx made her
presence known. She led the team with
28 RBI and shared the lead for home runs
(7).
Her sophomore year brought more time
behind the plate and more offensive dom-
ination. She set a school record with 44
RBI and notched seven home runs, again
with a .326 average.
But with Marx's individual success
came disappointments for the depleted
team. Toward the end of the season, two
assistant coaches were fired, and the start-
ing pitcher transferred schools.
"Everything was falling apart," Marx
said."I still loved the girls,that was always
there. I loved the university. I loved the
location. But this was not what I dreamt of
my career. I didn't want to end my career
there. I wanted to push myself and do big-
ger and better things."
The summer before heading to Loyola,
Marx had played for a travel team called
the Michigan Oilers. Among her team-
mates were future Wolverines Stephanie
Bercaw, Michelle Tessler and Jennie Rit-
ter.
Marx noticed a special connection
between her catching and Ritter's pitch-
ing. Ritter insisted that Marx join her in
Ann Arbor, but by then, Marx had already
committed to Loyola.
"Had I met her before that summer, I
completely would have come here," Marx
said. "I would have followed her"
After Marx's sophomore season, she
came to Alumni Field during the NCAA
Regional Championships to see how Rit-
0
Marx had no problem going from being a small-town catcher to being the woman behind the plate for the nation's No. 1team.
ter was faring as a Wolverine. With the
Loyola softball program in shambles, Rit-
ter again urged her friend to come play for
Michigan.
At first, Marx laughed off the idea of
a transfer. But once she got home from
Alumni Field, Ritter's words crept back
in her head. Marx began to look into the
transfer process, only to be greeted by
restrictions.
Since she was still on Loyola's roster,
Marx could contact Hutchins just once
over the phone about playing for Michi-
gan. If she were to transfer, she had to do
everything else on her own.
"I had to go off of faith that if I left, I
could come here and play," Marx said.
The transfer would not only rid her of
guaranteed playing time, but Marx would
also forfeit her scholarship money.
Luckily, Loyola understood and will-
ingly helped Marx. After being granted
the ability to talk to other schools, Marx
could dive into the process even further.
And if the transfer didn't work out, Loyola
assured her that it would always have a
spot for her on the roster.
"They knew everything was changing.'
Marx said.
Once she was admitted to Michigan
and released from Loyola, Marx could
finally talk with Hutchins.
"I told her we'd be happy to take her,"
Hutchins said. And with that, Marx went
from being a Rambler to a Wolverine.
Junior Orientation
Marx arrived in Ann Arbor that fall,
just in time for a team picnic. Some of her
new teammates were familiar faces from
travel teams and summer leagues, but
other players didn't even know why Marx
was there.
"They were like 'So, who's that girl?"'
Marx said. "They didn't know a catcher
was coming in because everything hap-
pened within two weeks of school start-
ing."
While adjusting to bigger classes and
meeting new teammates, Marx also had
to adapt to new coaches and new styles.
Hutchins often tells her players that
the first two years at Michigan are spent
learning to play Michigan softball, and
the last two years are spent actually play-
ing it. Coming in as a junior, Marx had to
cram that philosophy into half the time.
"I came in, and I swung completely
different from what they wanted at Michi-
gan," Marx said. "All year was me trying
to learn a new swing."
Once the offensive star of her team,
Marx had to settle for the bottom of the
lineup. It seemed like the more Marx tried
to improve her hitting, the more frustrat-
ing the situation grew.
"This is terrible, but halfway through
the year I just said, 'OK, my batting is
not that great. I'm just going to focus on
defense,' " Marx said. "I was just going
to try to survive out there batting. I tried
to get better every day, but it just wasn't
happening."
Marx's defensive focus showed. Jump-
ing right into the catcher position that was
vacated after Schock's graduation. Marx
became a fixture in the starting nine. She
held strong behind the plate and com-
mitted just three errors the entire season
while continuing to click with Ritter.
On offense, her .233 season average
was a .093 drop from her previous season
at Loyola. Compared to her 63 hits for the
Ramblers her sophomore year, she man-
aged just 35 as a Wolverine. Her 26 RBI at
Michigan paled in comparison to her 44
at Loyola, and her 10 runs represented a
significant drop-off from 29 the previous
season.
Things were different for Marx. The
pressure to win at Michigan pounded
down much heavier than it did at Loyola.
In addition, Marx's teammates were hav-
ing the season of their lives. With multiple
players enjoying career seasons, a record-
breaking 32-game win streak and the top
ranking in the country, the Wolverines
were on fire. That fire continued on into
the postseason, and eventually brought
Michigan to the grand stage of college
softball.
Stepping Up
There Marx was. Her entire team,
school and state were all crossing their
fingers. If Michigan couldn't get on the
board against the Bruins, they'd be pack-
ing for Ann Arbor.
And then, much to everyone's surprise,
it happened.
"I took a nice easy cut, and it went
over," Marx said. "I couldn't believe it. I
didn't understand what was going on:'
Marx's slam over the leftfield fence
brought in two runs for the Wolverines,
leveling the score at 2-2. The offensive
drought was over and the next night,
Michigan was crowned a national cham-
pion.
"She gave the whole team life,"
Hutchins said. "From that time on for the
rest of the series, we were energized. She
gave us that."
Before the game, Marx and leftfielder
Rebekah Milian had talked about their
importance at the bottom of the batting
order.
"You expect Tiffany Haas to get a hit
every day, but not the bottom of the order,"
Marx said. "In order to win champion-
ships, the bottom of the order has to show
up. The top's there day-in and day-out.
The bottom will actually put you over the
edge."
Milian and Marx continued to embrace
their roles through the offseason. Sporting
national championship rings on their right
hands, the duo went to work with extra
hitting practice and extra weight lifting.
Hutchins recalls walking into the
Oosterbaan indoor practice facilities in
the fall and seeing Marx and Milian hard
at work. The two set a goal of going five
times a week, but going beyond that was
an aspiration too. One week, they hit all
seven days.
"We tried to go every day we could,"
Milian said. "We just kept each other on
task. One of us wouldn't want to go hit,
but the other would be like 'Come on,
we're going to go hit: We kept each other
balanced and 'motivated. We would be
like 'Come on, this is for the home run to
get that final rep in. We pushed each other
to get better:'
With offensive powerhouses Jessica
Merchant and Nicole Motycka graduat-
ing, there were spaces to fill. Hutchins
posed a challenge to the team to step up
and fill that void.
Marx took the challenge to heart.
"She has never worked so hard in
weight training, and taking extra batting
practice' Debra Marx said of her daugh-
ter. "She knew she wanted to be one of
them that was going to step up and try and
fill the gap:'
The true test came on Feb. 17 this
year in the season opener against
DePaul. Would the clutch home run
from the WCWS truly be a turn-
ing point for Marx's offense? Would
the work she put in all year pay off?
Could the team succeed without Mer-
chant and Motycka?
Marx silenced the questions in the third
inning. By hitting Michigan's first home
run of the season, she showed she was
capable of leading the Wolverine offense.
Now 37 games into the season, Marx
leads the team in home runs with 10.
Her career season has been a testament
to the hard work of those fall days. With
a team-high 35 RBI and a .327 average,
Marx's offensive woes of last season are
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