Page 14 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 10, 1983
SOFTBALLER SWITCHES TO LEFTY
Thomas thrives at new positions
By JIM DAVIS
The 1983 season has been one of
change and transition for Wolverine
softball player Missy Thomas, the
Alumnae Council's April co-athlete of
the Month. And the junior is adjusting
with flying colors.
Playing two new positions and bat-
ting from the left side of the plate for
the first time, Thomas has responded
with steady defensive play and strong,
consistent hitting.
THE SOUTHFIELD native had
always played shortstop and batted
righthanded, including her first two
years as a Wolverine, until Michigan
coach Bob DeCarolis decided a change.
was in order.
never caught before, and she does a
great job there."
Her hitting also has been steady this
season. Thomas sports a .277 batting
average, second-best among the
regulars, with 16 runs scored and nine
RBIs and her 18 stolen bases in 24 at-
tempts is a team-leading total.
All this for a player who hit around
.200 from the right side of the plate in
each of her first two seasons as a
Wolverine.
"SHE WASN'T HITTING the ball
righthanded and she has that great
speed," said DeCarolis. So he asked her
to make the switch to the left side,
where her speed and base-running
ability could be better utilized. And the
change worked.
"She's 80 points higher (in batting
average) batting lefthanded, and she's
got 18 steals, three times the amount
she's had before," said a pleased
DeCarolis. "Offensively she's really
given us a dimension of getting on base
and running. I'm pleased with her
production."
Thomas was more than willing to
make the switches. "I just want to play
so bad, I would do anything," said the
former high school All-State softballer.
"I love center field and I really like cat-
ching."
AND SHE HAS adjusted well at the
plate. "Lefthanded you can see the ball
much better and there are so many
things you can do."
But she knows there is room for im-
provement. "I should have worked
more on my batting," said Thomas,
who played for the Detroit-area cham-
pionship softball team Jomac's last
summer, along with several other
Wolverines. "I have a lot to learn about
hitting. It's just now beginning to come
naturally. I want to hit and I never wan-
ted to hit before."
For the better part of the season,
Thomas has played a steady center
field in the first game of doubleheaders
and then caught in the second game.
She also batted leadoff in most games,
which is another new thing for Thomas,
who became accustomed to hitting nin-
th the last few seasons.
"I DIDN'T LIKE it (batting leadoff)
at first," she said. "But when your get-
ting on base you're gonna like it. I have
a lot of confidence in myself of getting
on base now."
By JIM DAVIS
At no time was the improvement in
Thomas' play and value to the team
more evident than in the recent
Michigan Tournament. In game one
against St. Francis, Thomas caught
senior hurler Sandy Taylor's no-hitter
and reached base four times in a 1-0
Wolverine victory.
In game two of the tourney, versus
Northern Illinois, Thomas came to the
plate in the last inning of a 3-1 loss with
one runner on and two outs. She
responded with a sharp single to right
field to keep the potential rally alive.
THEN IN GAME three of the rain-
shortened tournament, against Miami,
Thomas' speed and value as a leadoff
hitter accounted for the Wolverines'
first two runs. In the first inning, she
smashed a drive toward second base
which was bobbled. The Redskins'
second baseman made a quick
recovery, but failed to nip the low-
flying Thomas at first.
The junior proceeded to steal second
and third, giving her four stolen bases
in four attempts on the day, before
easily scoring on Mena Reyman's long
fly to account for Michigan's first tally.
A couple of innings later Thomas
struck again. After singling, Thomas
rounded second and kept going on a
routine grounder to the infield. The
Miami first baseman made a quick
throw to third base to try to nail the
sliding Thomas, but the ball skipped
past her and into foul territory. The
psychology major picked herself up and
trotted home with the second Wolverine
run of the game, which was more than
enough for batterymate Taylor in a 6-0
Michigan win.
"I try my best," was her only com-
ment on the day.
Now, Thomas is looking forward to an
even better senior year. And if she con-
tinues to improve, there could be no
stopping her.
A
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Thomas
... adapting well to changes.
"He told me last summer that I would
catch and play the outfield and bat lef-
thanded (this season)," said Thomas.
Thus, from the beginning of this season
she has tried to adjust and improved
steadily both offensively and defen-
sively as the season progressed.
Thomas, who attended Lathrup High
School and lettered in three sports
during her prep career, has committed
only one error in 54 games this season
- impressive for a player who alter-
nates between positions on a game-by-
game basis.
"DEFENSIVELY SHE'S done a
great job," said DeCarolis. "I would
say that she's our best outfielder
without a doubt. And then you ask her to
go behind the plate, even though she's
Softball
squad
sp its
final ho-me
series
4
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_ Sport
Junior Missy Thomas' versatility has been invaluable to thf
thall team.
You expect highly emotional play when the Wolverines and
the Buckeyes clash on the athletic field.
And judging from last weekend's Ohio State-Michigan sof-
tball series, you never would have guessed that the teams
were battling at the bottom rather than the top of the Big Ten
standings.
THE TEAMS SPLIT a pair of twinbills Saturday and Sun-
day in the final home series at the Varsity Softball Diamond.
Michigan won the first game in each doubleheader, taking 5-2
and 4-0 victories, while OSU took the nightcaps, 4-3 and 3-2.
A controversial slide in the series finale on an Ohio State
squeeze bunt attempt marked the height of the action. The
Buckeyes' Teri Ruslander barrelled into Michigan catcher
Leslie Bean on the play in the fourth inning, colliding heavily.
Michigan argued that the runner had roll-blocked into
Bean, who easily had gotten the ball and tagged Ruslander.
Ohio State argued that it was a clean slide. After several ten-
se minutes, tempers were cooled enough to continue. But the
bad blood remained.
"IT'S A GOOD thing we weren't playing for first place,"
said Michigan coach Bob DeCarolis. "Someone might have
gotten killed out there."
The play at the plate was only a sampling of the aggressive
action in the doubleheader. And the games were exciting as
well.
The Wolverines, who have not swept both ends of a Big Ten
twinbill all season, had a golden opportunity to win game two
on Sunday. But a bad break took them out of a rally in the six-
th inning.
MENA REYMAN produced the first run with a two-out
single, following a walk to Karen Pollard and a base hit by
Missy Thomas, to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Bucks.
Carol Patrick walked to load the bases and Bean followed
with a single to score Thomas.
That brought right fielder Jody Humphries to the plate and
she punched a ground which was headed for the hole on the
right side. But the ball skipped up and hit Bean on the back of
the foot as she ran in front of it, ending the rally.
In game one Saturday, Jan Boyd struck out nine Buckeyes
to lead the Michigan effort. Humphries, who collected six
hits in the series, cracked a run-scoring double and later
scored in the fourth inning to pace the hitters.
Boyd came through again in Sunday's lidlifter, tossing a
four-hitter to raise her record to 15-13. Boyd, Sandy Taylor,
Pollard and Penny Neer played their final home game in the
nightcap Sunday.
The season ends today for Michigan, 31-26 on the season
and 9-15 and in sixth place in the Big Ten, as the squad travels
to Western Michigan for a doubleheader.
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