12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 6, 2005
SOFTBALL
Continued from page 1.
and got Bercaw out by a stride, ending
the inning and the potential rally.
"They just got the big hit and
we just could not come up with it,"
Hutchins said. "We couldn't move
our runners, and we just never got
the big hit. And that's what he
needed."
Both Ritter and Abbott were
relentless, going the entire distance
for both of their respective teams.
Ritter had 13 strikeouts while
Abbott - who leads the nation
with 599 strikeouts this season -
had nine. But the story of the night
was Abbott's ability to get out of
the tough jams.
The tournament started on a
better note for the Wolverines. It
began against unranked DePaul
(45-21) on Thursday. Ritter went
the distance, striking out 12 batters
and scattering 3 hits on her way to
a 3-0 win. Senior designated player
Nicole Motycka's single in the first
inning brought in two runners,
while junior second baseman Tif-
fany Haas added a sacrifice fly in
the fourth.
Ritter then had her most impres-
sive game of the College World
Series the following night against
Texas (49-13). She outdueled
Texas' national Player of the Year
Cat Osterman in a 4-0 Michigan
victory. Ritter didn't allow a hit
after allowing a single to begin the
game, and Findlay went 2-for-3 on
the night with two RBI.
The winner of today's rematch
between Michigan and Tennessee
will go on to face two-time defend-
ing champion UCLA. The No. 7-
ranked Bruins (39-18) qualified
for their sixth finals appearance
in seven years after beating No. 4
Texas, 3-0.
Michigan last faced UCLA last
season in the UNLV Desert Clas-
sic. The then-No.t-ranked Bruins
defeated the Wolverines by a 3-0
margin. The finals are a best-of-
three series format.
"We can still win - we can still
win the tournament," Hutchins
said. "We just need to stay in the
moment and play one game at a
time. Obviously we need to try and
find to get a way to Abbott."
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MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily
Dejected Michigan players leave the field as Tennessee celebrates its 2-0, extra-innings upset of the Wolverines last night.
Blue looks to orget past
H. JOSE BOSCH
ON SOFTBALL
OKLAHOMA CITY - Whispers
around the softball world could be heard
about Michigan being cursed at the Wom-
en's College World Series.
To use the word cursed would be an
understatement.
The Wolverines amassed a 2-14 record
in seven previous tournament appearanc-
es and finished seventh out of eight teams
in five of those tournaments.
But this season Michigan isn't playing
like a cursed team. The Wolverines are
playing more like an obsessed team. And
people have noticed.
In a tournament where many of the
games have been decidedby defensive
miscues in the late innings, the Wolver-
ines won their first two games the hard
way - greatpitching, solid defense and
timely hitting.
"We won and we came here to win,"
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said after
the Wolverines' first win over DePaul.
"We're trying to win this tournament, and
it's the only tournament we care about."
In each of the first two games, a Wol-
l
verine has stepped up. Whether it has
been backing up a bad throw and gunning
a runner out at home plate - sophomore
Rebekah Milian - or throwing out a run-
ner trying to steal - junior Becky Marx
- Michigan has made the big plays when
they counted. And its traditional big guns
have stepped up in ways beyond anyone's
imagination.
In her first two games, junior Jennie
Ritter pitched like she was possessed -
striking out 24 batters while only giving
up four hits - in her two shut outs. Not
to mention the fact that she out-dueled the
national Player of the Year, Texas pitcher
Cat Osterman.
Seniors Jessica Merchant and Nicole
Motycka have combined to hit 6-for-it
with two RBI and three runs - provid-
ing leadership from upperclassmen in a
tournament that has been dominated by
underclassmen.
And freshman Samantha Findlay
- displaying calm beyond her years
- hit a two RBI single against Osterman
on Friday night to open up the game for
Michigan in its 4-0 win.
"I don't think we felt the pressure that
we've felt in the past," Motycka said.
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"And that's what made the difference."
A key contributor to the team's calm-
ness has been Hutchins. From her post
either in the dugout or in the coach's box
along the third-base line, Hutchins has
exhumed an aura of coolness that has
been contagious for her team.
But last night, the Wolverines slipped
a bit in their game against No. 11 Tennes-
see. Despite another solid performance
in the pitcher's circle, Ritter wasn't as
dominant as she had been in the first
two games. The offense also struggled.
Against the World Series' new darling
- Lady Vols' pitcher Monica Abbott
- the team didn't look as sharp at the
plate and failed to cash in on run-scoring
opportunities.
But Michigan softball is still just three
wins away from its first national champi-
onship. Standing in its way is Tennessee
and two-time defending national cham-
pion, UCLA.
The Bruins were counted out by many
early in the year, buta strong finish and
some terrific play in the NCAA tourna-
ment have placed the Bruins in their third
straight title game.
The Lady Vols have become the ulti-
mate Cinderella team, making the most
of their firsttrip to the Women's College
World Series and upsetting powerhouses
Arizona and Michigan.
For the Wolverines to stay true to form,
they must rely on the armof a dominant
Ritter - which, so far, has been more
valuable than the Hope Diamond. But 4
Michigan must also rely on its older play-
ers - such as Motycka and Merchant
- and the young guns - Giampaolo and
Findlay - if it wants to leave Oklahoma
City with a national title.
In this tournament, Michigan has been
trying to shake off its past and make way
for a whole new future.
Ironically, the only way the Wolverines
will be able to win a national champion-
ship is if the past and future of the pro-
gram canjoin togetherto notch two more
victories in the present.