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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
SOFTBALL
From Page11
all season the next day.
"When things don't go our way,
I look to the coach first," Hutchins
said. "I make the decisions. You
make decisions, and when they
work you look brilliant, and when
they don't - that's the way it goes."
She may have been protecting
her players, but there were few
Wolverines with much to celebrate
Sunday.
Freshman first baseman Dorian
Shaw had her first hit of the week-
end, a solo home run once the final
game was out of reach. But that still
left four Michigan starters hitless
in the three-game series, including
senior Samantha Findlay.
Findlay hoped to help the fourth-
seeded Wolverines (52-8) avoid
their third straight super regional
loss. But Findlay and fellow senior
co-captain Alessandra Giampaolo
will have to settle with just one
trip to the Women's College World
Series, when the then-freshman
duo and Michigan won the
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2005 National Championsip.
"My seniors have estab-
lished careers, and they were
part of our greatest moment,"
Hutchins said. "It wasn't
meant to be for them this year,
He H
H y H ,
Posiutron V Nern
and they took us awful close."
And the fact that Michigan tied
a season-high with four errors dur-
ing its 1-0 loss in game two didn't
help the cause either.
The Wolverines' defense was
nearly flawless in Saturday's win,
but the consistently crisp throws
and solid catches were nowhere
to be seen Sunday. Key defensive
contributors like second baseman
Findlay, junior shortstop Teddi
Ewing and sophomore catcher
Roya St. Clair stumbled.
"The key to (Saturday) was play
defense," Hutchins said. "Defense
starts on the mound ... Our defense
let us down, and it hurt us."
Meanwhile, the unseeded
Hokies had more to enjoy.
Virginia Tech coach Scot
Thomas and three of his play-
ers filled the chairs behind the
same table Hutchins had just
occupied alone. The Hokies
rejoiced and recollected how
it felt for a team of walk-ons
and passed-over recruits to
upset Michigan.
Tincher pitched all three
games, allowing just two
runs in 19 innings and struck
out 15 in game two, the most
the Wolverines have been
struck out in a game in three
years.
"She seemed to have a dif-
ferent approach for each bat-.
ter," Hutchins said. "She didn't
give us anything to get on.
"I thought we needed to
continue to get better and lay
off some pitches. I didn't feel
we made adjustments, and
that's on us."
FELDMAN
From Page 11
high school freshman, splitting
innings with a senior.
"The senior's already had three
years of experience and has already
set her place," Taylor said. "It's just
weird coming in and breaking into
the lineup.
"It always just a little awkward
because you can't joke around with a
senior pitcher."
Taylor chose Michigan over Okla-
homa and Tennessee, both of which
pushed the idea of being the star.
"I didn't want to do that," Taylor
said. "Iwanted tobe part of the team.
I didn't want to have all the pressure
on just one person. It's not right."
The pressure wasn't on just
Nemitz or Taylor on Sunday, but the
day didn't go right for them. So it
comes back to that question: What
went wrong in the circle?
I don't think anything in particu-
lar. It just wasn't their day. When
Baylor bounced the Wolverines in a
super regional last year, it was like a
power struggle for the pitcher's cir-
cle ended at the deepest point of the
tournament Michigan could reach.
With two talented pitchers who
work well together in and out of the
circle returning for two more years,
having the same finish as last year
isn't nearly the downer it was then.
Now, every player from the 2005
title team is gone. But it shouldn't be
long until the next generation makes
its mark in Oklahoma City.
- Dan Feldman can be reached
at danfeld@umich.edu
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