The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports Friday, March 20, 2015 — 7 Big Ten preview: It’s Michigan and Minnesota, then everybody else By CHRIS CROWDER Daily Sports Writer In the conference room at the new Donald R. Shepherd Softball Center, pictures of past Michigan Big Ten championship teams are proudly displayed on the wall. There’s just one problem: there’s no room for more pictures. This fact is proof of how dominant the No. 4 Michigan softball program is as it’s vying for its eighth consecutive conference championship. With arguably the best player and coach in the country in junior infielder Sierra Romero and coach Carol Hutchins, the Wolverines are favorites to win the conference, looking to add another picture to the collection, and in turn, moving the frames to a different, larger wall. But to achieve the milestone, Michigan will have to navigate past the following teams. No. 15 Minnesota (24-4) If any team in the Big Ten has a better offense than Michigan, it’s the Golden Gophers. They may be the only team capable of challenging Michigan for a conference championship. Minnesota leads the Big Ten in batting average (.351), hits (270) and doubles (52). Despite a loss to No. 20 UCF, the Golden Gophers have beaten No. 12 Cal, No. 21 Arizona State and No. 24 Mississippi State. Their one-two punch of senior utility players Kaitlyn Richardson (.437 batting average, 31 runs batted in) and Hannah Granger (.474 batting average, 30 runs batted in) are both in the top five in those categories. Player to Watch: Sophomore right-handed pitcher Sara Groenewegen Headlining the pitching staff that leads the Big Ten in strikeouts is Groenewegen with 167 Ks. She has pitched 109 innings this season, the most in the Big Ten, taking a majority of the pitching duties for the Golden Gophers. Her 0.96 earned-run average, .152 opposing batting average and 15 wins are all best in the Big Ten. She also has offensive prowess, batting .338 and racking up 11 total bases in one game twice this season. Purdue (19-9) The Boilermakers haven’t played a very competitive schedule so far, just playing two ranked opponents, including a win against No. 23 Texas A&M. Purdue leads the Big Ten in triples (nine) and is second in Big Ten for lowest team ERA (1.78). Freshman outfielder Maya Hughes may be the future of the program, batting .315 and stealing 16 bases. Player to watch: Senior infielder Ashley Burkhardt Burkhardt is a triple-threat type of player, batting .438 while hitting eight home runs and batting in 32 runs. She leads the conference in hits (39) and is second in the Big Ten with 70 total bases. Her speed keeps teams guessing, as she has the ability to swipe four bases in one game — a feat accomplished in a March 15 contest against Western Michigan. Maryland (17-11) The Terrapins have lost all of their games to currently ranked teams, but their expertise is in plate vision. They rank second in the Big Ten in walks (109), and have walked 13 times in one game. Senior outfielder Erin Pronobis has a .387 average with 45 total bases. Player to watch: Senior right-handed pitcher Kaitlyn Schmeiser Schmeiser is among the top Big Ten pitchers, being the third-best pitcher in regard to wins (12), innings pitched (109) and strikeouts (104). Ohio State (13-9) The Buckeyes have lost to every ranked opponent they have faced this season: No. 11 UCLA, No. 9 Auburn and No. 18 Washington (twice). Freshman outfielder Taylor White earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after hitting .583 with a home run and a triple at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Player to watch: Senior outfielder Caitlin Conrad Conrad is the lead-off hitter for Ohio State, batting .358 with 25 RBI and a .642 slugging percentage. Michigan State (15-12) While the Spartans have struck out the fourth most in the Big Ten (139) and teams have stolen 45 bases on the Michigan State defense in 49 chances, they have shown signs of promise. They lost to No. 20 UCF by run-rule, but have beaten once-ranked Tulsa. Redshirt freshman right-hander Kristina Zalewski has a 1.63 ERA and 91 strikeouts to lead the pitching staff. Player to Watch: Senior outfielder Alyssa McBride Despite batting in the nine spot for a majority of the season, McBride — who batted .184 last season — is the leader of the Michigan State offense, batting .443 with a .538 on base percentage. Rutgers (10-7) The Scarlet Knights have shown both excellence and failure at the plate. In one game, they hit six doubles, but in another, they left 15 on base. The pitching staff has a collective 4.76 ERA, and must pitch more efficiently if Rutgers wants to remain competitive in the Big Ten. Player to watch: Senior outfielder Jackie Bates Bates has a .439 batting average and is second in the Big Ten with a .930 slugging percentage. Northwestern (11-10) The Wildcats have allowed the least amount of hits in the Big Ten (120), but that’s only because they haven’t played that many games. Junior right-handed pitcher Kristen Wood leads the pitching staff with 84 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .224 batting average. Northwestern has also struck out 14 times in one game, proving that its offense is not to be revered. Player to watch: Senior outfielder Andrea DiPrima DiPrima’s statistics may fall once Northwestern gets deeper into the season, but she is currently third in the Big Ten with a .466 batting average and second in the conference with a .597 on-base percentage. Wisconsin (13-13) The Badgers will put pressure on opposing teams on the base paths. They have stolen 86 bases in 101 chances, leading every other team in the Big Ten by at least 28 stolen bases. They have had one-run losses against formidable teams like No. 25 UAB (twice). Player to watch: Senior outfielder Maria Van Abel Van Abel is the catalyst of the Wisconsin offense, leading the Big Ten in stolen bases (21) while batting .407 with 35 hits. Nebraska (12-12) The Cornhuskers score in bunches (averaging close to nine runs a game) and are second in the Big Ten in batting average (.348). Eight players have started at least 15 games and have a batting average over .300. But they have lost to all of their ranked opponents, and the pitching is to blame. Hitters have punished the pitching staff to the tune of a .317 average and a 5.47 ERA. Player to Watch: Junior outfielder Kiki Stokes Stokes is batting .444, slugging .806 and has an on base percentage of .549. C arol Hutchins has been Michigan’s softball coach for decades. Everybody knows that. She has won 17 Big Ten regular-season conference championships, 16 NCAA regional championships and a national championship in 2005. She’s in the NFCA Hall of Fame, too. Michigan softball’s inaugural season was in 1978. By 1985, Hutchins was the head coach, and has been the general to lead the Wolverines into battle ever since. Entering the 2015 season, Hutchins has amassed a career 1,349-452 record and a .746 win percentage. With Hutchins at the helm, there will always be talk of league championships, of winning streaks that stretch into the 20s and of making a run in the postseason NCAA Women’s College World Series. With her résumé and the program’s continued success, it’s obvious that the Wolverines should have no trouble putting together a respectable season. Undoubtedly, Michigan will add to Hutchins’ win total. But really, the number of wins won’t matter. For Team 38, the last win of the season will be the one that carries the most significance. Hutchins is the grand master behind the chessboard, and has all the pieces in place to make a championship run. But ultimately, it’s the players, not the coach, who execute the plan of attack. Michigan, even with a legendary coach and a lineup full of stars, lost to the No. 1 Florida Gators to open the season. It served as a reminder for the Wolverines that despite their perennial status as a member of softball’s elite, beating champions, or even becoming them, is never an easy task. This Michigan team has already taken some lumps. Against Florida, it was senior left-hander and 2014 second-team All-American Haylie Wagner who threw a wild pitch to let a Gator baserunner score from third and clinch the game. But it was only one bad pitch, and only one game, the first in a long season. By Spring Break, Michigan had built a 19-game win streak, and had hit 20 home runs through five games at the Arizona State Slugger Invitational, but fell in back-to-back games to then-No. 22 Arizona State, and again to Florida. Against Florida, Michigan had chances to even up its head-to-head record, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first and holding on until the sixth when Florida scored three runs to earn its first lead. Michigan was unable to conjure up any offense and did nothing against the Gators in the seventh, losing 3-2. It’s worth noting that the Spring Break losses to Florida and Arizona State came at the end of a long road trip for Michigan, at which point the Wolverines had flown to every game they had played. But when the Wolverines finally got back to Ann Arbor, after some much-needed rest, the first home game ended in disappointment, too. Kent State, the Wolverines’ only unranked loss, squeaked away with a win behind junior right-hander Emma Johnson and her .96 earned-run average to upset Michigan, 3-0. Statistically, the Wolverines are already among the best in the Big Ten in multiple categories, but again, the Wolverines’ ability to compete at an elite level isn’t what is in question. At times, Michigan has looked deserving of its ranking, and before the losses to Arizona State and Florida in early March, it was primed to move up in the rankings even further. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, timing is everything. No one calls into question the ability or character of anyone on the Michigan coaching staff, and no one should. But in the few times when Michigan has been faced with truly top-tier competition, mainly against Kent State’s Johnson and Florida, it has stumbled. It’s an old cliché in sports that a good team has to beat the teams it’s supposed to beat, and there’s zero doubt Michigan will continue to do that. What will define this team are the games Michigan isn’t “supposed” to win, when they’ll be evenly matched. Michigan is very good, there’s no doubt about that. But how the Wolverines grow from the early-season losses, and more importantly, how they respond in future high-pressure situations, will ultimately determine the outcome of this season. Should they capitalize, they will have the possibility to be great once again under Hutchins’ watch. Tyler Scott can be reached at tylscott@umich.edu. STAFF PICKS Tyler Scott Chris Crowder Ted Janes 46-9 19-4 Romero Romero Blanco Michigan Minnesota Kristen Wood Rutgers Super Regionals 47-8 19-4 Romero Sierra Lawrence Aidan Falk Michigan Minnesota Sara Groenewegen Purdue WCWS 47-8 20-3 Megan Betsa Sierra Romero Taylor Swearingen Michigan Minnesota Ashley Burkhardt Nebraska WCWS Kevin Santo The Daily softball writers do their best to predict what will happen in the world of college softball this season. 48-7 20-3 Sierra Romero Kelsey Susalla Tera Blanco Michigan Minnesota Romero Wisconsin WCWS Michigan overall record Michigan Big Ten record Michigan MVP Michigan Offensive POY Michigan Freshman of the Year Big Ten regular season champion Big Ten regular season runner-up Big Ten MVP Big Ten surprise team Michigan’s season ends here TYLER SCOTT A good team, with a chance for greatness Softball Preview ROBERT DUNNE/Daily Carol Hutchins’ team has won seven straight Big Ten titles, but this year, it is searching for its second Women’s College World Series appearance since 2009.