Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
8 — Friday, March 20, 2015
How a position becomes an identity
Michigan’s
position-by-
position preview
S F T B A L L
P R E V I E W
By TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
With the Big Ten season right around the corner, the ros-
ter for the No. 4 Michigan softball team is finally settling into
place. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins continues to shuffle
players in and out, especially in the infield, but a handful of
Wolverines have consistently made the starting lineup.
Defensively, the team is well rounded and has immense
depth, so starting spots are largely earned on the field by
standing out with the bat.
The Daily examines the 2015 softball team position by posi-
tion.
Pitchers
Michigan’s pitching staff is robust. With all three pitchers
returning from last season, experience has not been an issue.
Senior left-hander Haylie Wagner currently has a 1.98 earned-
run average, and was named to the preseason Player of the
Year Top 50 Watch List. Wagner is known to be a contact
pitcher, jamming up right-handed hitters.
Sophomore right-hander Megan Betsa has been lights out
lately, and Hutchins refers to her as a “strike out pitcher” that
you want to have in the circle late in games. Against then-No.
3 Alabama, Betsa allowed just two runs while striking out six
in a complete game. Her confidence, which was lacking last
season, seems to be off the charts so far.
Finally, senior right-hander Sara Driesenga is a drop-ball
pitcher, getting a lot of ground balls from her opponents. She
is currently dealing with a nagging injury and has appeared in
just seven games. Nonetheless, Driesenga holds a 0.78 ERA,
the lowest on the staff.
Freshman Tera Blanco also makes occasional appearances
in the circle, and Hutchins hopes to work her into the rotation
more as the season matures.
Catcher
Senior Lauren Sweet is the go-to catcher, but she was
injured in a game against Kent State, and the length of her
recovery is still unknown. Freshman Aidan Falk has since
taken over. While Falk seems capable of filling her duties as
catcher, she will have to make up immense ground offensively.
This preseason, Sweet put up a .329 batting average,
recorded 27 runs batted in and hit six home runs. Though her
bat might not be as strong as Sweet’s, Falk has been impres-
sive, hitting three home runs so far this season.
First Base
Since joining the roster, Blanco has stepped in as the Wol-
verines’ first baseman. Blanco started all but one of Michigan’s
games, earning her starting role right away. Blanco boasts a
.423 slugging percentage and has 25 RBI. Freshman Taylor
Swearingen also appears in the lineup often at first base.
Second Base
Both junior Sierra Romero and sophomore Abby Ramirez
are seeing a lot of time at second. Now, Romero seems to have
settled in. One of the best players around college softball,
Romero carries a .531 batting average, by far the highest per-
centage in the starting lineup. Her 1.109 slugging percentage
is the fourth highest in the nation, and the second highest
among power conferences. Her biggest threat is with her
bat, but nonetheless, Romero is a solid defensive choice
for second base.
Shortstop
Romero has been swapping in and out of shortstop with
Ramirez. As Romero plays more at second, it’s becoming clear
that Ramirez seems to be earning the starting spot at short-
stop. Consistent with her bat as well, Ramirez holds a .303 bat-
ting average and has started all 29 game.
Third Base
Sophomore Lindsay Montemarano and Swearingen have
both seen plenty of innings at third.
Montemarano has started 22 games, all at
third. She struggled to hit throughout the non-
conference schedule, posting a .196 batting average
as well as going hitless through nine games. Swearingen has
seen more time at third lately, but if Montemarano gets back
on track with her bat, it will be tougher for the freshman to
crack the starting lineup.
Outfield
If there are any positions that are actually set, it’s the out-
field. Sophomore Kelly Christner will be in leftfield, junior
Sierra Lawrence in center and junior Kelsey Susalla in right.
The trio is part of Michigan’s core power hitters, and all three
of them are in the top four of the batting order.
While Susalla is new to the outfield this season, she has
adjusted well. Christner, who rarely started during her fresh-
man campaign, has played in every game so far. Finally, Law-
rence, who has a perfect fielding percentage, has become one
of Michigan’s most consistent and reliable outfielders, tallying
just four errors in her 151 career appearances.
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
Ice breakers were always hard for Kelsey Susalla. The junior
Michigan softball player could never find the right words for
an answer.
“Those are the (questions) I always struggle with,” Susalla
said. “In class, they’re like ‘tell us something interesting about
yourself’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ ”
The question applied to the softball field as well. She didn’t
know her identity there, either.
* * *
A few weeks after Florida State eliminated the Wolverines
from the 2014 NCAA Super Regional with a heartbreaking
walk-off homerun, Susalla stepped into coach Carol Hutchins’
office.
It was her turn to have the end-of-the-season meeting that
Hutchins conducts with every player on her roster.
Susalla’s first message was to be expected — she wanted to
get more playing time, and she would do whatever it took to
earn it.
The second message, however, was not so predictable.
“She came to me and said, ‘I’d like to try the outfield.’ ”
Hutchins said.
* * *
Susalla had not played a single inning of her softball career
in the outfield. Until high school, she consistently played sec-
ond base, and at Garden City High School, she was converted
into a first and third baseman.
Garden City coach Barry Patterson even played Susalla at
pitcher for her junior and senior year, and she garnered All-
State honors at the position.
For her current success, Patterson credited Susalla’s experi-
ence in the circle for her attitude on the field.
“(She gained) an understanding of what it means to be that
person,” Patterson said. “Every single play and every eye in the
park starts with you. You’re such a big factor. I think part of the
demeanor that she has of never getting rattled (comes from her
experience pitching). You can’t pitch from an emotional stand-
point. You just have to fight through adversity.”
Susalla also set career records for runs scored, batting aver-
age, hits, home runs, doubles and triples in her tenure at Gar-
den City, but in her first two years at Michigan, she struggled
to consistently etch her name into the lineup.
She played just 36 and 34 games in 2013 and 2014, respec-
tively — about half of the total contests the Wolverines played
those seasons. Over the course of those 70 games, Susalla start-
ed in just 20.
So as Susalla entered that office, she knew an opportunity
was there for her taking, and she wasn’t about to let it slip
through her fingers
“I thought since we were losing a couple outfielders with
that graduating class, that opens a spot up for me,” Susalla said.
“I just asked if I could work on it over the summer. I would
take extra fly balls, get some outfield work in with my throws,
anything like that.”
* * *
The outfielders who had graduated left Susalla with large
shoes to fill.
Among the graduating class were Lyndsay Doyle, Nicole
Sappingfield and Katie Luetkens. Both Sappingfield and Doyle
played every game in the outfield for the Wolverines in 2014.
Michigan’s leadoff hitter, Doyle, posted a .369 batting aver-
age, while Sappingfield boasted a .402 and .431 batting average
and on-base percentage, respectively.
Though Luetkens played just nine games in 2014, she was
a team captain with Sappingfield and had spent her whole
career in the outfield.
Luetkens mentored Susalla, spending time with her last
summer. The bulk of the time was spent on the field, as the
veteran hit fly balls to Susalla and fine-tuned her fielding tech-
nique.
“(The most difficult part) was reading the ball off the bat,”
Susalla said. “When you’re in the infield, you’re a lot closer to
the batter. You can see if it’s going to be a line drive, ground ball
or pop up. But in the outfield, a good 50 to 60 feet further back,
along with the wind and sun, judging the ball (was tough).”
Susalla had the opportunity to apply her newly developed
talent in game situations prior to the 2015 campaign. Per her
request, she was occasionally deployed to the outfield with her
travel team, the Kalamazoo Hooters, over the summer.
Susalla’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by her teammates.
“She’s honestly one of the most hard-working people I’ve
ever met,” said sophomore pitcher Megan Betsa. “I saw it this
summer. I stayed (in the offseason) and she was here also. She
was (on the field) and Olivia Richvalsky’s dad came. He would
just hit her fly balls, and she was out there working hard every
day because that’s what she wanted to do. She wanted to play.
“She earned her spot, and she’s keeping it up. She still comes
in every day.”
* * *
With her position finally solidified, Susalla has been thriv-
ing.
She has started 28 of 29 games this year, and her stat line has
been exceptional.
Susalla has already eclipsed her season totals in all major
batting categories from her freshman and sophomore season.
In 77 at-bats, she has recorded six home runs and 30 RBI, while
posting a staggering .792 slugging percentage. On top of that,
Susalla boasts a .390 batting average with nine doubles.
Most notably, the junior seems to be at home in right field.
Susalla has not recorded an error this season and has shown
flashes of brilliance — she robbed Alabama of a momentum-
shifting home run at the Easton Bama Bash by making a spec-
tacular play at the wall.
* * *
But Susalla’s position and performance aren’t the only
things that have dramatically changed this season. As her
teammates explained, their first impression of Susalla was that
she was quiet and shy. But Susalla is quickly emerging as a lead-
er for the Wolverines. She arrives early to practice every day
for batting practice, and sets an example for her teammates,
who are feeding off of her energy.
“She’s like that blue-collar kid that comes in with her lunch
bucket,” Hutchins said. “(She) just is trying to do her part. She
doesn’t have these huge expectations, she’s just working hard.
She’s had to work really hard to get this opportunity, and she’s
taking advantage of it.”
Added junior infielder Sierra Romero: “Her confidence, it
has improved like crazy. From her freshman and sophomore
year to her junior year, she’s just continued to get better and
continued to become more of a dominant power hitter.”
* * *
Susalla was a first baseman. She was a second baseman. She
was a third baseman. She was even a pitcher.
But now, Susalla finally knows who she is. She’s found her
identity.
She’s the starting right fielder for the No. 4 team in the
nation.