By CHRIS CROWDER
Daily Sports Writer
The outfielders are all shaded
in, as is typical when the slap
hitting Abby Ramirez enters the
batter’s box. She takes two pitches
and hits the next one farther
than any other in her two-year
collegiate career. The Rutgers
outfielders take a few steps back,
but it’s no use. The ball is already
over the right-field wall.
Ramirez had just hit her first
home run as a Wolverine. And at
the same time, she proved why
she is one of the most dangerous
slap hitters in the nation.
Ramirez, who is batting .375, is
often overlooked when opponents
prepare
for
the
Michigan
softball team’s
lineup. With a
team that boasts
some of the top
hitters in the
conference such
as junior second
baseman Sierra
Romero, junior
centerfielder
Sierra
Lawrence,
junior
right
fielder
Kelsey
Susalla and sophomore left fielder
Kelly Christner, it’s natural that
Ramirez is not in the forefront of
opposing pitchers’ minds.
She’s not at the forefront of
the lineup, either, batting ninth.
But that’s right where Michigan
coach Carol Hutchins wants her.
“She’s a great person to have
come
up
with
(Lawrence),
(Romero), and Christner (on
deck),” Hutchins said. “You want
one of your better hitters in the
nine hole to bring around for the
top of the order.”
Ramirez
has
the
fifth-
best batting average on the
team,
right
behind
Romero,
Christner, Lawrence and Susalla,
respectively. Her role at the
bottom of the order is crucial,
setting the table to both start and
continue rallies.
The only slap hitter in the
lineup, Ramirez brings versatility
to the team. Instead of standing
still in the batter’s box like the
rest of her teammates, she gets
a running start before she hits
the ball. And with Ramirez’s
quickness, the extra few steps out
of the box make it even harder to
get her out. This ability to get on
base frequently is what stood out
to Hutchins when Ramirez was in
high school.
“She was a
slapper
when
we
got
her,”
Hutchins said.
“You
don’t
only
recently
learn to slap,
but that’s what
caught
my
eye
when
I
recruited
her.
I watched her
play, and she was always on base
and made tons of things happen
from the left side.”
But Ramirez wasn’t always
exclusively a left-handed slap
hitter. In high school she was
a switch-hitter known for her
power hitting, setting an Illinois
Class 4A record for home runs
in a season with 20. This is why
Hutchins wasn’t surprised when
Ramirez blasted her first home
run against the Scarlet Knights.
During her freshman year,
Hutchins worked with Ramirez
on her hitting
from
both
sides
of
the
plate.
They
also worked on
both power and
slap
hitting,
but
with
neither
being
consistent, they
decided to go
with the latter,
with Ramirez
batting lefty.
“I prefer whatever is working,”
Ramirez said. “Before I started
doing both and it wasn’t really
working that well for me, so I
decided to take one and focus on
one so I could get that the best
I could. Maybe down the road
when I get better at lefty, I could
start switching again. It just kind
of depends on how I do.”
By picking one and sticking
with it, Ramirez came into her
own.
After batting a respectable
.289 in her freshman campaign,
Ramirez
has
gained
more
confidence and composure at the
plate in her sophomore season —
her primary goal ever since the
season began.
“Recently,
I’ve
just
been
trying to stay loose and I have
more confidence,” Ramirez said.
“When I start to struggle, I start
doubting myself. So it’s just going
up there and not carrying my past
at-bats into it.”
Added Hutchins: “She’s so
even-keel.
She’s
consistent
whether she’s having a good day
or bad day and she always works
at her game. She just stays within
herself and doesn’t have too much
expectation out of herself. Her
consistency is fantastic.”
And
with
Ramirez’s
consistency, defenses have no
idea how to play against her.
In the next game against
Rutgers — a day after the game
in which she hit her first home
run — Ramirez smacked another
homer over the wall. Even after
that, opponents still continued to
play their outfield in when she is
up to bat. In last weekend’s series
against Indiana, Ramirez hit
another ball over an outfielder’s
head, this time for a double. It
would have been a routine play if
the outfield was at normal depth.
Ramirez is an integral part
of the Wolverine offense, and
she shouldn’t be underrated or
overlooked by opponents any
longer. When No. 4 Michigan
(14-2 Big Ten, 41-6 overall) plays
Michigan State (1-15, 16-29) on
Tuesday, she’ll strive to do what
the best slap hitters do — keep the
defense on its toes.
“I like to have a slapper in the
lineup,” Hutchins said. “Then
there’s a lot more things that can
happen.”
8 — Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Slap-happy Ramirez keeps defenses guessing
MEN’S BASKETBALL
LeVert will announce
future plans Tuesday
Junior stopped
using walking boot
last week
By LEV FACHER
Managing Editor
Caris LeVert will announce
his NBA Draft decision Tuesday,
according to a representative of the
Order of Angell, a campus honor
society from which LeVert has
accepted a membership invitation
for the 2015-16 academic year.
LSA
senior
Natasha
Dabrowski, a member of the
Order, sent the Daily a full list of
the organization’s 22 incoming
members earlier Monday evening.
She later indicated via text
message that the announcement
regarding LeVert’s future plans
was slated for Tuesday.
Dabrowski
told
the
Daily
on Monday night that while
LeVert accepted the Order of
Angell’s invitation to join, his
current status as a member of the
organization has no bearing on
his decision.
When
contacted
Monday
evening, a team spokesman could
not confirm that an announcement
was planned for Tuesday.
At the program’s annual awards
banquet on April 15, LeVert
revealed that he had submitted a
second request for evaluation from
the NBA Undergraduate Advisory
Committee to determine where
in the draft he would likely be
selected.
“I don’t think it really makes
sense to go early and be drafted in
the second round,” LeVert said at
the event.
LeVert sustained a season-
ending foot injury at the tail end
of Michigan’s 56-54 win over
Northwestern on Jan. 17. Prior to
his injury, he averaged 14.9 points,
4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a
team-high 35.8 minutes per game.
The 6-foot-7 guard had surgery
in May 2014 after suffering
a stress fracture on the same
foot. He missed early-summer
workouts prior to the 2014-15
season but played during the
team’s August trip to Italy.
Managing
Sports
Editor
Jake Lourim and Daily Sports
Editor Max Bultman contributed
reporting.
“She was always
on base and
made tons of
things happen.”
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Sophomore shortstop Abby Ramirez is thriving as a slap hitter after slugging her way through high school.
Michigan
State at
Michigan
Matchup:
Michigan
State 16-29;
Michigan 41-6
When: Tues-
day 7 P.M.
Where:
Alumni Field
TV/Radio:
BTN