9 Thursday, May 14, 2015 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS By KEVIN SANTO Daily Sports Writer The Michigan softball team will begin the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Alumni Field. The Wolverines will host California, Pittsburgh and Oakland. Only one team can emerge from the double-elimina- tion Regional round to move on to the Super Regional. The Daily breaks down each team compet- ing for a chance to survive and advance. No. 3 Michigan The Wolverines (21-2 Big Ten, 51-6 overall) are the NCAA Region- al favorites. Michigan will be playing with home-field advantage and is com- ing off a Big Ten regular season and tournament title, not to mention they’re on a 20-game win streak. Junior co-captain and second base- man Sierra Romero was just named ESPN’s Player of the Year and is on a hot streak entering the tourna- ment — something that won’t bode well for opponents. In three games at the Big Ten tournament, Romero went 5-for- 8 with 11 runs batted in and three home runs. Sophomore left fielder Kelly Christner trails just Romero in team batting statistics, boasting 18 home runs and a .420 batting aver- age while leading the Wolverines with 74 hits. Michigan’s pitching corps is expected to be dominant as usual, as the duo put together strong per- formances in the Big Ten Tourna- ment. Sophomore right-hander Megan Betsa recorded 15 strike outs and allowed zero walks in seven innings. Senior left-hander Haylie Wagner allowed only one run on three hits to lead the Wol- verines to victory in the tourna- ment championship. With everything clicking for Michigan, it’s hard to imagine an upset in Ann Arbor. California The Bears (10-14 Pac-12, 38-16) will prove to be the greatest obstacle of the Regional for the Wolverines. Cal has a number of impressive wins against top- ranked teams, defeating No. 8 Ten- nessee, No. 9 Florida State and No. 12 Arizona. Only three of its losses during conference play came at the hands of an unranked team. There’s no questioning that the Bears have been battle-tested by a powerful Pac-12 conference, but they will need a number of players to produce in order to emerge from the Regional. Centerfielder Jazmyn Jackson has been exceptional in her first season for Cal, recording a .446 bat- ting average and leading the team with 78 hits. Left fielder Cheyenne Cordes and catcher Danielle Hen- derson have been dominant power hitters this year, boasting 15 and 14 home runs, respectively. The duo have also accounted for 119 of the team’s 286 RBI. Though the Bears are more than capable at the plate, they are not nearly as strong in the circle. Right- hander Katie Sutherland-Finch leads the team in innings pitched with 168, but has accumulated a mediocre 3.79 earned-run average. Cal could make a push to emerge from the Regional, but it will likely be faced with the difficult task of outscoring Michigan. Pittsburgh The Panthers (11-13 ACC, 35-20) have earned their first bid to the tournament in program history and are looking to continue to take down powerhouse teams. Though Pittsburgh has an unimpressive record, it is fresh off a huge perfor- mance in the ACC Tournament. The second and third-ranked teams of the tournament, Notre Dame and North Carolina, were handed losses at the hands of the Panthers, and the selection com- mittee awarded Pitt by punching its ticket to Ann Arbor. The Panthers have unimpres- sive stats — they are fifth in bat- ting average in the ACC, recording a .293 team batting average. They also are eighth in the conference with a 3.90 ERA. Despite the low batting average, Pitt still is first and second in the ACC with 445 hits and 82 doubles, respectively. The Panthers struggle from the circle as well, accumulating a 3.90 ERA that could be exploited by the other three teams in the field. Pitt will have a tough road to get through the Regional, but at the moment it appears nothing is impossible for this team. Oakland The Golden Grizzlies’ are the Cinderella of the Ann Arbor region- al. Oakland (14-6 Horizon League, 27-22) reigns as both the regular season and tournament champion of its conference, but that isn’t as impressive when compared to the competition of the Big Ten, ACC or Pac-12. It would be shocking if the Gold- en Grizzlies advanced through Regional play, but they have a handful of players that could turn their current dream into a reality. One of Oakland’s biggest assets is its speed on the base paths. Third baseman Morgan Muron and shortstop Sarah Hartley are both 21-for-22 in stolen base attempts. Hartley leads the team in home runs as well with 11 while posting a .366 batting average. The underdog squad’s biggest threat at the plate is first baseman Sara Cupp, who boasts a team-high .382 batting average and 43 RBI. The Golden Grizzlies’ have leaned on right-hander Erin Kown- acki in the circle this year, who maintains a 2.43 ERA and leads her team in appearances by 15 games. Oakland’s journey will likely end at Alumni Field, but nothing is guaranteed in the NCAA Tourna- ment. NCAA Regional Preview: Wolverines set to defend home turf Despite injury, Driesenga is dedicated to seeing Michigan succeed By TYLER SCOTT Daily Sports Writer As good as sophomore right- hander Megan Betsa and senior left-hander Haylie Wagner have been heading into this weekend’s regional round of the NCAA tour- nament, the Wolverines’ pitching rotation today looks considerably different than anyone would have guessed it would during the early stages of the 2015 season. Senior right-hander Sara Dries- enga started the season as one of three major threats in the circle for the Michigan softball team. On February 21, Driesenga pitched five complete innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run dur- ing a 13-1 Michigan win over Lip- scomb. And then her season was derailed. “You don’t expect (an injury) coming into the season,” Driesenga said. “I always expected to be able to contribute on the field.” The game against Lipscomb would prove to be Driesenga’s last. Since appearing in eight games for the Wolverines at the beginning of the year, she has missed the major- ity of the season with an injury — forcing the two-time first team All-Big Ten pitcher to adjust to a new role on the team. As frustrating as it is being unable to take the field with her teammates and help win games for Michigan, Driesenga knows what she wants each player to be focused on heading into the NCAA tourna- ment. “Even if we do come out and score a lot of runs like sometimes we have, not getting complacent with that and not being content, always wanting to get better,” Dri- esenga said. “Because those little things and that mindset is what’s going to make all the difference in the postseason.” It would have been interesting to see how differently Michigan’s season would have taken shape had Driesenga, a team captain with a 2.07 career ERA, not been injured. Throughout her career, Driesenga was an adequate producer at the plate as well, batting a career .272 average and a .444 slugging per- centage when she played mainly as a designated and utility player. Instead, the Wolverines lost a decorated veteran on the field, but gained a steadfast leader in the dugout that still wants to contrib- ute to her team in any way she can. “Really what I’ve been focusing on is watching the game and really being into every pitch,” Driesenga said. “I guess (I’ve been) learning the certain tendencies of my team- mates and trying to help them if they’re struggling. Or if they’re doing well I make sure to tell them, See DRIESENGA, Page 10