Michigan great’s 
legacy will carry 
far beyond her 

illustrious career

By ORION SANG 

Daily Sports Writer

Sierra Romero still remembers 

the first time she saw Michigan 
coach Carol Hutchins get ejected.

Early during her recruitment 

process, Romero, a high-schooler 
at the time, was watching the 
Wolverines in action during one of 
their early-season tournaments in 
California.

Michigan, Romero recalled, was 

struggling and in need of a spark.

And Hutchins provided it, 

arguing a call with an umpire and 
subsequently getting tossed.

“I was so pumped when I saw her 

get kicked out,” Romero recalled. 
“I think she was purposely trying 
to do that because she wanted the 
team to get a little fire in them. 
Right after she got kicked out of 
the game, they scored a ton of runs 
and ended up winning.”

Romero wasn’t put off by her 

future coach’s fiery display — in 
fact, she admired it.

“I want a coach that’s going to 

fight for me,” she said.

* * *

Fast forward to a Wednesday 

afternoon 
last 
month, 
and 

sophomore catcher Aidan Falk 
is sitting in the softball team’s 
administrative building talking 
about Romero.

The 
No. 
2 
Michigan 

softball team has just finished 
conditioning, and Falk is still 
wearing her uniform.

Asked 
about 
her 
first 

impressions 
of 
Romero, 
Falk 

grins and laughs before giving her 
answer — an answer that suggests 
Romero and Hutchins possess the 
same type of on-the-field presence.

“I was intimidated — hands-

down intimidated,” Falk recalls. 
“She has a very fierce look on 
her face when she plays, and I 
was like, ‘Oh, this girl is going to 
be terrifying.’ ”

Just before Falk finishes, the 

door opens, and Romero herself 
walks in. She’s followed by a 
procession of several teammates, 
who file in and sit down next 
to Falk. Romero, though, heads 
to the side, out of view. As Falk 
talks about Romero, about her 
leadership, batting advice and the 
impromptu dance sessions the two 
occasionally hold during batting 
practice, the senior shortstop is 
within earshot.

When Falk finishes talking, the 

attention turns to Romero.

At first glance, it’s not clear 

what had Falk so intimidated. 
Romero is relatively small in 
stature, standing at 5-foot-5, and 
her facial expression is neutral.

She is asked about her mindset 

going into the fourth at-bat of a 
recent game against Florida State, 
after she had struck out three 
consecutive times, and the room 
falls silent. Intentional or not, 
the intimidation Falk recalled is 
apparent now. The calm vibe of 
the room is gone, and Romero now 

stares straight ahead.

“Swing the bat.”
The room remains silent for a 

couple seconds. Her teammates 
glance at her, and then break out 
into laughter.

Sierra Romero is here, and 

you’ve just been introduced.

* * *

It was apparent early on to 

Michael and Melissa Romero that 
their eldest daughter was mature 
for her age. Michael remembers 
being able to take Sierra as a baby 
to restaurants without worrying 
about her throwing a tantrum. He 
barely remembers her ever crying 
at all.

“She, 
out 
of 
all 
of 
my 

children, was probably the least 
maintenance,” Michael said. “She 
just did her own thing. We got 
lucky with her.”

During one of her dad’s baseball 

games, which she often attended 
growing up, Sierra was in the 
bleachers with her mom when her 
dad blasted a home run so far it 
landed on the freeway.

“I remember looking at my 

mom (and) freaking out,” Romero 
said. “I didn’t know a ball could go 
so far. (After that), I would always 
fall asleep watching baseball on 
(my dad’s) back in the living room, 
so he put me in softball because he 
saw how much I liked it.”

Though her dad’s baseball-

playing days may have influenced 
Sierra to pick up softball, he 
believes her early skill developed 
from her love of the game — she 
simply wanted to be good so badly.

“I was always at softball 

games,” Romero said. “(I was) 
always practicing and always 
wanted to play on the best travel 
ball team, so I was constantly on 
the go every weekend. Traveling 
up to Anaheim, Orange County, 
whether it was for training or 
practice, but it was pretty much 
sports all the time.”

With that conviction, it wasn’t 

long before Romero and her parents 
started fielding requests from 
travel ball coaches who wanted 
Sierra to play on their teams.

At just 8 years old, Romero 

embraced the tough competition, 
long 
drives 
and 
year-round 

schedule. She knew playing travel 
ball could eventually land her a 
college scholarship, and that was 
her next goal.

Despite an admitted desire 

to coach her, Michael stuck to 
providing 
occasional 
off-field 

advice. He let his daughter learn 
from the tutelage of her coaches 
and peers as she gradually became 
a highly touted prospect.

Then, when she was getting 

ready to enter high school, she had 
her big breakthrough.

Romero 
was 
invited 
to 
a 

selective 
recruiting 
camp 
in 

California, and shortly thereafter, 
began 
receiving 
e-mails 
and 

letters from colleges.

Throughout her recruitment, 

there was always one school that 
stood out among the rest, partly 
because of a childhood experience.

When she was 8 years old, 

Romero attended her first college 
fastpitch softball game, a contest 
between San Diego State and 
Michigan.

“I don’t remember a ton about 

it, but I definitely remember 
going and watching the team,” 
Romero said. “My dad 
said that I told him 
that I wanted 
to play for 

Michigan. And at that time I was 
so young that I didn’t even know 
I was going to be recruited, but he 
took me to all the games that we 
could go to with our schedule, and 
I remember going and watching 
Michigan play a lot.”

It’s usually the head coach 

that’s always calling the sought-
after recruit, but Romero was 
so excited about Michigan that 
she couldn’t stop herself from 
constantly phoning Hutchins.

Romero called every week on 

Friday, or every other week on 
Friday. She always wanted to talk 
to Hutchins, and it was always on 
a Friday night.

“ ‘Aren’t you going out and 

hanging out with your friends 
or something?’ ” Romero recalls 
Hutchins saying. “I’d be like, 
‘Maybe later,’ but I’d just want to 
stay at home and relax because I 
was usually tired from softball.”

They talked about everything, 

and the two were really close 
before Romero even enrolled.

She 
and 
her 
family 
then 

scheduled an unofficial visit, with 
one caveat: Sierra insisted that it 
take place during the infamous 
Michigan winter.

“It was during a camp, so I was 

going to get to 
play 
softball 

and experience 
Michigan at its 
worst, because 
I 
had 
never 

really been in 
snow,” Romero 
said. “If I liked 
it, I knew I 
could definitely 
be 
there 
for 

four to five years.”

The question of whether or not 

she could handle the weather was 
answered near the end of their 
visit: While her dad was trying to 
reach their car in a snowstorm, 
Sierra 
was 
busy 
throwing 

snowballs at him.

She loved the visit so much 

that she wanted to make 
a 
verbal 
commitment 

during the trip, but Hutchins 

insisted she wait and think 

it over. So Romero took a 

couple days to let the euphoria 
simmer down, but her feelings for 
Michigan had not subsided.

She told her parents, and 

then called Hutchins to deliver 
the news. The choice itself was 
easy; in fact, the hardest part 

of her commitment process 

was letting other coaches 

know that she had chosen 

Michigan 
and 
would 

be cancelling already-

scheduled visits to their 
schools.

Eight-year-old 

Sierra’s 
dream 
of 

playing 
for 
the 

Wolverines 
was 

coming true.

* * *

Of course, the expectations for 

Romero were sky high.

By the time her high school 

career was over, she had risen to 
a lofty ranking as the No. 3 recruit 
in the nation, according to ESPN.

After predominantly playing 

second base before coming to 
Michigan, Romero learned how 
to play shortstop at the collegiate 
level from her veteran teammates. 
She seized the starting job heading 
into spring practice before her 
freshman year.

With her confidence at a high, 

Sierra’s collegiate career started 
with a bang. In her second game, 
she hit her first home run — a 
grand slam.

It was a sign of things to come.
As a freshman, she started all 

64 games, led the team in each 
major batting statistic, set a 
Michigan single-season homerun 
record, earned Big Ten Player of 
the Year honors and was named a 
second-team All-American.

Her second year would only 

be better, as she increased most 
of her batting statistics, received 
first team All-American honors 
and was once again the Big Ten 
Player of the Year.

Defensively, she cut her errors 

to almost half 
of what they 
were 
as 
a 

freshman.

And 
her 

junior 
season 

— last year — 
saw even fewer 
errors 
and 

an 
improved 

fielding 
percentage, 

while she continued to excel at the 
plate.

The team also had the most 

success of her career, finishing 
as runner-up to Florida after a 
closely contested World Series.

Now in the final stretch of 

her career, Romero is the type 
of mentor to her teammates that 
former players once were for her.

She’s also gone from the 

intimidated to the intimidator.

* * *

Like Falk, freshman infielder 

Faith Canfield remembers being 

scared by the thought of playing 
with someone as good as Romero. 
It turned out that getting to know 
the second baseman — Romero 
switched to second base between 
her sophomore and junior years — 
was easier than 
she thought.

“She’s 
just 

like 
everyone 

else,” Canfield 
said. “She is one 
of the hardest-
working 
(players). 
She 

has come to all 
the 
freshmen 

— she’s there to 
pick us up, and is doing a good job 
teaching us the ropes. She’s just an 
amazing player to play with and 
definitely a huge role model.”

Canfield said the moral support 

provided by Romero is especially 
comforting and shows what type 
of leader she is.

“They threw me in at first (in) 

the last inning of a game, and I 
dropped the ball,” Canfield said. 
“I walked over (to second base) 
and did a frustrated sigh, and 
(Romero) goes, ‘What’s wrong?’ 
I was like, ‘Just should’ve caught 
that.’ She said, ‘We’re all going to 
mess up. Everything’s all right. 
Don’t stress yourself.’ ”

And while Romero clearly has 

a large impact on her younger 
teammates, her fellow captains 
Kelly 
Christner 
and 
Olivia 

Richvalsky are evidence that 
Romero’s 
influence 
spreads 

beyond just the underclassmen.

“You can go up to her if you 

need 
advice, 
softball-wise 
or 

anything else,” Christner said. “So 
I think just having that connection 
with her is good.

“She’s very similar to Hutch. 

They both just have that presence. 
They’re kind of intimidating, but 
once you get to know them, they’re 
completely down to earth, easy to 
talk to, easy to go to for anything, 
very honest people.”

Richvalsky, Romero’s roommate 

and close friend, feels a similar way.

“If you ever need someone to 

have your back, Sierra is who I 
go to,” Richvalsky said. “She’s 
loyal and honest. I admire her 
ability to play through any type 
of struggles. Injuries, mental 
blocks, she prevails. That’s why 
I’ve always looked up to her, even 
being a peer.”

* * *

On Feb. 26, the Romero family 

gathered in Palm Springs, Calif., 
to watch Sierra take on her little 
sister, Sydney, and the Oklahoma 
Sooners in the Mary Nutter 
Collegiate Classic.

The siblings, three years apart 

in age, briefly played together in 
recreational ball as youngsters and 
later shared Vista Murrieta High 
School’s infield for one year. But 
facing each other wasn’t difficult.

“Of course, I wanted to win, 

and she wanted to win,” Sierra 
said. “But we were more excited to 
see each other.”

In fact, part of the reason 

Sydney was wearing crimson and 
cream instead of maize and blue 
was because of Sierra’s advice. 
Sierra didn’t pressure Sydney to 
join her in Ann Arbor.

“I know I love Michigan, but that 

doesn’t mean she’s going to,” Sierra 
said. “So I just told her, ‘You have to 
go where you’re going to be happy 
for four years, because I’m only 
going to be (at Michigan) for one.’ ”

Sierra’s 
relationships 
with 

Sydney and her two other siblings 
have always been positive.

Her brother Michael plays 

baseball and idolizes his softball-
playing sisters, especially Sierra. 
He says all the time that he wants 
to play baseball at Michigan 
because she went there.

Michigan 

emerged 
with 
a 
16-9 

victory against 
Oklahoma, 
and when the 
two teams met 
for 
postgame 

handshakes, 
Sierra 
and 

Sydney 
embraced 

before continuing down the line.

* * *

As Romero’s career comes to its 

close, Hutchins contemplates what 
her star player’s legacy will be.

Though the coach mentions it 

will be hard to overlook Romero’s 
personal accomplishments, she 
believes how Romero will be 
remembered will depend on how 
she has affected those around her.

“She’s a typical kid who is 

very consumed with her game,” 
Hutchins 
said. 
“She’s 
always 

been a good teammate, but 
learning how to be consumed 
with her teammates’ game, that’s 
something that I think she’s 
learned and really embraced.”

Romero has similar thoughts to 

her coach.

“I think a great player is 

somebody who can bring everyone 
else to their level,” she said. “A 
good player is a good player, and 
they’re going to continue to do 
well, but if you’re able to do well 
and also bring everyone else 
around you to that level and make 
them better, then that just puts 
you toward the top.”

And though she has achieved 

most of her goals throughout 
life, from playing for the nation’s 
most prestigious travel ball team 
to earning a scholarship from 
Michigan, Romero thinks that 
she will never be done improving 
as a leader and influencing those 
around her.

“I don’t think I’m ever going 

to be satisfied with the way that 
I lead,” she said. “There’s always 
something you can learn or do 
better at. I don’t think I’m ever 
going to stop fully learning how to 
be the best I can be.”

She will finish as the school’s 

all-time leader in home runs, RBI, 
walks and runs, and barring an 
extended slump, as its all-time 
leader in batting and slugging 
percentage as well.

But she doesn’t want that to be 

her legacy.

She may even help complete 

the team’s run to a national 
championship, but she doesn’t 
want that to define her either.

Maybe the legacy of Sierra 

Romero won’t show in her first 
game or in her last game, but rather 
in the way her leadership is carried 
on by her teammates in the seasons 
to come. Maybe it will show in the 
influence she has on her siblings 
and in the dreams of many young 
fans who clamor for autographs 
before and after games, all wanting 
to be the next No. 32.

It seems odd that perhaps the 

greatest statistical hitter in team 
history will not be best known for 
her numbers.

But, then again, maybe that’s 

the point.

8A — Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Sierra Romero’s lasting influence

“If you ever need 
someone to have 
your back, Sierra 
is who I go to.”

“I don’t think I’m 
ever going to be 
satisfied with the 
way that I lead.”

DELANEY RYAN/Daily

Senior second baseman Sierra Romero will leave as the greatest statistical hitter in Michigan softball history.

DELANEY RYAN/Daily

Read the full feature online at 
MichiganDaily.com

