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Thursday, May 19, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
NCAA Softball Regional Preview
By AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
After a devastating loss to No.
23 Minnesota last weekend, the
Michigan softball team traveled
back home to Ann Arbor with only
one week to prepare for an NCAA
Regional.
The
second-ranked
Wolverines will host Valparaiso in
their first matchup Friday night.
With Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio)
rounding out the four-team regional,
the Daily previews each team in the
Ann Arbor regional.
No. 2 Michigan
Despite its loss in the Big Ten
tournament final, No. 2 Michigan
remains the overwhelming favorite
to advance from the region. The
Wolverines (22-2 Big Ten, 46-5
overall) lead the nation in scoring
with 8.41 runs per game and rank
second nationally in batting average
with an impressive .355 clip.
Senior second baseman Sierra
Romero didn’t record a hit in six
at-bats during the first two games of
the Big Ten tournament but notched
three hits, including a home run, in
the championship game. Romero
sits seventh in the nation with a .472
batting average and ranks first in
runs per game. Senior centerfielder
Sierra Lawrence adds offensive
support in the leadoff spot, hitting
.452 and scoring 1.39 runs per game,
good for first in the nation.
In the circle, Big Ten Pitcher of
the Year Megan Betsa will look to
improve on her erratic performance
in last weekend’s tournament. Betsa
leads the nation in strikeouts per
seven innings (11.5), but will need to
keep her walks down in order to give
the Wolverines a winning chance.
Though not as overpowering as
Betsa, fifth-year senior right-hander
Sara Driesenga maintains a solid
presence in the circle with her ability
to force ground balls. She posted a
2.13 earned-run average and tallied
21 wins this season.
Because of its top-to-bottom
offensive firepower, Michigan is
most likely to advance to the Super
Regional. Every player currently sits
at .300 clip, and no other team in the
region can match that stat.
No. 20 Notre Dame
Much like Michigan, offense
is vital to Notre Dame’s success,
ranking fifth nationally in batting
average with a solid .351 clip and
scoring seven runs per game. The
Fighting Irish (13-7 Atlantic Coast,
41-11 overall) finished third in the
ACC and made it to the tournament
final, where it lost to No. 8 Florida
State.
Notre
Dame’s
lineup
begins
with center field speedster Karley
Wester, who sports a .440 batting
average and 42 stolen bases, good
for ninth in the nation. Right-
hander Caitlyn Brooks and infielder
Michaela Arizmendi add power
to the lineup with 11 and 10 home
runs, respectively. Arizmendi leads
Notre Dame with 59 RBI and Brooks
ranks second with 52. In the circle,
left-hander Allie Rhodes notched
18 wins alongside 148 strikeouts to
anchor the Fighting Irish’s pitching
staff.
Notre Dame will look to advance
further than last season, when
it reached the final game of its
regional, only to fall to Kentucky in
the final inning. Despite qualifying
for the NCAA tournament in their
previous 17 seasons, the Fighting
Irish have never advanced past the
regional stage.
Because
of
its
prestigious
conference schedule and NCAA
Tournament
experience,
Notre
Dame has the best chance of
upsetting Michigan this weekend.
Miami (Ohio)
Miami arrives in Ann Arbor after
winning four consecutive games to
emerge victorious in its conference
tournament.
The
Redhawks
(15-7
Mid-
American, 34-21 overall) ranked
second in the MAC with a .284
batting average and 55 home
runs, 11 of which came from their
lead-off hitter, infielder Michaela
Schlattman. Outfielder and No. 3
hitter Taylor Shuey leads the team
with 47 RBI and a .378 batting
average.
Spearheading Miami’s rotation
is right-hander Amber Logemann
who pitched 207 innings this
season. Logemann doesn’t strike
many batters out but manages
to hold opposing batters to a low
.227 average. Logemann received
the MAC Tournament MVP after
winning all four starts and allowing
just four runs in 32 innings.
Inconsistency best sums up the
Redhawks’ seasonal performance,
as they have had winning and losing
streaks of at least five games.
While its offense may be potent
for the MAC and it may be riding
a
seven-game
winning
streak,
Miami pales in comparison to
Michigan and Notre Dame. With the
Redhawks’ lack of tougher regular-
season competition, they will have
a difficult time against the Big Ten
champions and ACC-runners up in
the Wolverines and Fighting Irish,
respectively.
Valparaiso
Valparaiso (8-14, Horizon League,
18-32 overall) finished sixth out of
nine teams in the regular season in
the Horizon League. The postseason
though, told a different story. The
Crusaders received an automatic
NCAA Tournament bid through
four consecutive upset victories en
route to a conference championship.
Offensively, infielder Sam Stewart
catalyzes Valparaiso, leading the
Crusaders with seven home runs
and 32 RBI. In the circle, Taylor
Weisenhoffer will look to hold her
own against Michigan’s powerful
hitters Friday. The right-hander
finished second in the Horizon
League in strikeouts with 159 and
fourth in opponents’ batting average
with .248.
Valparaiso faced only one ranked
opponent this season, an early 16-5
run-rule loss to then-No. 10 Florida
State.
Now in the NCAA Tournament
for the first time since 2013, the
Crusaders will look to show that
they belong in the tournament
despite a lackluster regular-season
record. But Valparaiso has yet to
face a team nearly as powerful as
the Wolverines, and may struggle
against such a dynamic offense.
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
In her final season, centerfielder Sierra Lawrence leads the nation in runs per game.