The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, March 21, 2018— 7A

Like your typical pastry shop, 

turnover is the name of the game for 
the No. 19 Michigan softball team 
this year.

Out goes right-hander Megan 

Betsa and one of the most 
accomplished senior classes in 
program history. In comes a 
freshman class with two top-10 
recruits and another player inside 
FloSoftball.com’s Top 100. The 
Wolverines are also looking to 
turn over a new leaf after falling to 
Michigan State in the first round 
of the Big Ten Tournament and 
losing to Washington in the NCAA 
Regional last season.

Here is The Daily’s position by 

position breakdown of the 2018 
Michigan softball team:

Pitching:
Although 
the 
Wolverines 

lost Betsa, it would be a mistake 
to 
confuse 
Michigan’s 
youth 

movement in the circle for a 
complete rebuild.

Freshman ace and left-hander 

Meghan Beaubien — who boasts a 
15-2 record — is not short on talent 
by any means. Beaubien comes to 

Ann Arbor with an already-rich 
pedigree: the former Saint Mary 
Catholic Central pitcher led her 
high school to three consecutive 
Michigan 
state 
championships 

from 2015-17 while compiling 1,442 
strikeouts.

And so far, Beaubien looks like 

everything one would expect the 
No. 6 prospect in the country to 
look like. In her first career start, 
the freshman tossed a no-hitter 
and has not allowed more than five 
hits in any game that she pitched 
seven or more innings. Beaubien 
boasts a 0.91 earned-run average. 
She has been the Big Ten Pitcher of 
the Week three times already this 
season.

While right-hander Sara Schaefer 

(2-3) might not be as consistently 
dominant at Beaubien, the other 
freshman 
in 
the 
Wolverines’ 

rotation has been productive as 
well. Schaefer has a 1.45 ERA, and in 
her most recent start against Robert 
Morris, notched a perfect game in 
five innings. Schaefer, though, has 
only pitched one complete game, as 
Hutchins often opts to take her out 
of the circle in jams.

With a veteran like senior right-

hander Tera Blanco (5-1), however, 

Hutchins has that luxury. Although 
Blanco and Schaefer have a similar 
amount of innings pitched, Blanco 
gives Michigan another steady 
hand and a veteran presence for the 
two freshmen. Blanco spent more 
time at pitcher last year than she 
ever did before, and posted career-
highs in most categories.

First Base:
When Blanco isn’t pitching, 

the senior often starts at first 
base. Although her numbers took 
a dip last year in comparison to 
her breakout sophomore year, 
Blanco’s hitting this year is trending 
towards the latter. She is currently 
batting .325 and has a .587 slugging 
percentage. When Blanco is in the 
circle, senior Aidan Falk slides in 
from the outfield to first base, and 
both are backed up by freshman Lou 
Allan, the former-No. 8 prospect 
in the country. As a positional unit, 
the first basemen have provided 
stability for the Wolverines on 
defense, giving up only one error so 
far this season.

Second Base:
Junior Faith Canfield broke out 

in a big way last year and remains 
the leader for Michigan at second 
base. She is not only the most 
consistent hitter for the Wolverines, 
but has also established herself as 
the batter most likely to catch fire in 
a given series. At the Judi Garman 
Classic last month, Canfield not 
only hit .579/.859 over the course 
of five games but piled on hits in 
eleven consecutive at-bats.

So far, the junior paces the team 

in hits, at-bats, home runs, batting 
average, runs batted in, runs and 
total bases. Look for Canfield, who 
has already been named National 
Player of the Week honors this 
season, to earn a spot on the All-
Big Ten First Team for the second 
consecutive year, and perhaps even 
an All-American nomination.

Third Base/Shortstop:
The Wolverines have a few 

established players on the left side 
of the infield, but Hutchins rotates a 
whole crew of players through third 
base and shortstop. Sophomore 
Madison Uden’s 12 games last 
season as Michigan’s designated 
hitter has helped her to become 
the second leading hitter for the 
Wolverines with a .383 batting 
average. Most notably, Uden’s plate 
presence saw her draw a walk-off 
walk against Ball State. Uden shifts 
between both infield positions, 
alternating with freshmen and 
Puerto Rico junior national team 
member Natalie Rodriguez at 
shortstop, and freshman Taylor 
Bump, junior Alex Sobczak and 
senior Taylor Swearingen at third 
base. 

Catcher:
Junior Katie Alexander earned 

the starting role at catcher last 
season and should be a strong 
veteran presence for Michigan’s 
two young pitchers. Alexander 
caught three no-hitters last season 
and has guided the pitching staff 
to two already this year, including 
a perfect game. Sobczak also had 
18 starts last season at catcher, has 
more RBI than Alexander and 
boasts a .998 fielding percentage. 
But besides for RBI, she has lower 
hitting stats across the board than 
the starting Alexander.

Outfield:
The group of players guarding 

the fences out deep in Alumni Field 
is the most experienced positional 
unit as a whole. Along with Falk 
and her 19 RBI, Michigan returns 
junior All Second Team Big Ten 
outfielder Natalie Peters, who had 
17 multi-hit games last year, and 
42-game starter junior Courtney 
Richardson. The outfielders have 
committed just two errors on the 
year.

Big Ten preview: Ohio State poised to contend for title

The Michigan softball team is 

currently second in the Big Ten in 
winning percentage, trailing only 
No. 18 Ohio State. They appear to 
be on a collision course with the 
Buckeyes at the beginning of May 
for a series that could determine the 
conference crown.

Outside 
of 
these 
two 

teams, 
Minnesota, 
Nebraska, 

Northwestern and Illinois have 
all gotten off to solid starts this 
season. However, Michigan will 
face none of these teams during the 
regular season. The question for the 
Wolverines will be whether they 
can keep up the consistency that 
they have been yearning for since 
before last season.

The Daily breaks down the teams 

that will contend for the Big Ten 
Title if Michigan fails to maintain 
its current level of play.

No. 18 Ohio State (19-4)
Heading into Big Ten play as the 

only other ranked team, Ohio State 
is currently the Wolverines’ biggest 
competitor for the conference title.

The Buckeyes finished third 

in the conference last season and 
lost to Minnesota in the Big Ten 
Championship. So far, they are 
exceeding preseason expectations 
as they came into the season 
unranked. They appear to be locked 
in on avenging last season’s loss.

Ohio State’s offense ranks fifth in 

the Big Ten in batting average, and 
it relies heavily on the long ball. It 
leads the conference in home runs 
with 29 while having played just 23 
games so far — the third fewest in 
the Big Ten.

Standout junior Lilli Piper has 

spearheaded the offense by staking 
her claim as the best hitter in the 
conference. She is currently batting 
.452 with 12 home runs, 33 RBI and 
is slugging 1.012 –– leading the Big 
Ten in each of those categories. The 
next best hitter, in fact, is actually a 
pitcher. With senior right-hander 
Shelby McCombs batting a measly 
.300 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI 
compared to Piper’s stellar batting 
stats, the Buckeyes’ offense begins 
and ends with Piper.

The lack of depth on offense 

is compensated by a collective 
ERA of 2.07 — good for third in 

the Big Ten. This is mostly due to 
the performance of junior right-
hander Morgan Ray who has the 
seventh-best ERA in the conference 
at 1.49 with a record of 11-3 in 17 
appearances. Ray’s play has carried 
over from last season as she posted a 
0.91 ERA in her last 10 appearances 
in 2017.

McCombs has posted a 2.68 

ERA, going 8-1 in 13 appearances.

Ohio State has not played a 

particularly tough schedule thus 
far. It has faced off against just 
two ranked opponents, UCLA and 
Oklahoma, being shut out by both. 
That’s not to say that Ohio State has 
not recorded any quality victories. 
The Buckeyes defeated Louisville 
and Wichita State, both of whom 
have been ranked just outside 
the top 25 in recent polls, twice 
this season — including shutting 
out each team once in four total 
matchups.

Their 
series 
against 

Northwestern and Michigan will 
make or break their hopes for the 
conference title.

Minnesota (17-11)
Minnesota is coming off one of 

its best seasons in program history 
in which it earned the No. 1 ranking 
for the first time and finished with 
a 56-6 record. This season has not 
faired quite as well for the Gophers 
who have nearly doubled their 2017 
loss total.

The team has hit a few bumps 

along the road under the leadership 
of first-year head coach, Jamie 
Trachsel, after Jessica Allister left 
the Twin Cities for the sunnier 
roads of Stanford, California to take 
on the managerial duties at her alma 
mater.

Minnesota has seen a drop in the 

performance of several key players 
from last season on offense.

Last year’s Freshman of the 

Year and Big Ten Player of the Year, 
Kendly Lindaman, has not lived up 
to the behemoth expectations she 
set with last season’s performance. 
Her average is down to .301, which 
pales in comparison to last season’s 
.426 average. She is still the team’s 
biggest power threat and leads the 
team with nine home runs — the 
second most in the Big Ten — and a 
slugging percentage of .675.

The team’s best hitter has been 

freshman Ellee Jensen who is 

batting .370. Despite leading the 
team in batting average, she has 
only tallied three extra base hits and 
three RBI over 28 games.

The biggest disappointment for 

the Gophers this season, however, 
has been the drop off in production 
from junior Maddie Houlihan who 
went from batting .396 with 50 RBI 
last season to a paltry .238 with four 
RBI in all 28 games this season.

Minnesota’s pitching staff boasts 

a 2.43 ERA which ranks fourth in 
the conference. Last season, it relied 
heavily on then-senior right-hander 
Sara Groenewegen, who went 31-4 
with a 0.63 ERA. Sophomore Amber 
Fiser has started the majority of the 
games for the Gophers this season 
and is 11-6 with a 2.06 ERA in 21 
appearances. She is looking to build 
off of last season in which she went 
14-0 with a 1.68 ERA.

The team has struggled against 

quality competition this season, 
going 2-7 against ranked opponents. 
However, it showed last season 
what kind of team it can be when 
its offense plays up to its potential. 
Minnesota is a dark horse in the 
conference if it can come close to 
replicating last season’s production.

Nebraska (20-9)
Continuity is the name of the 

game for Nebraska, which returned 
10 starters and appears to be making 
the biggest improvement from last 
season in which it finished 24-29 
— failing to make a postseason 
appearance.

This season, the Cornhuskers 

have recorded wins against Brigham 
Young and Utah — both of whom 
were ranked at the time. Their most 
impressive victory, however, came 
against No. 8 Texas A&M. They have 

had one of the toughest schedules 
so far in the Big Ten, facing several 
ranked opponents including No. 1 
Washington, No. 3 UCLA and No. 
4 Oklahoma. Although they are 
unranked, they received eight votes 
in the latest poll.

Senior Kaylan Jablonski is the 

team’s best hitter and pitcher. She is 
batting .368 with 17 RBI, and in the 
circle, has posted a 2.51 ERA with a 
13-5 record.

As a team, Nebraska ranks fourth 

in batting average and populates the 
bottom half of the conference with 
a 3.31 ERA.

Northwestern (16-9)
Northwestern — winners of eight 

in a row and 11 of the last 13 — is 
entering Big Ten play as the second 
hottest team in the conference.

The team’s most impressive 

victory of the season came against 
No. 15 Alabama on March 4, which 
kick-started the team’s current win 
streak. 

Freshman 
standout 
Rachel 

Lewis is the main source of offensive 
production for the Wildcats, batting 
.329 with 6 HR and 29 RBI. Senior 
leadoff hitter Sabrina Rabin is 
contributing to the third-ranked 
offense with a .366 batting average 
and 24 runs scored.

Northwestern’s pitching staff is 

posting a 3.04 ERA, which ranks 
seventh in the Big Ten. Sophomore 
Morgan Newport and freshman 
Kenna Wilkey have spearheaded 
the effort, by posting ERAs of 2.25 
and 2.88, respectively.

If the Wildcats can maintain 

their recent play, they can contend 
in the Big Ten.

‘M’ covering all the bases
T

here were a lot of empty 
plates early in the sea-
son.

In turn, 

Carol 
Hutchins 
switched to 
emphasizing 
a simplifica-
tion of the 
game so that 
the No. 17 
Michigan 
softball team 
could find a 
way to cover all of its bases.

“(Front-line focus) simplifies 

the battlefield,” Hutchins said. 
“... When it’s an exciting, tense 
game and there’s a lot of emo-
tion going on, they start hav-
ing too many thoughts in their 
mind, and that’s not good soft-
ball. (You) gotta stay focused 
on something small.”

To make things simple, the 

basis of the game essentially 
breaks down to three things: 
pitching, batting and the result.

And the Wolverines had con-

cerns with all three.

However, with an ongoing 

16-game win streak, the team 
has found a way to cover all the 
bases it couldn’t initially.

The main question coming 

into the season was who was 
going to replace three-time 
All-American Megan Betsa, the 
ace pitcher last year. Upon her 
graduation, a hole opened up, 
along with several questions. 
Would it be former All-Amer-
ican senior right hander Tera 
Blanco, FloSoftball’s 2017 Hot 
100 Rankings’ No. 6 prospect 
left hander Meghan Beaubien 
or another pitcher on the deep 
roster? Were they good enough 
to replace Betsa?

After the opening weekend 

tournament, those questions 
were answered. Throwing a 
six-inning no-hitter in just her 
second game — and her first 
career start — Beaubien all but 
proved herself as the strikeout 
pitcher Michigan sought to 
replace its former star.

And in a Feb. 10 game 

against South Florida — one 
that ended with a score dif-
ferential of one — Blanco was 
pulled for Beaubien, a move 
that Hutchins deemed one 
she thought gave them the 
best chance to win, solidify-
ing Beaubien’s status as the 
ace. Currently holding a 0.92 
earned-run average, she has 
not only backed up the trust 
put in her by the coaching staff 
but has exceeded expecta-
tions — earning three Big Ten 
Freshman of the Week and Big 
Ten Pitcher of the Week honors 
thus far.

However, the Wolverines 

didn’t just find an ace. They 
found the full house with 
much-needed depth.

In contrast to the one-two 

punch it had with Betsa and 
Blanco, Michigan added two 
freshman, Beaubien and right 
hander Sarah Schaefer, into the 
fold to make it a three-woman 
rotation between the freshmen 
and Blanco.

Over the course of the sea-

son, Blanco brought her ERA 
from 2.30 to 1.36, as well as 
carrying a 1.27 ERA during 
the 16-game win streak, mak-
ing her a viable second option. 
However, as recently as last 
weekend, Schaefer showed her 
ability to make her mark on the 
mound, possessing a 0.00 ERA 
for her two-game stand, with 
one match being a five-inning 
perfect game.

The conflict is no longer who 

will fill the hole left by Betsa, 
but who should be getting the 
innings.

Meanwhile, the void left by 

graduates wasn’t the issue on 
offense. The pieces were there 
— they just weren’t connecting.

Batting has always been a 

strength of the Wolverines. 
The year prior, the team 
knocked in 343 runs on 488 
hits with a .325 team batting 
average. The year before that, 
466 runs on 531 hits with a .349 
team batting average.

This year, the offense came 

out struggling only to spark 
under the conviction of the 

players to improve.

“It’s a huge success for us 

that we’re hitting a lot bet-
ter,” said sophomore infielder 
Madison Uden. “We may not 
be producing as much runs as 
we want to but we’re definitely 
producing more. And I think 
we’re just making a lot more 
solid contact, swinging early in 
the count.”

Before the win streak, the 

offense produced a measly 2.75 
runs per game, including four 
shutouts. The inconsistency 
forced Hutchins to take a new 
approach. Make it a team 
effort. Make it simple. Make 
it fun.

“You know, when you lose 

a game, you, in a sense, maybe 
feel uptight, or like under pres-
sure,” said junior catcher Katie 
Alexander, “like, it has to feel 
like, ‘I have to do this, I have to 
win.’ And I just don’t think that 
was what we were thinking in 
that game.

“We were thinking, like, 

‘Let’s have fun, and be the 
team that we are.’ And when 
we are hitting the ball, like, 
we’re having fun, so that was 
something we really took to 
heart.”

Just like that, the individual 

pieces started to click.

Junior second baseman 

Faith Canfield, who was a pre-
season National Player of the 
Year candidate, had already 
been the one beacon in the 
batting lineup. However, since 
losing to Virginia Tech, she’s 
upped her game further, hit-
ting four home runs, as well as 
batting .474.

Her performances saw her 

named Division 1 NCAA Player 
of the Week, as well as Big Ten 
Player of the Week. She led 
the way to overall improved 
performances by the Wolverine 
batters — especially from the 
veterans of the team. Blanco, 
who once batted .404, began to 
return to form as she currently 
bats .325 with four home runs. 
Alexander is batting a career-
high .302 as well as tying a 
career-high for home runs 
with four. Senior utility player 
Aidan Falk also has four home 
runs, while hitting .349.

It was evident the team as 

a whole felt more in tune with 
one another, choosing to have 
fun instead of being engulfed 
by the pressure to perform in 
line with the standards of the 
elite program.

And the lack of tension paid 

off.

Against then-No. 8 Baylor, 

the team countered the game 
delay by singing in the rain. 
The mood of the team was 
in high spirits, as it went on 
to record its first weekend 
sweep, including wins over two 
ranked foes. What a glorious 
feeling.

The offensive turnaround is 

proof of unity. Early in the sea-
son, lack of chemistry showed 
through stranded base runners 
and untimely outs. Just when 
one player found their groove, 
another couldn’t, costing 
games which the Wolverines 
should have won.

But winning makes every-

thing better.

However, there was a worry 

it wasn’t that way for a seg-
ment of the season. Through 
those first 12 games, doubt 
crept in.

Was this team even worse 

than last year’s — whose early 
exit in the postseason was 
viewed as a disappointment? 
Was Michigan’s tenth-ranked 
recruiting class not enough?

The frenzy of criticism was 

quieted through the most 
effective method — winning.

When Michigan graduated 

its star pitcher, it replaced 
her with talent and much 
needed depth. When it felt 
the pressure of failing to meet 
expectations, it bounced back 
by winning 16 straight. When 
the offense just couldn’t click, 
Michigan found a way to cover 
all the bases.

Tien Le can be reached 

at tntle@umich.edu or 

on Twitter @tientrle.

2018 SOFTBALL PREVIEW

JORGE CAZARES
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO

Carol Hutchins and Michigan are among the class of the Big Ten this season.

Heavy roster turnover no problem for Michigan

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Junior Faith Canfield is one of Michigan’s primary offensive contributors.

RIAN RATNAVALE

Daily Sports Writer

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com

TIEN
LE

