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Thursday,May 10, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Beaubien highlights All-Big Ten selections for ‘M’
In a season where the No. 16
Michigan softball team (18-3 Big
Ten, 43-10 overall) reclaimed its
spot atop the Big Ten standings,
it’s only natural that the acco-
lades have come pouring in.
Four Wolverines were named
to All Big-Ten teams Wednes-
day, with freshman left-hander
Meghan Beaubien — named Big
Ten Pitcher of the Year and Big
Ten Freshman of the Year —
highlighting the slate. She and
senior first baseman Tera Blanco
were also unanimous All-Big Ten
First Team selections. Joining
them on the first team was junior
second baseman Faith Canfield,
while junior catcher Katie Alex-
ander
garnered
second-team
honors.
Additionally,
Beaubien
and
freshman
shortstop
Natalia
Rodriguez made the inaugural
All-Big Ten Freshman Team,
while Canfield was recognized
for her glovework as the second-
base representative on the All-
Big Ten Defensive Team. Senior
catcher Morgan Swift was Mich-
igan’s Sportmanship Award hon-
oree.
For her work in leading a rela-
tively young team to the top of
the conference standings, Michi-
gan coach Carol Hutchins was
named Big Ten Coach of the Year
— the 17th time she has received
this honor.
The Daily breaks down each
all-conference
selection
and
their best performances in con-
ference play.
Meghan Beaubien
People knew Beaubien was
going to be good, but they’d be
forgiven if they didn’t think she
was going to be this good. No-
hitters, statistical milestones,
national recognition — Beaubien
has them all.
Beaubien ranks fifth in the
country and first in the Big Ten
with a 0.90 earned-run aver-
age and leads the nation with 32
wins — including a 16-1 confer-
ence record. She is just the 11th
pitcher in school history to rack
up 30+ wins. As if that weren’t
enough, she also threw three no-
hitters and combined for anoth-
er with freshman right-hander
Sarah Schaefer.
Due to her eye-popping statis-
tics, Beaubien was also named a
top-10 finalist for the USA Soft-
ball Collegiate Player of the Year.
Best performance: May 5 vs.
Ohio State — 5 IP, 1 H, 5 Ks
Though Beaubien threw two
no-hitters
against
conference
foes in Purdue and Maryland
and had games where she gar-
nered twice as many strikeouts,
her start against the Buckeyes
— her final of the regular sea-
son — was her best because the
lights were brightest. Against
one of the toughest offensive
teams the Wolverines would
face, Beaubien delivered, making
Ohio State batters look silly time
and time again. The lone hit she
allowed was to Lilli Piper — one
of the best hitters in the confer-
ence — and Piper was thrown
out attempting to advance to
third base with no damage done.
Michigan would eventually win
the game, 8-0.
Tera Blanco
After a down season by her
standards last year, Blanco large-
ly returned to form at the plate
while also serving as the Wol-
verines’ No. 2 starting pitcher,
behind Beaubien.
In conference play, she batted
.438 with an on-base percentage
of .645 and a slugging percent-
age of .813. She also knocked ten
home runs — five in conference
games — and drove in 23 runs.
Her OBP and RBI marks were
both second in the Big Ten.
This is the third consecutive
year that Blanco has been named
to the All-Big Ten First Team.
Best performance: Mar. 31 vs.
Purdue — 3-3, 2 HR, 4 RBIs
In the second game of a week-
end series against Purdue, Blan-
co had a game for the ages. She
reached in all four of her plate
appearances — garnering three
hits and a walk — in Michigan’s
11-1 win. In the fourth inning,
she hit a home run into the out-
field of Ray Fisher Stadium, and,
not to be outdone, ended the
game in the fifth when she blast-
ed another pitch off the camera
tower in center field for a walk-
off three-run shot.
Faith Canfield
As the Wolverines’ leadoff bat-
ter, Canfield’s job was to set the
tone for every game and serve as
a catalyst for the rest of the line-
up. She did just that.
In Big Ten play, Canfield post-
ed a batting average of .417 — just
behind Blanco for fifth in the
conference. She also had seven
doubles, 15 RBI and only one
strikeout. She also showcased
her speed with four stolen bases.
Defensively, Canfield posted
a fielding percentage of 1.000 —
unusual for a middle infielder —
and demonstrated her ability to
make both the routine and flashy
plays, earning her a spot on the
All-Defensive Team.
Best performance: May 5 vs.
Ohio State — 3-4, 2B, SB, 2 RBIs
In one of the most important
series of the year and against the
toughest opponents Michigan
would face in conference play,
Canfield came through. With the
Wolverines up 1-0, an RBI single
and an error by the Buckeyes’
right fielder extended Michigan’s
lead to a more-comfortable 3-0.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth
with runners on first and second,
two outs and the score sitting at
6-0, Canfield hit a deep double to
right-center field to score both
runners and end the game early
with a run-rule rivalry win.
Katie Alexander
Though her stats weren’t as
flashy as Blanco’s or Canfield’s,
Alexander made her presence
known both at the plate and
behind it. Not only did the former
bullpen catcher develop into an
offensive force, she also caught
all six of the Wolverines’ no-hit-
ters — a program record — and
managed the varying personali-
ties of the newcomer Beaubien
and the veteran Blanco.
Alexander earned her second-
team nod by batting .351 in con-
ference play with 11 RBIs, five
doubles, two triples and a home
run and even added a stolen
base. Defensively, she boasted a
.994 fielding percentage and Big
Ten opponents went just three-
for-nine on stolen base attempts
with Alexander behind the plate.
This is her first all-conference
nod.
Best performance: Apr. 6 at
Penn State — 3-4, 2B, 2 RBIs
After an up-and-down start to
her season, Alexander broke out
in State College. In Michigan’s
14-2 run-rule win, Alexander
had an RBI single in the second,
a double in the fifth and a two-
out, bases-loaded RBI single in
the sixth — part of a seven-run
rally that extended the Wolver-
ines’ lead from five runs to 12
runs and ended the game early.
Other honorees
Rodriguez — along with Beau-
bien a representative on the
All-Big Ten Freshman Team
— didn’t post the eye-popping
traditional stats of some of her
teammates, but she made her
presence known in other ways.
A vacuum at shortstop, Rodri-
guez showed off her range by
saving many a would-be hit. She
posted a .913 fielding percentage
in conference play. At the plate,
the slap-hitter punished oppos-
ing defenses with her speed and
was a perfect three-for-three in
stolen bases.
Swift, Michigan’s Sportsman-
ship Award winner, served pri-
marily as the bullpen catcher and
appeared in just four games over
her career with the Wolverines
— and only one in 2018. Though
her lone career at-bat was three
years ago, Swift is still an impor-
tant veteran leader on the team.
A stalwart in the classroom as
well, Swift double-majored in
business
administration
and
mechanical engineering and was
named Academic All-Big Ten in
2016 and 2017.
Hutchins kept her team calm
through a bad start to non-con-
ference play and led them to an
18-3 conference record — includ-
ing a 15-game winnings streak.
Michigan won 37 of its last 41
games and will once again be the
top seed in the Big Ten Tourna-
ment.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN / DAILY