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Thursday, May 10, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Wolverines find glory on Senior Day against rival OSU
Life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.
The essence of the American
dream is chasing those ideals as well
creating success and opportunity
through hard work and dedication.
So for the Wolverines, they were liv-
ing the dream.
On Saturday’s matchup against
Ohio State, the No. 14 Michigan soft-
ball team celebrated its senior day
with a 8-0 win in six innings. After a
blunder-filled game Friday, the Wol-
verines eased their doubts by fixing
all the the wrong things and keeping
all the right.
“You always want to beat Ohio
State, especially on Senior Week-
end,” said senior designated player
Taylor Swearingen. “It’s the cherry
on top. And winning the Big Ten
Championship, it’s like a dream
come true right now.”
However, a rivalry win, a domi-
nant display and a Big Ten title don’t
just fall from the sky. None of those
things came easy. And as early as the
opening inning, that was evident.
After creating some momentum
with a quick three-up-three-down
inning at the top of the first, the team
saw its offensive struggles return
with three outs on four at-bats —
including two groundouts and a
pop out. With the three outs com-
ing in rapid succession, silence was
ushered throughout the crowd and
dugout.
A
positive
that
came
from
the inning was second baseman
Faith Canfield returning to form.
The senior hit a single to left field
attempting to find a groove to offset
her recent batting struggles. Canfield
then additionally came away with a
steal — upping her confidence.
However, it would take more than
just a single and a steal to rile up the
dwindling spirits around Alumni
Fields.
Another three-and-out top of the
inning brought some noise around
the stadium but it still teetered
between the edge of snoozing and
erupting — just looking for the extra
push to tip the balance.
Then it came at the bottom of the
second inning.
With bases loaded, sophomore
outfielder Haley Hoogenraad broke
open the scoring — and the silence
— with a fielder’s choice play that
brought the stadium back to life.
The run was set up by junior
catcher Katie Alexander’s walk.
Senior outfielder Aidan Falk drove a
fly ball down centerfield that enabled
them to advance a base before being
joined by Swearingen to load the
bases. Swearingen’s patience at the
plate allowed her to fight back from
a 0-2 count to eventually get the free
base by walk.
“Hitting the ball out of the infield,”
said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins.
“You know our first run kind of came
on kind of a blue pit, and don’t get me
wrong, those are great because we’re
swinging.
“And you know, our whole group
broke through a bit because I saw
more, I mean, Aidan had a well-hit
ball.So we’re just trying to score runs
and it was really big to get out and get
a lot of runs. We really needed that.”
The exuberance in the dugout and
in the stands showed just how much
it was needed. After Friday’s game,
where runs came at a premium, the
early signs of a potent offense was
much appreciated. And it didn’t end
with one run.
Freshman
Natalia
Rodriguez
hit a line drive to second base that
advanced everyone but Hoogenraad
who was subsequently tagged out on
her way to second. With runners on
the corners, Canfield looked prime
to inject even more life back into the
stadium. Hitting a single down right
field, she sprinted to first, pleased to
expand the lead even if it was just by
one. But a mishandle by the Buckeye
outfielder allowed Canfield to con-
tinue on her path and end at third — a
two-RBI hit.
From that point on, the Wolver-
ines had all the freedom at the plate
as they wanted.
Junior outfielder Natalie Peters
stood firm at the plate, waiting for
her pitch. But it never came. She
watched three go by without biting
on any for a 3-0 count. The next pitch
she chose to swing, but she had the
liberty to do so even though it result-
ed in a strike. The pressure wasn’t on
her. It was on the Ohio State pitcher
who was facing a runner in scoring
position with a three-ball count dur-
ing the at-bat.
What was the result? Peters was
walked in the next pitch — restrain-
ing her swing on the high ball.
Senior first baseman Tera Blanco
followed suit during the very next at-
bat. Sensing the thin ice the pitcher
was walking on, she took a chance on
the off-speed pitch but was called for
a strike. However, the liberty at the
plate came to her just as it had Peters.
Four consecutive balls came, and
she made her way to first for loaded
bases. Now in an defensive free fall,
the Buckeyes changed pitcher in
hopes of a more promising outcome.
But it was the same story for the
Wolverines. Sophomore third base-
man Madison Uden knew the strike
zone and waited for the pitch to
enter. Instead, she came out of her at-
bat seeing four straight balls, upping
the lead by one.
“Yeah, I think we were just try-
ing to command our zone a little bit
better today,” Swearingen said. “And
that actually helped us, and I mean,
we took advantage of the free bases,
and we got timely hits that way.”
Ohio State stopped the bleeding
with a strikeout on Alexander to end
the inning and close a threatening
situation.
Whereas the Michigan batters
had liberties at the plate, the Buckeye
batters had none.
Another three-up three-down
inning forced Ohio State off the field
and gave the Wolverines an ample
opportunity to widen the gap. It was
all part of the game plan.
“I think more than anything with
our offense, you look at up at (Michi-
gan State) the other day, we ended up
with eight runs,” Hutchins said. “We
kind of chipped away every inning.
And taking walks was huge. We took
a lot of bases. And if they’re going to
give us bases, we need to take them.
We need to not be walking back to
the dugout after ball four.”
While in many situations, a walk
or two can be made up for with stel-
lar defense. But with the unforgiving
lineup for Michigan, every mistake
matters. So when Swearingen was
once again walked — another four-
pitch walk — Hoogenraad promptly
capitalized. With knees bent and
stance tightened, she hit a no-doubt
home run into the branches of the
trees behind left field.
“I don’t know if anything I saw
to any of them really matters,”
Hutchins said, “but I said I’d like
them to swing more like Haley
Hoogenraad, because Haley’s got a
big ole swing.”
The Wolverines ended the inning
after two outs by Rodriguez and
Canfield on a bunt attempt and a
groundout, but the team did its dam-
age.
Pushing for a response, the Buck-
eyes failed to deliver — though giv-
ing a viable scare at the top of the
4th. After a groundout by the leadoff
batter, Ohio States’ Lilli Piper — their
most potent offensive player who
had hit a home run the game prior —
hit a double down line in left field. A
fielder’s choice sent her to third, and
hope emerged that the team could
put one on the board. But Uden put
the crowd at ease with a groundout.
It wasn’t until a full inning later
did another scoring chance emerge,
but this time, for Michigan. Swear-
ingen saw another free base as she
was walked through four pitches at
the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore
designated player Abby Skvarce —
substituting for Rodriguez — was hit
by pitch before being replaced at first
back by Rodriguez.
The spotlight fell to Canfield to
put an early end to the game. After
three balls and a foul for a count in
her favor, the junior saw Hutchins
urge her on to swing hard.
“She hit the ball way better today,”
Hutchins said. “She did. She swung
harder. She swung through it. I said
you can’t be afraid to miss. It’s ok if
you miss. I’d rather have you swing
well and miss than just make contact
and be out.”
Getting full contact on the swing,
the ball was sent down centerfield
and to the wall. The runners made
a mad dash to home where Swearin-
gen easily saw home plate. However,
Rodriguez froze at third despite fur-
ther urgings by Hutchins to contin-
ue. The moment of hesitation looked
costly, as Rodriguez bit the bullet and
made her way to home plate even
though the catcher looked prime to
garner the ball in time. But with her
speed, the freshman hustled near the
batter’s box before diving to the dirt
— her hand safely on the plate just as
the catcher bent over to tag.
It was ironic. The freshman tag-
ging home to secure the seniors a Big
Ten championship on their senior
day, effectively accepting the torch
being passed down. In a rush of hap-
piness, the dugout emptied, as the
players inundated the field to accept
their title.
This was supposed to be just a
stop in the long race. After all, the
Wolverines have their eyes on the
finish line — a College World Series
title — but in the moment, they were
living the dream.
MATT VAILLIENCOURT / DAILY
TIEN LE
SummerManaging Sports Editor