10
Thursday, June 7, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
To put it bluntly, the bookends of
the Michigan baseball team’s season
were a disaster.
The Wolverines started their
season 4-11, a mark they won’t soon
forget, and ended it 2-7. However,
in the middle portion, Michigan
found itself successful in amassing a
20-game win streak.
In a rebuilding season, the
Wolverines faced almost everything
you can experience in baseball.
From heartbreaking defeats to
walk-off wins, Michigan and its
young core was there through it
all and gained a crucial element
that can’t be found in any statbook:
experience.
Heading into the season, the
hope was that the Wolverines could
fill the vacancies left by their 15
departing juniors and seniors with
fresh, young talent and avoid the
pangs of rebuilding. After a long
recruiting season, Michigan was
poised to do just that. It acquired
the 10th-ranked recruiting class in
the nation, good for the best batch
of incoming freshman in the history
of the Big Ten. But to whom much is
given, much is expected.
And after a long road trip to begin
the season posited the Wolverines at
4-11, a large cloud of disappointment
loomed large over Ray Fisher
Stadium.
“We’d like to think that coming
into this season that we’ve put
ourselves into a position to reload
and
not
rebuild,
but
clearly
we’re rebuilding right now,” said
Michigan coach Erik Bakich after
a series loss to Lipscomb. “We’ll
see how we progress from here,
but so far this has been nothing but
disappointment.”
Then, it was as if someone
flipped a switch. The Wolverines
began winning at an unparalleled
rate, and the freshmen adapted to
college ball. The young guys began
showing what they were capable of:
cementing their legacy at Michigan.
Frequently contributing to the
Wolverines’ game on a daily basis
were slugger Jesse Franklin, left-
hander Ben Dragani, left fielder
Jordan Nwogu, shortstop Jack
Blomgren and right-hander Jeff
Criswell.
Franklin led the team with 10
home runs, and Dragani worked
his way into the weekend starting
rotation highlighted by a 2.76 ERA
and a 6-2 record—all impressive
stats for any college baseball player,
let alone one in his first season.
Supporting
and
mentoring
the freshmen throughout their
inaugural season were the juniors
and seniors in the the Wolverine
dugout.
“The future is really bright,”
said junior center fielder Jonathan
Engelmann. “As you can tell, we had
a lot of younger guys contributing on
a day-to-day basis, and it’s inspiring
to the older guys too. This is a team
where it’s good to be in a mentorship
role, but I feel like I learn as much
from them as I’ve taught them.”
Added Bakich: “What I’ll take
away (from this team) is that the
older guys, the guys that have
evolved into leadership roles, like
(senior catcher Brock Keener)
and Engelmann and others, they
just didn’t let the team go in the
wrong direction when so many
teams could’ve just said, ‘This is a
rebuilding year and it’s a bad year.’
And we were clearly heading in that
direction.”
Seeing that resolve in the older
guys will be monumental going
forward. It’s one thing to merely
develop your physical tools as an
athlete, but completely something
else to experience true team
cohesion and mental toughness. In
a sport where failure is abundant,
the strength of one’s character
is determined by their ability to
overcome rather than their success
in the scorebook. If this season is any
indication, the freshmen’s character
is as strong as its ranking suggests.
Besides grit and resilience, the
freshmen have also learned, and will
continue to learn, the importance
of representing the block-M well.
Michigan and championships are
synonymous, so the more a player
wears a maize and blue jersey, the
more they understand the weight it
carries.
“I hope more than anything that
they understand the significance of
playing for Michigan,” Engelmann
said. “That above all is the most
important
thing.
Wearing
the
block-M over your jersey, that’s
the main thing that I think is the
most important, and I hope that’s
the most important thing they’ve
learned this year.”
Looking back, the Wolverine
faithful will debate whether this
season was a failure or success.
In many ways it was both, but
regardless of how you feel, one thing
is certain: a strong foundation has
been laid for the future.
Eight Wolverines qualify for NCAA
After losing to Notre Dame
2-1, the Michigan softball team
(43-13 overall,18-3 Big Ten) saw
its season come to an end in the
NCAA Regionals.
For much of this season, it
seemed like the Wolverines’
early exit in the 2017 NCAA
Tournament was a fluke. The
Wolverines reclaimed the Big
Ten regular season title, put
together multiple 15-plus game
win streaks, and statistically
had one of the most dominant
pitching staffs and defenses in
the country.
The warning signs, though,
were real. Throughout the season,
Michigan failed to capitalize
with runners in scoring position
— especially when it mattered
most. Against the Fighting Irish,
that trend that came back to bite
it. Despite a dominant stretch
in the middle of the season, the
Wolverines saw blowout losses
to Western Michigan and Ohio
State at home nearing the end of
the season.
By the time Michigan State
eliminated
Michigan
in
the
second round of the Big Ten
Tournament, its fate seemed
all but sealed. The Wolverines
narrowly missed out on hosting
an NCAA Regionals group, and
Michigan’s momentum — and
more importantly, its confidence
— was all gone.
The Daily breaks down the
highlights of the 2018 softball
season, and ultimately where
Michigan and head coach Carol
Hutchins might go from here.
Most
Valuable
Player:
Meghan
Beaubien,
freshman,
pitcher
Most
freshmen
don’t
just
walk into a softball program like
Michigan’s and get the proverbial
keys to the Ferrari, but the left
hander made it clear right away
that she was no ordinary rookie,
leading the NCAA in wins with
a 33-6 record and compiling a
1.16 earned-run averaged. In her
first collegiate start, Beaubien
tossed a six-inning no-hitter and
proceeded to accomplish that
feat two more times. As a result
of her early heroics, Hutchins
wasn’t afraid to make Beaubien
the workhorse of the rotation,
putting the left hander in for
217.0 innings pitched, over 100
more innings than the next
closest pitcher.
It didn’t take long for Beaubien
to gain national recognition,
either. The left hander notched
countless Big Ten Pitcher of
the Week awards and ended
the season as one of only three
freshman finalists for the USA
Softball Collegiate Player of
the Year award. For a team that
needed an ace after Megan Betsa
graduated, Beaubien fit the bill.
She’s well on the path to becoming
the next great Wolverine pitcher.
Honorable Mention: Faith
Canfield, junior, second baseman
Breakout Player: Madison
Uden, sophomore, third base
After only seeing 47 at-bats
all of last season, Uden initially
struggled — hitting just .186
through her first thirteen games
as the starting third baseman.
But as the season progressed,
the sophomore morphed into
one of the teams most consistent
hitters, finishing second on the
team in batting average (.357) and
on-base percentage (.448), and
third in runs batted in (35).
One of the areas where Uden
improved considerably was her
plate discipline. In the offseason,
the third baseman did extensive
vision training to process pitches
more quickly and efficiently and
has since become a key cog as
the fifth hitter in the Michigan
lineup.
When
Uden
earned
a walk-off walk against Ball
State, Hutchins summed up the
sophomore’s improvement best.
“Last year’s Maddie might
have torn herself out of the
at-bat,” Hutchins said. “I think
she’s matured. I think she’s
done a nice job of staying within
herself.
If Uden can continue to
maintain that calmness and
maturity
at
the
plate,
the
Wolverines can safely plug her
into the lineup and not worry
about third base for the next two
years.
Honorable Mention: Natalia
Rodriguez, freshman, shortstop
Best Moment: Michigan beats
Ohio State 8-0 to clinch the Big
Ten regular season title
JACOB KOPNICK
Summer Managing Sports Editor
RIAN RATNAVALE
Daily Sports Writer
BASEBALL
ALEC COHEN / DAILY
The Michigan softball team ended its season in dissapointing fashion after clinching the Big Ten regualar season title outright
See documents for this story on
MichiganDaily.com
Laying the Foundation