SPORTS 11
Thursday, May 9, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Leadership, selflessness keys to Big Ten Tournament title run
When the Michigan softball team
entered the conference season, it
had already suffered ten losses and
struggled against the likes of South
Dakota and Louisville. While the
pitching staff gave the Wolverines
a chance in most games, especially
in wins over then-No. 2 UCLA and
then-No. 5 Washington, the offense
struggled to produce any sort of
traction. Failing to find hits with
runners on base became Michigan’s
Achilles heel and a run at the Big Ten
seamed bleak.
But then the Wolverines caught
their stride and they look like an
entirely different team. Winning
the Big Ten with a 22-1 conference
record, Michigan has turned its
most glaring weakness into one of
its most reliable strengths in only
two months — throughout Big Ten
play, the Wolverines boasted league-
highs in batting average (.355) and
RBIs (174).
Winning its conference during the
regular season isn’t out of the norm
for Michigan, though. Since 2008,
the Wolverines have won outright or
grabbed a share of the Big Ten every
year except for one. In that same
time span, Michigan has won the
Big Ten Tournament only once. And
if the Wolverines want to prove that
they deserve home field advantage
for the NCAA regional, it could
very well come down to the team’s
performance on a weekend that has
historically been their kryptonite.
However, Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins feels there is something
different in the air this season
compared to teams of the past
when the Wolverines fell short of a
postseason conference title.
“This year’s team has been
extremely
player-driven
and,
I
would say, very much led by our
senior class,” Hutchins said. “Our
seniors have been outstanding all
year from the moment they got back
to campus in late August and made
their statement that they wanted
this team to be different than the
last couple teams and they wrote out
their own game plan for that.”
The shift in culture from previous
years to now not only has started
with the leadership and experience
this team brings. Perhaps the
most important quality Michigan
possesses is its selfless dynamic.
“Honestly, from the minute we
got back from our preseason travel,
our team had kinda found its way
through some really difficult early
season games,” Hutchins said. “The
seniors put the team on their back
and said, we’re gonna get this done.
And they’ve done it, of course, on
the field. And when somebody isn’t
getting it done, because inevitably
every game, some people are on and
some aren’t, they pick each other up.
They’ve stepped up for each other
and they never quit.
“This team has reminded me
all season, especially in our last
28 games, that they’re just one big
selfless amoeba.”
So if the Wolverines are able to
combine this culture with their
season-long trend of righting their
wrongs, both past and present, they
could very well find themselves
holding that Big Ten Tournament
trophy that has eluded them year
after year.
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
Summer Managing Sports Editor
The Daily breaks down and predicts the Big Ten Tournament
After securing the outright Big
Ten title Sunday, the Michigan
softball team kicks off the Big Ten
Tournament with its first game on
Friday. The Wolverines picked up
the top seed and earned a first-round
bye for the sixth time in the last seven
seasons. The Daily breaks down the
tournament and gives its predictions.
Daniel Dash, Daily Sports Writer
Michigan’s
most
valuable
tournament asset: With six players
batting over .300 and two over
.400, the Wolverines’ depth and
consistency separates them from the
rest of the pack.
Michigan’s biggest tournament
weakness: The Wolverines will have
to play three games in two days if
they advance to the finals, so having
just two reliable pitchers — whereas
most teams have three or four —
could make fatigue an enemy.
Champion
prediction:
Minnesota
The Golden Gophers may have
finished third in the conference’s
regular season standings, but don’t
let that fool you. Numbers don’t lie —
Minnesota is arguably the Big Ten’s
most talented team. Four Gophers
are batting over .300, headlined
by infielder MaKenna Partain’s
.417 clip. In the circle, right-hander
Amber Fiser boasts a conference-best
1.25 ERA. Minnesota has won this
tournament the last three years, so
the roster knows what it takes.
Dark horse candidate: Illinois
Despite being the No. 9 seed, the
Fighting Illini enter the Big Ten
Tournament with the conference’s
best offense. Illinois’ league-high
.319 team batting average and .520
slugging percentage could spearhead
a Cinderella run, but its pitching staff
must avoid imploding.
Lily Friedman, Daily Sports Writer
Michigan’s
most
valuable
tournament asset: With five seniors
starting in the Wolverine lineup,
experience will be the team’s biggest
asset going into the tournament.
Under players like senior second
baseman Faith Canfield and senior
catcher Katie Alexander, the entire
Michigan lineup has experience with
close games and has thrived under
the leadership of its seniors in tough
innings.
Michigan’s biggest tournament
weakness:
A
big
problem
for
Michigan thus far this season has
been
inconsistency.
While
the
Wolverines have won some matchups
against
highly-ranked
opponents
like No. 1 UCLA, the team’s struggles
against subpar competition like
South Dakota could pose an issue in a
one-and-done tournament.
Champion
prediction:
Minnesota
Watching its third game against
Northwestern, Minnesota looked
strong, especially defensively. With
right-hander Amber Fiser pitching
tight like she did against formerly
undefeated Northwestern and the
rest of the pitching staff combining
for its season-ERA of .171, Minnesota
could play well enough defensively to
lock in a tournament win.
Dark horse candidate: Ohio State
Though seeded fourth, Ohio State
fell below Michigan, Northwestern
and Minnesota in the regular season
as far as competing for a Big Ten title.
But the Buckeyes are still a strong
contender to make a tournament run.
Handing the Wolverines their first
and only Big Ten loss this season,
Ohio State could be in position to get
hot in the tournament and make a
championship run.
Lane Kizziah, Daily Sports Writer
Michigan’s
most
valuable
tournament asset: Even early in
the season when their offense was
lacking, the Wolverines could count
on their fielding to keep them in most
games. Michigan currently leads the
Big Ten with the fewest errors and
the highest fielding percentage.
Michigan’s biggest tournament
weakness: Pitching has frequently
posed a problem for the Wolverines.
While both freshman right-hander
Alex Storako and sophomore left-
hander
Meghan
Beaubien
are
among the top 10 pitchers in the
conference, Storako has struggled
to remain consistent in later innings
while Beaubien has already pitched
183.2 innings and has seen her own
performance fluctuate as the season
has progressed.
Champion
prediction:
Northwestern
Despite having a relatively young
team, the second seeded Wildcats
boast strong pitchers, including
freshman Danielle Williams with
an ERA of 1.46. Coupled with
dependable fielding, Northwestern’s
defense can hold most opponents to
just a few runs. The Wildcats’ lack of
command at the plate — a combined
batting average of .273 — will likely be
their biggest weakness.
Dark horse candidate: Wisconsin
The fifth seeded Badgers may be
the most well-rounded team. Not only
do they possess the best hitter in the
conference — Kayla Konwent with
a batting average of .479 — they can
also hold their own on defense. They
have decent fielding statistics and the
depth of their pitching staff should
not be underestimated. Coming in
with wins against Illinois, Indiana,
and Nebraska, Wisconsin may have a
shot this weekend.
Akul Vijayvargiya, Daily Sports
Writer
Michigan’s
most
valuable
tournament asset: With five seniors
in the lineup and a conference-high
332 runs scored throughout this
season,
the
Wolverines
possess
leadership and a batting prowess they
haven’t seen since the times of Sierra
Romero.
Michigan’s biggest tournament
weakness: Though the Wolverines
are lucky to have such a reliable No.
2 pitcher in freshman right hander
Alex Storako behind sophomore All-
American Meghan Beaubien, both
might be somewhat gassed by the
end of the weekend which could hurt
them in the championship game.
Champion prediction: Michigan
Coach
Carol
Hutchins
has
this team primed to win in the
postseason. Not only will experience
and consistency in the batting lineup
bode well for the Wolverines, but the
team has shown it can win against the
likes of Minnesota and Northwestern
with victories over No. 2 Washington
and No. 3 UCLA. The first round
bye will prove to be pivotal for the
pitching staff as well since it might
give Beaubien and Storako the last
bits of energy they need to finish the
weekend strong.
Dark horse candidate: Illinois
The Fighting Illini lost to the
Wolverines by only one run in two of
the three games they played against
each other, so don’t count them out if
they are to go against the top seed on
Friday afternoon. If Illinois is able to
clear that hurdle, it has the offensive
firepower to spark another win or
two on Saturday.
DAILY SOFTBALL BEAT
Daily Sports Writers
ALEC COHEN/Daily
The Michigan softball team kicks off the Big Ten Tournament Friday.