10
Thursday, May 23, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
During
March,
April
and
much of May, it looked as if the
Michigan
softball
team
overcame
the
glaring
weakness that
kept it from
succeeding in
February.
But
at
the
NCAA
Regional,
the
15th-seeded
Wolverines’ inability to hit with
runners on base resurfaced. And
this time, it proved fatal.
Up until this past weekend,
the season was unfolding like a
fairytale. After dipping below
.500 at least six games into a
season for the first time in nearly
two decades and posting a 5-9
record against eventual NCAA
Tournament teams, the problem
was clear. Michigan’s inability
to hit with runners on base led to
narrow losses against then-No. 7
Arizona, No. 9 Louisiana State,
Louisville and North Carolina.
Whenever
the
Wolverines
put runners aboard, their bats
fell silent. That problem kept
Michigan from winning tight
games. That problem kept the
program off the national radar.
That problem had the country
wondering if it was the end of an
era.
After
an
uncharacteristic
February for the program, the
Wolverines rallied behind their
five seniors — all of which took
vastly different paths to the
starting lineup. They won 33 of
their next 34 games, highlighted
by an outright Big Ten regular
season
championship
and
conference tournament title.
As it turned out, that resume
was just enough for Michigan
to host its first NCAA Regional
since 2016, when advancing on
home turf ignited a run to the
Women’s College World Series.
The dominoes had fallen into
place. For the first time since
their
freshman
season,
the
Wolverines’ seniors would play
NCAA Tournament softball on
their own diamond. During the
regular season, Michigan posted
a perfect 15-0 record at home. It
seemed as though the stars had
aligned for this fairytale’s next
chapter.
Instead,
the
Wolverines’
February demon derailed the
storyline. In 26 innings against
James Madison ace Megan Good,
who has the lowest ERA and most
career wins of any active NCAA
player, they scored just two runs.
That’s not for lack of opportunity,
though, as Michigan stranded a
staggering 23 baserunners.
The
three
games
against
the Dukes were decided by a
total of five runs, amplifying
the importance of each missed
opportunity.
As
baserunners
trotted back to the dugout without
crossing home plate at the end of
each inning, the shortcomings
grew more noticeable.
Thanks to sophomore left-
hander Meghan Beaubien’s 12
shutout innings on Saturday,
the problem initially flew under
the radar. The excitement of
winning Saturday’s thriller took
the focus off the Wolverines’
glaring
weakness.
But
after
Sunday’s rainout washed away
those emotions, Michigan fell
victim to the same shortcomings
on Monday.
Only needing to beat James
Madison
once
more,
the
Wolverines first faltered with
runners on base in the third
inning. With two outs, senior
outfielder Natalie Peters stepped
into the batter’s box with runners
on first and second base. She
laced a line drive at Dukes’ third
baseman Hannah File, who made
the catch to end the threat and
preserve the scoreless tie.
An inning later, Michigan
loaded the bases with only one
out. Trailing by one run this
time
around,
the
Wolverines
appeared
bound
to break through
against
Good.
Just
about
any
ball in play had
the potential to
tie the game, but
a shallow pop up
and
groundout
kept Michigan off
the scoreboard.
Postseason opportunities tend
to be scarce, so coughing up
two golden chances to pounce
on Good was a tough pill for the
Wolverines to swallow.
“Timely hitting is the name
of the game in any game and
especially in the postseason,”
said
Michigan
coach
Carol
Hutchins. “And they’re tough to
come by on both sides. We just
needed one more. … We never
seemed to get it going. We didn’t
put things together until late
and it just wasn’t
enough.”
When
the
dust settled, the
sum
of
those
stranded runners
was
too
much
to overcome. By
the end of the
regional,
the
Wolverines were
the nation’s only
seeded team that
failed to advance.
Some are quick to point the
finger to a weak conference,
which could theoretically leave
Michigan ill-prepared to face
a team of James Madison’s
caliber in the postseason. Prior
to conference play, 13 of the
Wolverines’ first 19 games came
against teams ranked top-36 in
RPI — a group that includes just
four Big Ten teams.
The catch? Michigan played
none of those Big Ten teams until
May. That left two
months
between
competitive
opponents.
But the Dukes
found themselves
in the same boat,
only to a more
extreme
degree.
Outside of James
Madison, only one
Colonial Athletic
Association team
finished top-120 in RPI, and
that was Elon at a lackluster No.
68. In five meetings, the Dukes
outscored the Phoenix by 36 runs.
Like the Wolverines, they saw
next to no competition between
mid-March and mid-May.
It didn’t come down to how
well
each
team’s
conference
slate
prepared
them
for
postseason play. It came down
to a competitive edge. A clutch
gene. A willingness to seize the
moment.
On
Monday,
James
Madison came up
with the big hits
that
Michigan
couldn’t.
For
all
that
a
Big
Ten
championship
and
conference
tournament
title
are worth, 2019’s
lasting
memory
may
be
what
could’ve
been.
The opportunity was there for
the taking.
Just when the inability to hit
with runners on base seemed
like a distant memory, it became
the
fairytale’s
villain.
The
Wolverines couldn’t overcome it
this time, and a good season fell
just short of great.
Hello darkness, my old friend
DANIEL
DASH
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins returns to the dugout after James Madison right-hander Megan Good escapes a jam.
During NCAA regionals over the weekend, the Wolverines’ most glaring early-season issue re-emerged
It seemed as
though the
stars had
aligned
The
opportunity
was there for
the taking