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

