FIRST PITCH
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 — 7A
The No. 18 Michigan softball team
leapt out to a hot 10-0 start before
cooling down and arriving at a 15-8
record. Entering their first series in
Ann Arbor, the Wolverines will look to
reacquire their early season success,
starting with Ball State on Saturday.
A relatively inexperienced roster has
led to shuffling at every position and a
lineup that has not fully settled in. For
Michigan to make a run similar to the
33-3 one it had after returning home in
2019, it will have to rely on all levels of
its roster.
The
Daily
breaks
down
the
Wolverines’ lineup by position for an
in-depth look at where they have found
stability and where they haven’t so far, as
they look to replace last year’s graduated
starters and reclaim the Big Ten title.
Pitchers:
Michigan’s pitching success, along
with the success of the entire team,
stops and ends with its returning
top two: junior left-hander Meghan
Beaubien and sophomore right-hander
Alex Storako.
Beaubien is coming off of a year where
she posted a 1.87 ERA and finished with
a 30-6 record — a seemingly strong
sophomore performance that, in reality,
was seen as a regression from her first
team All-American freshman campaign
in which she touted a 1.16 ERA and
0.67 WHIP. This year, Beaubien has
performed at a high level game after
game, and although her statistics are not
quite those of her first year, she holds an
impressive 1.52 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. In
Beaubien, the Wolverines have found
consistency, a rare commodity so far
this season.
Storako,
the
second
punch
in
Michigan’s pitching attack, does just
that — attack. Storako throws strikeouts
at a high clip, dishing out 141 so far and
averaging 1.88 per inning. At the same
time, Storako’s punishing approach
has led to 34 walks and a 2.43 ERA.
Developing
more
consistency
and
control will be key to whether Storako
can reach her ceiling as a lethal pitcher
by eliminating walks and big plays.
In the early stages of her development
is freshman right-hander Chandler
Dennis. While currently posting a 7.00
ERA in just four appearances and one
start, it’s hard to tell to what degree
Dennis will be involved in the rotation
as the season progresses. Despite the
glaring ERA, Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins believes Dennis is “capable of
some great things.” Expect to see Dennis
more involved as a relief pitcher as the
season progresses, with a possibility
that she makes it into a limited role in
the starting rotation.
Catchers:
Sophomore Hannah Carson has
claimed the catcher position as her
own. After filling a backup role in
her
freshman
year
behind
now-
graduated
two-year
captain
Katie
Alexander, Carson has started behind
the plate every game this season for
the Wolverines, and she hasn’t shown
any signs of relinquishing the position.
Carson is currently batting .284 and at
the top of the team with 10 RBI.
Backup responsibilities, if Carson
were to fall to an injury, are assumed
to go to senior Abby Skvarce, who is
currently nestled in at the designated
player spot.
First base:
First base has proved to be a shared
position thus far, being split between
juniors Lou Allan and Taylor Bump.
Allan, coming off of freshman and
sophomore years plagued with injuries,
has seen the majority of starts at first.
It’s difficult to argue with her .403
slugging percentage and team-leading
10 RBI that she shouldn’t get them.
Allan’s drawbacks stem from her lack of
speed on the basepath, not helped by her
previous injuries.
Bump, while sometimes getting the
start, fills her role at first more often
than not midway through the game —
usually after Allan is pulled for a pinch
runner. Bump, holding a .171 batting
average and .310 on-base percentage
while also having the range to play
multiple positions, slots herself as a
versatile infield utility player but not a
consistent starter. This can place her on
either of the corners, leading to playing
time split between first and third.
Middle infield:
For
two
years,
junior
Natalia
Rodriguez
has
been
Michigan’s
starting shortstop. Through 14 games
this season, that remained true. Then,
Hutchins did something unexpected
and switched Rodriguez with freshman
second baseman Julia Jimenez. Through
the past nine games, it has remained
like that — Jimenez at shortstop and
Rodriguez at second.
Rodriguez has struggled at the
plate, holding on to a lowly .188 batting
average, but the slap-hitter has never
been in the starting lineup because of
her batting. It was her fielding that held
her there, and it’s not like Hutchins has
removed Rodriguez from the batting
order by shifting her over to second.
The freshman, Jimenez, has been
impressive so far. Starting all 23 games
this season — 14 at second, nine at
shortstop — she’s racked up 12 runs,
seven doubles, seven RBI and a home
run while holding a .263 batting average.
Three weeks ago, she was moved into
the leadoff spot for her performance at
the plate.
Rodriguez and Jimenez have similar
fielding statistics and only one error
each. Hutchins hasn’t answered why
the switch took place, but in her world,
no position is permanent. Currently,
Jimenez is the starting shortstop and
Rodriguez the starting second baseman,
but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if
Rodriguez won her spot back and the
two swapped positions again.
Third base:
Third base, like first, has been a
shared position for Michigan.
Bump, who plays first and third,
along with senior Madison Uden,
have been the two Wolverines holding
down the hot corner. Both are hitting
on the lower end, and their overall
offensive production is best described
as lackluster. But so is the majority of
the team’s — Michigan holds a collective
.258 batting average — so although both
are below the team average, neither are
out of range of starting. The only player
either is likely to lose playing time to is
the other.
NICHOLAS STOLL
Daily Sports Writer
T
ake one look at Alumni
Field, the home of Michi-
gan
softball, and
you’ll be
reminded of
the program’s
success. Hang-
ing directly
behind the
first base
seats is a giant
poster of the
2005 National
Championship
team holding their trophy.
Walk
inside
the
Donald
R.
Shepherd
Softball
Center
clubhouse and take a stroll up the
stairs to the conference room.
You’re immediately greeted with
a life-sized painting of a past team
with the famous quote from Bo
Schembechler — “The team, the
team, the team.”
Take a step back from the door
and you’ll see the boards that hang
next to it with the names of All-Big
Ten and All-American Michigan
softball players.
While each is a reminder of the
greatness of the Michigan softball
program as a whole, to me, the
focus is much clearer.
It’s the faces that stand out.
Looking at the 2005 poster I see
Samantha Findley — the freshman
who hit a three-run homer to win
the 2005 World Series. On the
boards next to the conference room
door, I see Sierra Romero’s name,
among Tera Blanco’s and Faith
Canfield’s and the image of their
faces immediately comes to mind.
In the life-sized picture of a past
team, I see Megan Betsa screaming
as she’s running to her teammates
to celebrate a win.
Samantha
Findley,
Sierra
Romero,
Tera
Blanco,
Faith
Canfield, Megan Besta.
They’re the players I followed on
Instagram in seventh grade when I
decided I wanted to be a Michigan
softball player. They’re the girls
I dressed up as for Halloween.
They’re the older sisters I never
had. They’re the role models I
followed and aspired to be.
They’re the faces of Michigan
softball and the legacy it boasts.
But this year, it’s undetermined
who that face will be.
Flash back to the start of the
season, when a roster was first being
determined. One can only imagine
what flew through Michigan head
coach Carol Hutchins’s head as she
crafted her starting lineup. With
the absence of five key seniors from
last year, there was room for older
players to finally get their shot, or
for younger players to step up and
shine.
For many years the Wolverines
were typically managed by one
standout
athlete.
They’re
the
players you list off the top of your
head. The ones Hutchins pencils
into the lineup or trusts in the circle
without hesitation.
While no one has emerged to
carry that mantle this season, many
have made their case.
After outfielder Lexie Blair’s
breakout freshman season last year,
it seemed straightforward to deem
her the face of the team. But after a
sophomore hitting slump that’s left
her with a .307 batting average, a
slip to second in the batting order,
and just 11 runs scored over 23
games so far — compared to her
.406 and 42 runs, it’s hard to clearly
determine that she’s the favorite for
the role.
Junior
left-hander
Meghan
Beaubien also seemed like a clear
choice. In years prior, Michigan
has been known to have one ace —
a pitcher that does the majority of
the work, and controls the defense.
Since 2004 (the furthest back stats
go), with the exception of two
seasons, Michigan has had a pitcher
over 200 innings and below 2.00
ERA. Instead, this year, Beaubien
and sophomore right hander Alex
Storako have been tag-teaming it,
working together. Earlier in the
season, Hutchins likened them to
“co-aces.”
Roster Breakdown
Who is the face of the team?
When it’s 8 a.m. and freezing cold,
there’s one person Donny Dreher can
count on to be in the stands of a weekend
tournament: Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins.
Some college coaches don’t come out
until 11:00 or noon, but when Hutchins
is recruiting a player, she’s there for the
first game. She wants all the information
she can get.
Dreher is a coach for Michigan
Finesse — the top club team in the
state — and knows how thorough
Hutchins and the rest of her coaching
staff like to be. “Thorough” is a word
that’s thrown around a lot in reference
to the Wolverines’ recruiting practices.
They’re thorough in their search
for prospective players, thorough in
watching them develop throughout
high school and thorough in making
offers to the ones they really want.
Usually, the process starts in the
middle of June when the coaching
staff — Hutchins, associate coach
Bonnie Tholl and assistant coach Jen
Brundage — start traveling to massive,
national tournaments to see the best
players from across the country. There’s
tedious online research of rankings and
statistics. From there, club coaches try
to identify the future Michigan players
on their teams and point them to the
Wolverines.
Everyone has a different idea of the
stereotypical Michigan recruit: big,
strong players that can hit home runs;
strong pitchers and defenders; athletic
shortstops; a kid that can handle tough
love.
In Tholl’s perfect world, though,
eight out of every 10 recruits would be
a shortstop — the position she played
for the Wolverines. They’re typically
the most athletic on the team and
can be easily moved around the field.
According to Chez Sievers, a senior
editor at FloSoftball, that’s common for
the top collegiate programs.
“They’re a five-tool athlete that can
play multiple positions,” Sievers said.
“They’ve got some speed. They’ve got
power. They’ve got some versatility.
They can also hit for average. For the
top teams, they try to collect as many of
those players as possible.”
At the same time, the Wolverines
have to look at the team’s needs on a
larger scale. Some years they’ll decide
they need more speed. Others they’ll
realize they lack power at the plate. The
coaches keep a board in their office that
lays it all out: what the team has and
what positions it needs.
After the team identifies what it’s
looking for, the coaches start visiting the
club facilities and contacting the players
and their families, starting in the state of
Michigan.
The strategy makes the logistics
easier for the Wolverines — they have
stronger relationships with the clubs
and can easily see players in person.
Seven of the 20 players currently on the
roster are in-state.
Bill Conroy, the head coach of the
Beverly Bandits, has sent nine players
through Michigan’s program. Between
all three Wolverine coaches, they’ll
come down to watch a player on his
team an average of 12 times a year.
“They do their due diligence more
than most schools,” Conroy said.
“Michigan wants to make sure they’ve
got the right kid.”
Sometimes, Tholl will meet kids that
just seem destined to be Wolverines, like
sophomore catcher Hannah Carson.
Carson is from Weidman and played
club softball for Michigan Finesse.
Tholl and the rest of the coaching staff
watched her progress through high
school, seeing her at tournaments and
softball camps in Ann Arbor. When
Carson started the recruiting process,
she was sought out by several colleges,
including other top programs like
Florida State. In the end, though, she
didn’t even visit. Tholl was right — she
was meant to be a Wolverine.
“I’ve always wanted to play here,”
Carson said. “I grew up coming to the
games, coming to all the camps and I
really looked up to a lot of the players
that played here before me. I would
say in middle school, I started to get
recruited by Michigan and then my
freshman year is when I decided to
commit, and it was the best feeling in
the world.”
Carson committed in 2015, before
NCAA regulations were put in place
to stop early recruiting. Now, coaches
can’t have direct contact with players
until Sept. 1 of their junior year. Before
the new regulations, teams felt like they
had to make offers earlier and earlier
to secure the players they wanted, and
kids felt pressure to commit early or risk
missing out.
But as recruiting occurred earlier and
earlier, Michigan held its ground.
“I would say Michigan in particular
has really embraced the thorough
process of evaluating their players,”
Sievers said. “They didn’t really cave
into the early recruiting. They waited,
they wanted to see which kids really
wanted to become Wolverines and
would really fit their program.”
To some extent, Hutchins had to
participate in the system. Several
current players — including Carson
— were recruited in ninth grade. But
Hutchins was outspoken against the
early recruiting practice and missed out
on some top players.
“We were able to make verbal offers
to your firstborn that was six months
old,” Hutchins said.
She believes that when players were
recruited in ninth grade, they lost the
incentive to keep improving.
“It’s not because they don’t care,”
Hutchins said. “Because they don’t
know better. It doesn’t matter who’s the
best in ninth grade. It matters who’s the
best in college.”
Even though Carson was part of
the early recruiting wave, she’s sure
she made the right decision. But not
everyone’s path is so linear.
Sometimes, there are surprises along
the way. Tholl didn’t first hear about
sophomore right-hander Alex Storako
on a rankings website or at a national
tournament. It was in a text from her
brother.
You should take a look at this pitcher —
she’s really good.
At the time, Storako was playing on
a high school team in central Illinois
with Tholl’s niece. She’d already been
recruited to play at DePaul, but Tholl
still took an interest, following her and
keeping tabs when her name showed
up in The Chicago Sun-Times or the
Chicago Tribune. Her name kept
coming up, and it was fun to track her
progress.
One day, Tholl was running a camp in
Peoria, Ill. when she got another text —
this time from an unknown number.
Alex Storako, class of ’18 pitcher, has
just decomitted from DePaul.
LANE KIZZIAH
Daily Sports Writer
Thorough recruiting defines Hutchins’s philosophy
ALEC COHEN / DAILY
A preview of the 2020 Michigan softball team
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ABBIE
TELGENHOF