Michigan Softball Gave Wolverines Fans a Memorable Season
The Michigan softball team didn’t fulfill the expectations of winning a national championship at the Women’s College World Series, but it was still a memorable season regardless.
One day after pitcher Megan Betsa had one of her worst outings of the season in a loss to Oklahoma, the Michigan softball saw its season end after the offense sputtered in a 1-0 loss to Florida State Sunday in the Women’s College World Series.
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Michigan softball, which came into the tournament as the highest-remaining seed, simply didn’t have enough to cap what seemed like a dream season. At times, a championship or at least another berth in the championship series seemed like an inevitability.
But, as we all know, in sports, there is no such thing.
Yet, even though Michigan softball failed to win it all, the team still achieved plenty; A Big-Ten regular season title, a regional title, a super-regional title and another berth in the WCWS.
The Wolverines also did something else, they made this guy fall in love with softball. Before I came on as co-editor of this site, I followed Michigan softball casually. I watched them in the national championship series last summer.
However, this time around, these ladies transformed me from a casual fan, into a die-hard one. And with a pitcher like Betsa, as well as hitters like Sierra Romero, Sierra Lawrence, Kelly Christner, Tera Blanco and Lindsey Montemarano, it was hard not to fall in love with these Wolverines.
It wasn’t just that they were good. It was how they played the game and how, most of the time, they dominated the action.
I love the determine stare on Betsa’s face when she’s on the mound or the look of complete confidence whenever Romero stood in the batter’s box.
Yes, these Wolverines were special and with their high-level of play, in one of the nation’s most underrated sporting events, they created a whole new legion of Michigan softball fans.
For whatever reasons, head coach Carol Hutchins’ crew simply ran out of gas in Oklahoma City. In one loss, it was the pitching and defense that suffered, in the other, it was the offense.
After averaging more than eight runs per game this season, in their last two losses of the year, Michigan managed just four.
Frustrated and disappointed, the Wolverines will regroup and while Romero and Lawrence, two of the better hitters in program history, will be graduated, there is still a solid core returning and a legit chance at another deep postseason run next season.
With Betsa back on the hill, along with Cristner, Montemarano and Blanco leading the way at the plate and in the field, Michigan should still be the class of Big Ten. And when May and June roll around, the Wolverines will once again be a tough out in the NCAA’s.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we should look back at this past season and be thankful for the wins, the championships and the moments of 2016.
As a gigantic Michigan follower myself, I fell in love with this sport and more importantly this team. And even though they fell short of their ultimate goal. that’s something that will stick with me for quite some time.
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See you next season, I for one, can’t wait.