Sophomore Alycia Ryan wasn’t even sure she’d ever get to wear a Michigan jersey when she arrived in Ann Arbor less ever than two years ago, much less run down the first-base line in front of a few hundred fans in maize and blue after her first collegiate hit.

But when Michigan coach Carol Hutchins waved towards the dugout in the bottom of the third inning yesterday with the Wolverines up 6-0 against Eastern Michigan, Ryan grabbed her gloves, helmet and bat for just the third time this season.

Junior rightfielder Angela Findlay was already on her way toward the batter’s box for her third at-bat when Hutchins called on Ryan, a walk-on, to pinch hit.

“From the very beginning, I thought I might have a good chance of playing today,” Ryan said. “I was trying to prepare myself for it, but it was just a spur-of-the moment thing.”

Ryan looked comfortable in the box, and her performance showed it. After a foul ball to left field, she wrote the first page in her story as a Michigan athlete.

“I’m just going to remember that ball getting over the shortstop’s glove,” Ryan said. “Because once I saw it get past her glove, I just had my eye on first base. I sighed in relief.”

The bases were loaded when Ryan came up to hit, and she tallied her first career RBI when she sent junior designated hitter Dorian Shaw home for the Wolverines’ seventh run of the day.

In high school, Ryan started every game in three different sports – soccer, basketball and softball. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to play basketball or softball in college, so she took time to make a decision.

By the time she picked softball, most schools had already finished their recruiting.

Ryan applied to Michigan because being a Wolverine was a family legacy, but originally, she had no intention of becoming one herself.

“When I found out that I got into Michigan, I just thought it was an education that I couldn’t turn down,” Ryan said. “I didn’t know if I was going to make the team or not. But it was a risk that I was willing to take. I just thank God that I made the team. I feel very blessed.”

After a day of tryouts at the beginning of her freshman year, Ryan was told to come back for day two. She continued to practice with the team for three weeks before she was told she had made the roster.

She has been practicing five days a week for the last two years but has never had much of a chance to leave the bench – until her third-inning single flew over Eastern Michigan pitcher Staci Skodinski’s glove.

“Oh, it felt good,” Ryan said reflecting on her first collegiate hit. “They all gave me high fives and were pretty excited for me.”