Sometimes being at home makes all the difference.

At least that's what the Michigan softball team is hoping as they head into the NCAA Super Regionals for the sixth straight time Friday.

Their opponent is a familiar one – the Big 12's Baylor Bears (40-20).

Baylor ousted the Wolverines in the Super Regionals two years ago in Waco, Texas. This time, Baylor must make the long trip to Alumni Field where Michigan is 17-0 on the season.

“Being at home doesn’t assure you of anything,” Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. “But it sure beats the hell out of getting on a bus.”

The team's freshman will be paramount to the fifth-seeded Wolverines’ success. Michigan (44-10) spent much of the year relying on its first-year players, including centerfielder Bree Evans, who came through to hit .500 in the Regionals including a walk-off single that sent them to the regional finals.

The Wolverines' other two freshmen, Amanda Chidester and Stephanie Kirkpatrick, combined for only two hits throughout the regional tournament. Chidester, who leads the team in batting average at .359, had both of those hits in the first game of the tournament – an 11-3 win over Miami (Ohio).

Kirkpatrick hasn’t recorded a single hit in her last 11 at-bats. After starting the postseason in the leadoff spot, Kirkpatrick has been moved to the seventh spot in the lineup because of the slump.

Baylor has also relied on freshmen this year, especially pitcher Whitney Canion. Canion, who leads the Big 12 in strikeouts, has a 1.78 ERA with a 27-16 record this season.

The Wolverines will lean on their home crowd to rattle Canion who has struggled recently on the road. In her past three road appearances, the opposing team has registered a combined 18 runs on her. Michigan’s offense will look to continue that streak and rebound after being slowed in the regionals by Notre Dame’s Brittney Bargar for the better part of two games.

Michigan's pitchers are clearly fans of the home crowd. Both sophomore Jordan Taylor and junior Nikki Nemitz have yet to give up more than three runs in a game all year at Alumni Field.

“We practice here every day, we’ve played on this field here a hundred times,” Nemitz said. “We love this field, we love our fans, it just fires us up to play at home and it’s great atmosphere here. I think it’s a great advantage.”

Both teams swept through their respective regionals, where both played at home. Unlike Michigan, Baylor was not the top seed despite being host to the event. The Bears didn't even have to play the top seed, Northwestern, to advance.

On Friday, the best two of three series will begin, with a place in the College World Series at stake. For Baylor, it would be its second appearance. Michigan, meanwhile, will be looking for its ninth ever and its first since the 2005 National Championship season. As far as how they get there, it doesn’t matter to them.

“I don’t care who we play,” Hutchins said. “I just want to beat them. They’re all the same to me.”