This Friday, the Wolverines will return to Alumni Field for an exhibition against Michigan State with bitter memories on their minds.

The Michigan softball team looked destined for the Women’s College World Series last spring — they had finished fifth in the World Series in 2009, took home the Big Ten trophy for the third straight year and Michigan coach Carol Hutchins was leading arguably her most talented group in her 26 years at the helm.

But a youthful Tennessee squad came into Ann Arbor for the Super Regional matchup in late May and swept Michigan in two games, ending the dream of lifting a championship trophy for five Wolverine seniors.

“This is the best softball team that I’ve ever been a part of,” then-junior first baseman Dorian Shaw said in an emotional press conference following the 4-3 loss. “For us to not achieve what our goal has been since we stepped on campus in September is heartbreaking. … It hasn’t set in that I won’t be packing my bag for Oklahoma City this week.”

And as proud as Shaw was when she held up the 2010 Big Ten trophy in front of 110,000 people at the Big House last Saturday, it was hard for her to forget falling short of expectations.

Now a senior and the eminent offensive leader of the 2011 softball team, Shaw will have her work cut out for her this season as the only position-playing senior on the roster with consistent starting experience.

After matching Michigan’s single-season home run record (21) last season, she may have a tough time repeating those efforts without the lineup protection she enjoyed in the five-hole. Shaw’s bat was especially productive when she was sandwiched in the order by then-senior catcher Roya St. Clair and then-sophomore second baseman Amanda Chidester.

Chidester is still around, and it’s time for her to grow up fast.

After earning second-team All-American honors in her freshman season, Chidester was streaky at the plate in 2010. One week, she would smash a screaming liner to the wall anytime a pitcher dared toss one over the plate, but the following week, she would struggle mightily to find her swing.

Conveniently, when Chidester was slumping there was typically a veteran in the lineup picking up the slack. But this season, the Wolverines can’t afford Chidester’s cold streaks, as five everyday seniors graduated last spring.

“One thing I’ve learned over the years is if you try too hard and stress over it, you’re not going to get the outcomes you want,” Chidester said on Wednesday. “I need to go out there, have fun, play my game and just enjoy every day.”

Pitching will also take on a new look for the Wolverines this season. The All-American duo of lefthander Nikki Nemitz and righthander Jordan Taylor that’s feasted on Big Ten competition for the past three years is finally broken up. With Nemitz graduating and joining the ranks of USA Softball, Taylor is left to carry the load in her senior season.

On her side will be sophomore righthander Stephanie “Spidey” Speierman, who saw minimal action last season, and junior transfer lefthander Hilary Payne.

Payne posted just a 6-10 record with Loyola Chicago last season, but her complete-game four-hitter against No. 24 Notre Dame in March turned some heads in Michigan’s front office.

“Well, she’s going to help us win games, I hope,” Hutchins said. “That’s what we play in the fall for — to see what the new people are capable of. And so far, I like what I see.”

This weekend, Hutchins will do some experimenting with a roster that features seven freshmen. Which of them will be starting alongside veterans like Shaw, Chidester and Taylor, if any, is yet to be established, but the matchup against Michigan State will be a chance for some new faces to prove themselves.