During March, April and much of May, it looked as if the Michigan softball team overcame the glaring weakness that kept it from succeeding in February.
Daniel Dash
Daily Sports Writer
Softball
Tired and dejected, Michigan walked off the field. Needing only one win on Monday, the Wolverines could only piece together one run in Monday’s doubleheader matchup against James Madison, which used its momentum from Monday afternoon’s win to upset the No.
The Ann Arbor regional championship between No. 15 Michigan and James Madison started off looking to be no different than the first two times these closely-matched teams played.
The rematch between James Madison and No. 15 seed Michigan was highly-anticipated the moment the NCAA Tournament selection committee placed both teams in the Ann Arbor Regional.
Saturday afternoon, the No. 15 seed Michigan softball team will face James Madison in its second game of the NCAA Regional. The Wolverines shut out St. Francis (PA) in a run rule while the Dukes beat DePaul by a slightly smaller margin, 5-2.
After capturing the outright Big Ten regular season championship and conference tournament title, No. 15 seed Michigan earned the right to host the NCAA Tournament double-elimination regional round.
On Friday, No. 15 seed Michigan softball will face off with St. Francis (PA) in the first game of the NCAA Regional. A win advances the Wolverines to a second game against the winner of the DePaul-James Madison matchup.
As Mackenzie Nemitz watched her team from the dugout, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Michigan would win. She just didn’t think the responsibility would fall on her shoulders.
In 35 years at the helm of the Michigan softball program, coach Carol Hutchins has seen more than a few senior classes come and go.
Friday afternoon, sophomore first baseman Lou Allan stepped into the batter’s box instead of junior outfielder Haley Hoogenraad, the regular No. 8 batter.