Junior right-hander Megan Betsa jogged out into the circle to replace Sara Driesenga. Northwestern had come out strong in the fifth inning Friday against the fifth-year senior right-hander, and Sabrina Rabin’s RBI single had just cut the Wolverines’ lead to 7-3. Betsa needed to record only one more out to stop the bleeding.
But she couldn’t get it. She hit the first Northwestern batter and allowed two runs to score with wild pitches and three walks — the last of which came with the bases loaded.
The Wolverines ended up losing, 13-12, to Northwestern after blowing an early lead and failing to complete a late comeback attempt. The loss displayed Michigan’s biggest problem: inconsistency.
“I want my team to not be afraid of whatever the hell they’re afraid of,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins after the loss Friday. “Right now, they’re caught up in their status, and their status is they are last in the Big Ten right now. So hopefully you’ll see a fighting, attacking team on all ends — pitchers, hitters and fielders.”
Though the Wolverines have started out the season with a 23-3 record, there have been bumps along the way: an 8-0 run-rule loss to No. 1 Florida, a 6-5 loss to No. 10 Washington and close calls against No. 16 UCLA and Illinois State.
Against the Gators, both the pitching and the offense lacked, while defensive miscues cost Michigan against the Huskies.
And if the Wolverines hope to reach the Women’s College World Series again, they have to avoid performances like Friday’s.
Their troubles start with the pitching staff, which consists of junior right-hander Megan Betsa, fifth-year senior right-hander Sara Driesenga and sophomore right-hander Tera Blanco.
It isn’t as if Betsa, Driesenga and Blanco aren’t talented or experienced enough — it’s more that they haven’t pitched like they’re capable of.
Hutchins has said before that she wants her pitchers to have more confidence in their defense and offense and that they don’t need to be perfect.
It certainly seemed, though, that they were trying too hard to be perfect in the loss Friday afternoon. The three pitchers threw a combined eight walks and also hit two batters, trying too hard to paint the corners when they should’ve thrown more strikes.
Considering all the self-induced damage, it appears that the staff needs to remember that they are backed by a competent defense and one of the best — if not the best — offensive lineups in the country. But even that potent batting order initially failed to respond to Northwestern’s offensive outburst until the final frame.
The offense, which had been listless in the fifth and sixth innings even as the deficit grew, awoke in the bottom of the seventh and scored five runs — but it was too little, too late.
“I told them, ‘You fought like hell in one inning,’ ” Hutchins said. “But that’s not acceptable, because there are seven innings in the game.”
On Saturday and Sunday, the Wolverines fought like hell for the entirety of the game, bludgeoning the Wildcats on their way to two run-rule victories. With a long road back to Oklahoma City, Michigan will need to heed its coach’s advice every game if it hopes to be in the same position later this year.
Sang can be reached at otsang@umich.edu and on Twitter @orion_sang.