Bottom of the eighth inning, bases loaded, no outs. Knotted at 0-0 against No. 17 Florida, the Michigan softball team’s defense had to be virtually flawless.
Maddie Erickson was tested first. Off a Gator bat, the ball sailed into foul territory and eclipsed the beaming Tampa sun. The sophomore third baseman charged across the field to snatch the first out, keeping Florida scoreless and the game alive. Then another Gator pop-up was reeled in, this time by junior left fielder Ellie Sieler.
And as Florida outfielder Korbe Otis roped a line drive to second base, Wolverines sophomore infielder Indiana Langford extended her glove to the dirt for the shoestring catch — keeping Michigan in the game en route to a 2-1 win.
That defensive sequence pretty much sums up the Wolverines’ weekend. Clutch plays in the field and dominance on the mound defined Michigan’s first tournament of the season and carried the Wolverines to a 4-1 record.
“Defense starts in the circle,” Michigan coach Bonnie Tholl said. “And when your pitcher in the circle is managing the game, and she has things under control, then it gives your defense an opportunity to be confident behind them and to pick them up when sometimes there are missed pitches.”
Solid pitching helped spark the defense throughout the weekend, and it all started with Lauren Derkowski.
The junior right-hander — who was the silver lining of last year’s disappointing season — started on Friday against Illinois State and notched nine strikeouts in six innings before freshman right-hander Erin Hoehn recorded the save in her collegiate debut. That sturdy pitching continued against South Florida, this time at the hand of senior right-hander Jessica LeBeau. LeBeau pitched four innings, giving up one run and tallying four strikeouts.
In LeBeau’s next start, against Oregon State in the last game of the tournament, another defensive battle ensued. After LeBeau allowed a home run on her first pitch of the game, both teams out-pitched each other’s respective offenses, up until the final frame when Michigan’s offense finally showed up to score the game-winning runs.
But for most of the weekend, that wasn’t the case. In the sixth inning against Florida, after Michigan’s offense batted three consecutive outs, its defense was quickly put under pressure. After the Gators put runners on first and second, Wolverines freshman outfielder Ella Stephenson sprinted and slid to catch a pop up and send Florida’s offense back to the dugout.
“We’re starting to develop our identity,” Tholl said. “And it’s still not a finished product of course, but I think this is a team that’s going to continue to improve each week. … You have to be able to play defense and pitch well at the start of the season, and then your offense will get rolling.”
The Wolverines’ offense was stagnant to start games, which only gave its pitching and defense more chances to shine. And against the Gators, Derkowski seized the occasion. Initially, Tholl planned to start her and, with a bullpen of pitchers ready to roll, was prepared to rotate Derkowski out after several innings.
But with each ball Derkowski pitched, she solidified her spot as Michigan’s bona fide ace. Even when Derkowski gave up the rare hit, the Wolverines’ defense had an answer. Diving and nearly colliding into each other at times, Michigan’s defense scrambled around the field to make run-saving catches through seven innings.
And when extra innings came against Florida, the Wolverines’ defense only got better. Up 2-1 on the Gators with a chance to seal the game in the 10th inning, the defense didn’t falter, converting Derkowski’s 139th and final pitch to a flyout.
“There was a bunch of really awesome plays out there,” Derkowski said. “I think everyone contributed as much as they could that game and it really showed in the end.”
Michigan’s defense certainly contributed, but its offense frequently lagged behind. This weekend, the defense was enough to compensate, but the Wolverines will need strong performances on both sides of the ball to build on their winning record.