For the final six games of an 11-game road trip, the No. 5 Michigan softball team will get to enjoy one last preseason stretch in the warm, sunny part of the United States.
After a successful five-win series in Tempe, Arizona, the No. 3 Michigan softball team (18-1) heads to Fullerton, California. Despite spending 11 days on the road, there will be little time off for the team.
“From Arizona, we’re driving to California, so that’s one of our days off,” said junior outfielder Kelsey Susalla. “Then we have another practice set the next day. We have a couple team things; we are going to Haylie Wagner’s parents’ house and then we’re going to an alum’s house. It’ll be nice because a lot of families are coming. And then of course, hopefully the warm weather will be nice.”
Wednesday, the Wolverines face off with the host, Cal State Fullerton (13-8). The following day, though, will be one of Michigan’ toughest doubleheaders all season.
To kick off the Judi Garman Classic on Thursday, the Wolverines rematch with No. 21 Arizona State. Two convincing wins against the Sun Devils last weekend will be fresh in Michigan’s mind, but Arizona State is unlikely to go down easy. The health of Michigan sophomore right-hander Megan Betsa could be key. She was hit in the hand by a line drive in the final game of last weekend’s series, requiring an early exit, but Michigan coach Carol Hutchins believes she will be fine.
The second game of the doubleheader pits the Wolverines in another rematch, this time against No. 1 Florida. Michigan’s sole loss this season came in a 2-1 finish against the Gators to open the season. In that outing, senior left-hander Haylie Wagner held Florida to just two hits, but a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning brought in the game-winning run, and Michigan fell.
Friday, the Wolverines start with San Jose State, and then meet No. 9 Baylor in the night game. The road trip concludes Saturday morning against the Aztecs.
If Michigan hopes to continue its winning streak through the series, Florida presents the biggest obstacle.
Michigan struggled to hit against Florida the first time the teams played. Afterward, Hutchins pulled her players aside and emphasized that something needed to change, and whatever she said clearly worked. In the 18 games since, the Wolverines have hit 35 home runs with a slugging percentage of .629.
“That first weekend after the tournament, (Hutchins) pulled us together and we all realized there was something off,” said junior infielder Sierra Romero. “It was our energy and enthusiasm toward the games; they weren’t as exciting or as fun as they usually are.”
Meeting up with the top-ranked team in the country gives Michigan another chance to boost its résumé. While Hutchins works to ensure that her team avoids overthinking its opponent, not even she could deny her eagerness to play the rematch.
“Florida is an outstanding team,” Hutchins said. “They’ve got great pitching and outstanding hitting. I’m definitely excited to get the chance to match up against them again. We played them a nice ball game, a tight game. You have to pitch well to have a chance against (Florida), and you have to score runs, because they will score runs.”
The Gators experienced firsthand how close the Wolverines can keep a game, so the rematch could live up to the hype.