Two Hall of Fame head coaches — each with more than 1,000 wins, trips to the Women’s College World Series and conference titles — renewed a series Wednesday that dates back three decades.
But one program has progressed much faster than the other. Coming off of 13 mercy-rule victories in 17 games, the rivalry still belonged to the No. 3 Michigan softball team.
The Wolverines hammered three home runs and got another strong combined performance from freshman right-hander Megan Betsa and junior right-hander Sara Driesenga to leave Mount Pleasant, Mich. with an 11-0 run-rule victory over Central Michigan.
Barring a postseason matchup, Michigan (12-0 Big Ten, 34-6 overall) completed a 6-0 sweep of in-state foes — this one being just as lopsided as the others. The Wolverines led by eight by the fourth inning and had five substitutes in the game by the end.
The Chippewas put themselves behind the eight ball early by pitching to sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero, the first team to do so in weeks. Romero got the scoring going with a two-run homer in the first inning. She then walked on four pitches with the bases loaded in the second inning.
“I’m never surprised by much,” Hutchins said. “You’ve got to give her credit for not wanting to do too much and taking what they give her.”
In the fifth, with another good pitch to hit, she tripled off the right-field wall to score two runs.
“In the batting cages, we worked low and away,” Romero said. “She did try to keep it away, but other than that, we just focused on getting our hands extended and loading to the ball.”
Added Hutchins: “She got her hands extended on the first hit, and even on that last one, she got her barrel out. That’s what she was working on yesterday, so I was glad to see her have results.”
Freshman first baseman Kelly Christner led off the second with a solo shot to straightaway center field, and freshman third baseman Lindsay Montemarano followed with a single, chasing Chippewa right-hander Kristen Kuhlman after just eight batters.
Central Michigan (5-2 Mid-American Conference, 26-13 overall) brought in right-hander Rachel Yuncker, who came in at 8-1 with a 2.12 earned-run average, but she was no match for the Michigan lineup, either.
After walking two, she induced a ground-ball double play to get out of the second inning behind just 4-0. But in the fourth, the Chippewas started to make mistakes — and the Wolverines capitalized.
After Romero and senior catcher Caitlin Blanchard reached on errors, sophomore outfielder Sierra Lawrence cleared the bases with a three-run home run.
That home run, combined with a strong pitching performance from Betsa and Driesenga, gave the Wolverines their 14th mercy-rule victory in 18 games.
“Anything can happen, so when something goes our way, we need to keep rolling on it,” Romero said. “If they’re making errors, we need to keep hitting hit hard. The outcome could change, so you never know.”
Betsa, who according to both Hutchins and herself didn’t have her best game Sunday against Michigan State, sent the top of the lineup down 1-2-3 on eight pitches in the first inning. That kept the momentum rolling into the second, and Michigan never gave it up.
“When our pitchers are on, it carries over to the offense when we come up,” said senior outfielder Nicole Sappingfield. “We attack the way they attack.”
Just as they did last week against Western Michigan, Betsa and Driesenga split the innings, with Betsa pitching the first three and Driesenga the last two. After retiring the first five she faced on ground balls, Driesenga loaded the bases on an error, a walk and a single with two outs. The error ended a four-game streak without a miscue.
She promptly slammed the door shut with a strikeout of leadoff hitter Brittney Horan.
The Wolverines will return home this weekend for a crucial series against the Big Ten’s second-place team, No. 12 Minnesota (10-3, 32-6). Their streak of games without an error may be over, but their winning streak lives, and it will receive a stiff test this weekend.