Lauren Derkowski is back.
This weekend, the junior right-hander returned to her dominant early-season form, allowing just two earned runs in sixteen total innings over two complete game starts. Her stellar performances led the Michigan softball team to a weekend sweep over Penn State, expanding its win streak to 13 and putting it just a half-game back of first place in the Big Ten.
After her stellar start to the season, the Wolverines’ current win streak has come despite Derkowski’s struggles, as their previously dormant offense has erupted since the start of conference play. In conference games in April before this weekend, Derkowski posted a 4.22 ERA, a stark contrast from the 1.68 mark she carried through March.
But this weekend against the Nittany Lions, the Derkowski that stifled opposing hitters all throughout February and March returned to the circle. In the series’ first game on Friday, she was dominant. She carried the load as Michigan’s offense struggled, holding Penn State scoreless in a complete-game start. In the fourth inning, she showed signs of wearing down, but she eventually locked in and smothered the Nittany Lions scoring threat. They loaded the bases, but Derkowski made a Penn State batter whiff on a changeup off the plate to end the inning.
“(Derkowski) looked at it as a clean slate, and she came in and set the tone on Friday,” Michigan coach Bonnie Tholl said. “She was really sharp on Friday.”
Despite her recent struggles, Derkowski remained level-headed against the Nittany Lions’ few offensive threats, allowing her to weather the storm and keep their bats at bay.
“There were moments that she recognized she got a little amped,” Tholl said. “But the next batter or sometimes the next pitch, she was able to calm herself back into her process.”
In Sunday’s game, Derkowski once again elevated her play in key situations. After letting Penn State extend the game with an RBI single in the seventh inning that tied things up, she brought her best stuff in extras. Derkowski only allowed one runner to reach base in the eighth and ninth, taking just eight pitches to retire three consecutive Nittany Lions hitters in the ninth.
And Derkowski was stellar throughout the entirety of Sunday’s game, working her second complete game outing of the weekend. She held Penn State to just two runs on five hits, striking out a season-high 12 batters.
A key element to Derkowski returning to her early-season form was regaining command of the strike zone. After struggling with her control over the past month, Derkowski didn’t concede free bases to Nittany Lion hitters this weekend, walking just five and hitting two in her two starts.
“You want to make sure that every pitch that you throw looks like it’s a hittable pitch to the hitter,” Tholl said. “Hitters this weekend weren’t able to always differentiate whether it was a ball or strike. That is a sign of a pitcher doing her job of disguising pitches.”
With their bats cooling down after a red-hot April, the Wolverines needed Derkowski to be at her best this weekend. In her shutout complete-game on Friday, Michigan scored just two runs on three hits, and on Sunday, the Wolverines scored three on just five hits.
“(Derkowski) led the way for us this weekend,” Tholl said. “I’m extremely happy that she was our leader this weekend. We needed her to be.”
And Derkowski was just that. She was the engine that propelled Michigan to its weekend sweep over Penn State. When the Wolverines needed it most, Derkowski returned to her dominant early-season form, shutting down Nittany Lion hitters top-to-bottom.
And with only one series left in conference play, Michigan will need Derkowski to be at her best as it enters the Big Ten Tournament and competes for a bid in the NCAA Tournament.