Through the early part of the Michigan softball team’s season, the Wolverines have been looking to find a consistent offensive identity to support their stellar pitching. Ahead of their series finale against No. 13 Florida two weekends ago, Michigan coach Bonnie Tholl presented her team with the opportunity to be the best version of themselves. And they took it against the Gators, as Michigan’s up-and-down offense showed its potential in an 11-run outburst.
This past weekend, the Wolverines’ offense further established their identity, methodically taking advantage of scoring opportunities to shine throughout most of the NKU Spring Classic. As is the risk with small ball, when they failed to string successful at-bats together, their inconsistency still lingered.
Michigan (13-10) kicked the weekend off with an 8-0 win in six innings against Bowling Green (1-11) on Sunday, a game in which its offensive outburst was outshined by a no-hitter from freshman right-hander Erin Hoehn. After the Wolverines’ offense faltered in a 3-2 loss to Northern Kentucky (7-8) in their second game Sunday, they regained their spark in a 13-2 win over Illinois State (6-18) on Monday in five innings.
But it wasn’t the long ball or extra-base hits that propelled Michigan’s offense this weekend. Instead, it played small ball. When presented with opportunities to score runs, the Wolverines simply found a way, whether via base hits, walks or hit by pitches. They scored 24 runs in three games, on just five extra-base hits.
Junior left fielder Ellie Sieler and sophomore third baseman Maddie Erickson recorded singles to start the first inning against Bowling Green. After a passed ball, they both ended up in scoring position, and Michigan made the Falcons pay for their erratic pitching. Redshirt freshman first baseman Lily Vallimont and freshman right fielder Ella Stephenson both singled to plate the first two runners for the Wolverines, which was all needed to secure the win.
While Hoehn kept Bowling Green’s hitters silent, Michigan’s offense continued humming along. In the fifth inning, the Wolverines once again capitalized on their opponent’s spotty pitching. After the Falcons walked three Michigan batters to load the bases, freshman utility player Ava Costales cleared them with a pinch-hit three-run double. Hoehn also got in on the action on offense, as she was struck by a pitch to score the Wolverines’ eighth and final run of the game.
“(I learned) we can be opportunistic and what we need to be is even more opportunistic,” Wolverines’ coach Bonnie Tholl said. “We took advantage of some back-to-back hits that we got, we drew some walks, we created some offense through bunts.”
Monday against Illinois State, Michigan did more of the same. As the Wolverines’ runners reached base via singles and Redbird miscues — walks and errors — Michigan came through, stringing together five runs in both the second and fifth innings.
In their search for consistency at the plate, the Wolverines laid more of the foundation for their offensive identity this weekend. While it may lack the firepower to spray home runs and extra base hits, Michigan looks to take a small-ball approach that capitalizes on opponents’ miscues by any means possible.
“We work on (hitting with runners in scoring position) in practice,” Hoehn said. “There’s many different ways to score a runner, whether that’s a sacrifice fly, bases loaded walk, or hitting it to the opposite field.”
Despite their progress, the offensive inconsistencies that have plagued the Wolverines all year long reappeared in Sunday’s matchup against Northern Kentucky. Entering the sixth inning down 3-2 after recording just five hits, back-to-back walks presented Michigan with an opportunity to take the lead.
But the Wolverines’ offense fell back into their usual ways and faltered. They recorded three consecutive flyouts to end the inning, letting their best opportunity to notch a come-from-behind win slip away.
“When an opponent opens the door for you, you have to storm right through it,” Tholl said. “It’s a game of opportunity.”
Still, Michigan’s performance at the NKU Spring Classic gives its sputtering offense a glimpse of how they can support their stellar pitching. If they can’t manufacture multiple runs with one swing, the Wolverines can’t let chances to score runs slip away.
In its wins this weekend, Michigan didn’t, capitalizing on opportunities to score runs. The Wolverines were opportunistic and found the building blocks to their offensive identity.
However, the Wolverines offensive inconsistencies lingered in Sunday’s loss, as they wasted yet another strong pitching performance and left runners in scoring position. For this budding small-ball identity to blossom as Michigan enters conference play, they must find something more: consistency.