Since the start of Big Ten play, the inconsistent offense that plagued the early parts of the Michigan softball team’s season has largely disappeared. The Wolverines’ offense has found its groove and helped to turn around what seemed to be heading toward a middling season.
Against Penn State, that inconsistency returned, but the disappointing results didn’t come back with it. Unlike early in the season, Michigan (37-14 overall, 16-3 Big Ten) escaped the series scot-free despite its up-and-down bats, sweeping Penn State (33-15, 11-9).
The first game of the series felt like a throwback to the Wolverines’ early season games. Junior right-hander Lauren Derkowski was dominating in the circle, but Michigan just couldn’t produce on offense.
If there was one constant, though, between Friday and Sunday’s sluggish bats, it was Nittany Lions right-hander Bridget Nemeth. Pitching complete games in both losses, Nemeth didn’t strike out many batters, but forced plenty of ground balls and lineouts to keep Michigan contained.
“(Nemeth is) one of the best pitchers we’ve faced in the country this whole season,” Wolverines coach Bonnie Tholl said. “We did square her up a few times (Saturday) when she came into a relief role, on Friday we had only four hits, but we had twice that number of line shots that were caught.”
But when Michigan did get balls to drop in for hits against Nemeth, they capitalized on the opportunities. On Friday, after Penn State failed to score any of the six runners it got on base in the first four innings, the Wolverines scored with just their second baserunner of the game on an RBI single. That gave Michigan a 1-0 lead, and although it would go on to score another run from a solo homer in the sixth inning, one run was all it ended up needing to secure a 2-0 victory.
On Sunday, too, the Wolverines took advantage of the rare chances they got against Nemeth.
After managing a baserunner in the top of the fourth inning, a single by senior first baseman Keke Tholl scored Michigan’s first run. Then, in the sixth, Keke scored on her own, blasting a two-out solo home run to left field.
“Just keeping it simple,” Keke said. “Just trust myself to get my swing off, not trying to do too much. … I was really just trying to pass the bat to the next person.”
The Wolverines added their third and final run in the ninth inning and, three outs later, capped off the series sweep with a 3-2 win. In two of their three lowest scoring games since March 19, they did just enough to win.
An inability to string together multiple runs together against Nemeth contributed to Michigan’s struggles against the Nittany Lions’ ace. On Friday and Sunday, despite making consistent contact, Michigan never scored more than a single run in any frame.
“I think at any point that’d be frustrating,” Keke said. “You get a nice hit on the ball and it just goes right to someone, but we turned to each other and that gives us a lot of confidence, just knowing that those balls will fall and will get through.”
And on Saturday, those balls did get through, showing the other side of the inconsistency. The outlier between two pitchers’ duels, Saturday’s game saw the Wolverines score multiple runs in four different innings, cruising to a 14-3 run-rule win.
Keke highlighted the offensive outburst, recording three hits and reaching base on her only other plate appearance. Despite her tendency for power hitting, Keke’s home run Sunday was her only extra-base hit of the weekend. Michigan’s freshmen played a big role in the domination, too, accounting for 9 combined RBIs.
In all three games, the Wolverines’ offense had great pitching behind it. Derkowski dominated on Friday and Sunday, throwing two complete games and striking out 12 batters in the series finale. And on Saturday, freshman right-hander Erin Hoehn and graduate right-hander Hannah George combined to allow just three runs.
Although Michigan’s offense wasn’t as stable this weekend, the most important thing did remain steady: the result. The Wolverines have now won thirteen in a row and are peaking at the right time — the postseason is less than two weeks away.
If there’s anything this win streak has proven about Michigan, it’s that the ups and downs of its offense this weekend are no longer the expectation or the determining factor for its success. With recent offensive improvements, those down games at the plate are no longer zero-run or one-run showings, they’re two-run or three-run games that are much easier to win.
Now, those inconsistencies are the outlier, and the Wolverines are continuing to show that even when they aren’t at their best, they can still find ways to win.