When the 2014 season began, feelings on the Michigan softball team could have been described as “Women’s College World Series or Bust.”
Coming off an appearance in Oklahoma City last year, with an arsenal of stars returning, it wasn’t an unrealistic stance to take. Yet, as the season went on, that all-or-nothing mentality seemed to look more like a goal and less like an expectation.
A shared Big Ten regular-season championship and a runner-up showing at the conference tournament proved that the Wolverines weren’t the only tough team the Big Ten had to offer. But Michigan’s inability to run away with the crowns also gave pause to its perception as a national contender, as tournament champion Minnesota was the conference’s only seeded team in the NCAA Tournament.
In the end, the Wolverines didn’t make the Women’s College World Series, but they weren’t a bust, either.
Michigan played a seventh inning for the ages to move past Arizona State into the Super Regionals, and nearly upset Florida State too, ultimately falling one walk-off home run short of a return trip to Oklahoma City. The Daily looks back on some of the best memories and performances from 2014.
MVP: Sierra Romero
The sophomore shortstop entered the season already boasting a Big Ten Player of the Year award and a spot on the preseason All-America team. Romero, though, made sure to end the season with far more, earning nods as an All-American, finalist for National Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year, the latter for the second straight year.
She had the nation’s second-highest batting average, .491, and led the country in on base percentage at .633, all while smacking 18 home runs and 72 RBI. But Romero’s real value to the team was her knack for coming through when it seemed no one else could, and making the plays only she could make.
It was Romero who scored the only run in a 1-0 win against Ohio State, and it was she who homered to score senior outfielder Nicole Sappingfield in the regional final when both were playing with severe flu symptoms.
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins lauded Romero for her “swag,” admiring the way Romero carries herself at the plate, in the field and in the locker room.
Best win: Regional final over Arizona State
No one would have blamed you if you buried your face when Arizona State catcher Amber Freeman hit what appeared to be a walk-off homer to beat the Wolverines in the regional final. But, if you did, you missed senior center fielder Lyndsay Doyle’s leaping catch at the wall that sat atop SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays for days to come.
Doyle said assistant coach Bonnie Tholl told her to “jump the wall” just moments earlier, and she certainly followed the advice, rising up to end the game and propel Michigan into the Super Regionals by a score of 5-4.
That catch came minutes after sophomore outfielder Sierra Lawrence and senior designated player Taylor Hasselbach hit back-to-back home runs to tie the game and take the lead, respectively.
The Wolverines had stolen a game from Arizona State earlier in the day to stave off elimination, but even in the doubleheader’s second game, the outlook seemed bleak. Going up against Sun Devils righty Dallas Escobedo, who had one-hit them earlier in the season, Romero and senior outfielder Nicole Sappingfield played through the flu and battled valiantly. Romero hit a two-run home run to plate Sappingfield, and the senior made a diving catch in right field to keep Michigan in the game, setting the stage for Doyle’s late heroics.
Worst loss: 10-2 loss at Illinois, April 25
The Wolverines found themselves in plenty of mercy-rule contests this season, but only once were they on the wrong side of one. That came on April 25, when lowly Illinois trounced Michigan, 10-2, in six innings.
Driesenga started the game in the circle, but gave up six runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings before yielding to Wagner, who wasn’t any better, giving up five hits and four runs in 1.2 innings of work. From the plate, the Wolverines were just as bad, mustering just five hits themselves, two of them off the bat of Romero.
The game was indicative of a larger struggle Michigan was facing, part of a streak in which it lost four straight series openers to conference foes. The Wolverines looked downtrodden in the field, putting their heads down with each successive run by the Fighting Illini.
While no conference loss was a good one, this flop against a bottom dweller has to be considered the worst because of the lopsided drubbing Michigan received and the hopelessness it exuded in the final innings.
Top freshman: Megan Betsa
With two strong junior pitchers returning in right-hander Sara Driesenga and lefty Haylie Wagner, pitching was far from a concern for the Wolverines entering the season. That didn’t stop Betsa from earning a significant chunk of playing time, and even a start in game two of the Super Regional against Florida State.
Betsa finished the year 18-4, posting a 2.25 ERA and a team-leading 150 strikeouts in 130.1 innings pitched. She likely would have been Big Ten Freshman of the Year if not for a dominating performance on both sides of the ball by Minnesota pitcher/first baseman Sara Groenwegen.
Though she struggled with confidence and composure early in the season, Betsa worked hard, sometimes on her days off, to earn her playing time. She threw a no-hitter against Detroit and ultimately beat out Driesenga for the No. 2 slot in the rotation.
Most Improved Player: Taylor Hasselbach
This one is a gimme, as Hasselbach was the Wolverines second-leading home run hitter this season after spending most of the first three years in the dugout. A high-profile shortstop coming in, Hasselbach struggled at times to adjust to the college game.
But after a one-on-one meeting with Hutchins in the off-season, Hasselbach seemed focused and determined. She showed it with nine home runs — most of which cleared the wall by at least 20-30 feet — 42 RBI and a .320 batting average.
Hasselbach’s home run in the seventh inning against Arizona State sent softball fans into a frenzy — and her team to Tallahassee, Fla. for the Super Regionals.
Something to look forward to
With Romero, Lawrence, and the entire pitching staff coming back, there’s plenty to be excited about in Ann Arbor going forward. Voids left by Sappingfield and Doyle in the outfield will be hard to fill — both athletically and emotionally — but freshman Kelly Christner is waiting in the wings to try to do just that.
The biggest thing to look forward to, though, is the development of young infielders Abby Ramirez and Lindsay Montemarano. Known more for their defense than their bats, both freshmen took strides late in the season to indicate they won’t merely be defensive specialists forever.
Montemarano hit important home runs in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments, and Ramirez quietly upped to her batting average to .289 by season’s end. Expect the speedy Ramirez to move to the top of the lineup next year, which should result in more chances to make a difference at the plate.
Ramirez was a power-hitting righty in high school, but has learned to bat left so Hutchins can use her as a slap hitter. With a full year plus a couple off-seasons with the Michigan training staff, she should make huge strides before next March.