The Michigan women’s softball team started its season the way it usually does — with a victory. Or, in this case, four.
At the three-day Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La., the 15th-ranked Wolverines won all four of their games. On Saturday, freshman right-hander Sara Driesenga held No. 22 LSU hitless for five innings en route to a 2-1 victory.
“I didn’t really think about (the no-hitter), because as soon as you think about it, you lose your focus on the other part of your game,” Driesenga said. “You need the one-pitch focus.”
Driesenga’s pitching performance was only one highlight of Michigan’s (4-0) first tournament of the season.
“It was great to be able to get out on a field and play in game situations and show everyone what we’ve been working on,” said senior third baseman Amanda Chidester.
Added Driesenga: “It was great to finally be out there with the team. We’ve been practicing all fall and all winter. I’ve been waiting for this since I was a sophomore in high school, when I committed.”
After a somewhat slow start on Friday against Louisiana Tech, Michigan escaped a 7-6 victory on Friday. The weekend concluded with the Wolverines beating Penn State in five innings by a score of 12-1.
“We’re just working on getting better,” said Michigan Coach Carol Hutchins. “I thought both Sara and (freshman left-hander Haylie) Wagner got a lot better this weekend.
Chidester blasted a walk-off home run that capped the Wolverines’ victory over LSU on Saturday. She continued her streak by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in the team’s second game against Louisiana Tech.
“It’s really easy to get caught up and try to do too much,” Chidester said. “We all have to be able to do our parts, and I think that got away from me when I hit badly (on Friday).”
Offensively, Michigan showed why it’s a favorite to win its fifth-consecutive Big Ten title this season.
“I think we have a very versatile lineup offensively,” Hutchins said. “We have a lot of options, and our offense certainly picked us up — especially in two of our wins — because we gave up more runs than I’d like.”
With a young pitching staff, the Wolverines are looking to clean up their defensive side of their game.
“We have to take better care of the ball in the infield and the outfield and our pitchers, too,” Hutchins said.
Despite areas that need to be fixed, there is no doubt that this team is both young and talented — a dangerous combination.
“You always like to win every game you play, so I’m pleased to come out of here (with four wins),” Hutchins said. “Any time you win the weekend, that’s a good thin. But we can’t get complacent about it. We still have a long way to go.”