M Softball v Notre Dame - Elimination Game Open Thread
Michigan faces Notre Dame at noon. The game has been bumped up to ESPN. Notre Dame beat Michigan 4-1 in Game 1. Michigan went on to beat UIC, and Notre Dame got crushed by Kentucky, forcing this loser's bracket rematch. The winner will take on Kentucky at 2:30 and would have to beat the Wildcats twice (if necessary game would be tomorrow) to advance to Super Regionals.
geez, what a disappointing last few weeks of the season. Hard to believe this team was the 2nd best defensive team in the land. They sure didn't show it.
Strike out looking, sums up Michigan's postseason play. Just as well I guess, as this team would likely take a whoopin' from Kentucky.
The bats went silent yet again, more substandard defensive play when they spent the season emphasizing it, not being able to accommodate the new rule.
They basically threw the game away. I wonder what's up with Rodriguez. Every time I've seen her play she's made bad batting mistakes or bad fielding mistakes. Is she suffering that much from being a freshman? Sure the new rule destroys her style but it is bleeding everywhere.
Hopefully Meghan will use this too as a learning moment - at times when things don't go just right she gets into her own head and tigthens up.
Hutch, please get some good bats in the lineup next year and get Sarah to where she can be a rock-solid complement to Meghan. The team feels right now like a mirror of the football team. Missing one component here or there from being truly dangerous.
#7 recruiting class coming in. We had 1 top-60 recruit in this senior class.
There are four coming in next season.
foot out of the box call was not that clear based on the ESPN camera angle. Not saying the foot wasn't out. It just didn't appear to be so based on what they showed. The batter's foot must be completely out under high school rules to be ruled illegal contact, whether fair or foul.
Apparently under NCAA rules, any part of the foot outside the box in which a batter makes contact with the ball is a dead ball out call is the way the broadcast explained the rule. That would mean even if your shoe is straddling the stripe of the box, you are considered out, which doesn't make sense to me as a violation, because batters regularly wind up doing that while swinging at outside pitches.
I know an umpire who once made this call in a baseball playoff game at the high school level in Michigan and took away a home run that would have won the game for the offending team. However, in that scenario, the batter's foot was deemed completely out when contact was made.
This call just bothers me, because this is a huge one under the circumstances in which a technical violation should be waived. Just didn't like the call in the situation, not that impacted Michigan's ability to tie the game in its final at-bat.
They were 6-6 in their first 12 games and 6-6 in their final 12 games. In between those streaks, they were 32-1. LINK
in their final home game, in the conference playoff and the NCAA regional. Sorry, that bespeaks a team not ready for prime time, regardless of their seasonal performance. They got run-ruled by OSU, then beat up by two competitive but hardly great teams in MSU and Notre Dame, winning only an elimination game against UIC.
ND isn't going anywhere. They'll be crushed by Kentucky today or tomorrow. Very disappointing end to the season.
Michigan won the ones against MSU and OSU that actually mattered as evidenced by their 10th B1G Championship in the last 11 years.
It was pretty obvious from the beginning this was not gonna be a World Series season so I don't see your bitch.
Obviously it was a disappointing end and we didn't seem the same since we lifted that B1G trophy up at Alumni Field. I think the focus was so hard on winning that title back that there was a mission accomplished feel once we did it.
Great season still and even greater group of seniors. Great to be around and you can tell how close they all are to each other just by one night at the banquet.
Were this weekend. This team won 44 games and couldn't beat a team that barely made the tournament.
If there was a "mission accomplished" once they won the BT, that's a horrible mindset, and teams that think that way will never reach higher goals.
lol
MSU's regular season title included going 0-2 against Michigan and OSU
Michigan's regular season title included going 4-1 against MSU and OSU
Strawman.
And what did that get them? At some point, you gotta win the whole damn thing.
This team has been too close, too often.
Go tell that to Football.
Since their last title in 2004, Softball has won a National Championship, been to 5 World Series, won 10 B1G Championships and has an incredible record against rivals.
Michigan Softball is not the one who deserves criticism. Not even close. I know you only watch in May, but please, stop.
Why can't I criticize them? This was a massively underwhelming season, and they seem to have a problem getting over the hump.
Spare me the, "I watch more than you, so I have a better opinion" nonsense.
their closing games of the season. So, I was anxious to see the regular season version of this team, not the one that I witnessed playing OSU, MSU and ND at the end of the year.
Not saying I expected a championship team.
I know something about this game having umpired it since 1995 starting in Ann Arbor and having worked games that Hutch has coached with players whom she recruited and are among the best in Michigan history, including Jenny Ritter. So, don't lecture me on expectations or performance observations.
This was a transitional season. I mean anytime Michigan can't beat MSU and OSU in any game or tournament, I'm not happy with the outcome. And I would hope that would be the reaction of any Michigan fan regardless of the sport and the success of our team and coach, whom in this case I have grand respect as one of the all-time greats. You obviously can't win them all. And losing yesterday was what it was, disappointing. That aptly sums up the outcome without casting aspersion on the team in a highly critical way.
I hope we can get Meghan some hitting and pitching help next season. I know softball pitchers can throw a lot of innings, but she was still out there too much this season.
Meghan would've pretty much been our starting pitcher for this whole tournament. She probably would've eventually had a tough time, especially after we fell into the elimination bracket.
Most of the top college softball teams have at least two dominate pitchers.