Michigan Softball senior class
199-41-1 (.828) record
80-10 (.889) B1G record
2 Women's College World Series appearances
2 NCAA Super Regional Championships
2 NCAA Regional Championships
3 B1G Championships
1 B1G Tournament Championship
#2 Aidan Falk ,#8 Nikki Wald, #12 Amanda Vargas, #16 Morgan Swift, #23 Taylor Swearingen, #24 Tera Blanco
Thank you seniors!
Did we lose or something?
That's how many any other B1G team has ever won besides Michigan, yes.
in a lousy conference.
Hey, let's derail a thread created to celebrate all of the success that the senior class enjoyed by pointing out, literally,the only hole on their resume.
is inconvenient.
They have in fact not won a national championship.
Sorry you're too dense to understand why this thread was created.
This is from the same guy who said after the game yesterday, "If anyone cared about softball, Hutch would be gone."
Most of the accolades listed were accomplished when this Senior class were Frosh and Sophs. As Juniors and Seniors, they have one BIG regular season title (this year).
They have been ousted from their first game in the BIG tourney two years in a row by MSU, did not qualify to host a NCAA regional, and did not win a NCAA regional. A true measure of the class is what they did as Juniors and Seniors, and the result is not that impressive by UM softball standards.
This is a good example of a critical comment that I don't mind. It's not nasty & there's some actual thought that went into it. Not the post I was going to make, but it adds something to the thread. I appreciate people taking different angles in this sort of manner.
I understand that this senior class may have not had the impact players the classes of '13-'16 did however, going 1-4 down the stretch is a pretty putrid finish for a Conference Champion. Their biggest problem was the offense seemed to fall silent at the most important times. Why that happened, we may never understand. Looks like the team has some promising freshmen and sophomores so upwards, onwards, and back to the College World Series next year ladies!
Dude, cut it out. You show up in softball threads just to take pot shots at the team. You contribute zero worthwhile analysis ever. You just try to make everyone else feel bad about enjoying following the team, because they are not good enough for you. I have no idea why you feel the need to do this, but it's really, really lame. I'm not sorry about the fact that I love this team.
Beilein has made amazing accomplishments.
But I'm glad you asked. These coaches would otherwise be put on the hotseat after not meeting expectations. We've gone through Hoke and Rodriguez who were kept on short leashes. If Hutch were held to the same standard she would be held to account after a couple of years ago She had arguably the best team she ever had with Romero and company. They fell short and didn't win the CWS. Why is she given the pass? You look at her accomplishments. They are impressive but in what context? The big ten is weak in this sport. But the fan base in this sport treats her like a deity. The program won it's only national championship 13 years ago. The seniors on this team were 9 years old.
Michigan just lost to MSU in the b1g tournament. Didn't Michigan lose to Minnesota last year? If that happened in other sports it would have been analyzed, critiqued, and explanations demanded.
So yes, I'm critical. I don't expect greatness, but I expect more. As we all do in the other sports.
The problem with all of this spleen-venting is that you don't get to set the standards that coaches have to meet.
There's not been a year when Michigan softball was expected to win the national championship bar 2005, so them not doing so isn't failing to meet anyone's expectations but yours, and yours appear to be based on ignorance.
Hey, when Hutch goes 5-7 or 3-9 and sends out a clearly-concussed hitter to get beaned in the head again, let's talk.
I get it - you are unhappy with a season that only ended in a conference title. Not quite sure you couldn't have restricted that complaining to the game thread where you already vented a couple of times, but hey, when people aren't listening to you rant at one street corner, might as well see if you have better luck a couple of blocks down. It still means you're wrong, but the audience might not be as burned out.
you are the worst. Not b/c you're complaing about not winning a NC a few years ago, when in fact, they got to the WCWS final and lost 2/3 to the B-to-B NC Florida team of the decade, but b/c you made me side with WD on this.
And that, sir, CANNOT STAND
Best hitter on the team this year, and a solid #2 starter.
Yeah, my gut feeling is that if she didn't have to focus on pitching, she could have become an even better hitter.
2-3 douchebags ruin a thread.
you guys stay classy
I'll miss these players for sure. It's been a lot of fun helping to cover them, along with a few other folks around here, and I'm happy for them getting the Big Ten crown back as seniors. I'm sure they're also a little disappointed with how the post-season has gone the last couple years, but that's not enough to overshadow some pretty great achievements.
One particularly bittersweet note - the last players from the hallowed "Year of the Pizza" team have now moved on. The world of college sports moves fast.
Great observation. I agree.
This is true. They were good, but they did not accomplish much on their own.
I am not sure why their postseason play was so off (suddenly, errors & cold bats) but this has still been an enjoyable team to follow.
Whoever floated the idea that we should shitcan Hutch, that gave me the kind of laugh I don't normally get to have on a Monday morning, so thank you very much for the comedy.
leaving the Wolverines. Hutch will just reload though and keep the train running. Great run ladies and good luck in the future
is continuing to match and then exceed it from year to year. Consistency, as we all well know, is the hallmark of a champion and the bottom line expectation at Michigan. And this program is clearly highly successful and dynamic because of its record of achievement during the past four years. Winning another Big Ten title certifies the continued strength of this great program.
But precisely because of that, no one connected with it is going to describe the outcome yesterday as a satisfactory end to their season or the careers of some of the great women who played such a big part in that overall success.
I have no doubt this team will only improve. I mean this team isn't that far away from competing again for another WS berth going forward, especially with such a highly touted class coming in. Some of the best teams in the country, at Oregon and Florida, are a tick better than Michigan now because they have better ptiching depth and better lineups.
There has been a significant run-scoring and power drop-off in this team over the past four years that cannot be ignored. Meghan Baubien is a tremendous talent and perhaps the nation's best freshman pitcher. Hutch has already reloaded and this team will be back.
What is terrific about women's sofftball now is the level of coverage it now receives and the opportunity to see all the teams play that you could only read about before. Watching them play, you can guage for yourself where Michigan stands by comparison. And Michigan, in my opinion, is clearly a top 20 team with the opportunity to build on that through growth, experience and confidence. Consider that ND has never even made it to the Super Regionals before, and we are disappointed that Michigan doesn't get there every year.
The program has lifted expectations for its performance and success perhaps beyond what it could reasonably shoulder and achieve this year. But the good thing is, it gets to build on that going forward, even as it loses such vital senior contributors. That is the way of the sports world and competition. But I have a brighter outlook for next year based on this year's effort.