The result might not suggest it, but on Monday, the Michigan softball team played some of its best softball of the season.
The Wolverines did lose 12-8 to No. 7 UCLA — still a disappointing result, given the 5-1 lead they held at the bottom of the first inning. However, Michigan tallied 11 hits and remained competitive against one of the best teams in the country.
And that effort, in tandem with a final regular-season series against Minnesota this coming weekend, provides the Wolverines with a wave of momentum they will look to surf en route to next week’s Big Ten Tournament.
“I think everyone in that lineup has close to a 2.00 ERA,” Tholl said of the Bruins. “That’s the best pitching staff overall we face, other than Oregon. And so we need to take some of those small victories away and let that be the guide, with our momentum for a Big Ten Tournament run between the cards.”
In Michigan’s first two games against UCLA, the Wolverines managed to hang with their illustrious opponents. But they still went on to lose both games, 5-3 and 4-3 respectively — though they did manage to take the Bruins to extra innings on Sunday.
But Monday, Michigan raced out to an early lead courtesy of freshman first baseman Lauren Putz and senior left fielder Ellie Sieler’s power at the plate, and went on to hold that lead until the fourth inning. Though dropping a winnable game against a ranked opponent — a common occurrence for the Wolverines this year — is far from ideal, it served as a crumb for Michigan to pick up and feed itself entering the final regular season series against Minnesota.
And that’s because if the Wolverines can execute as they did against UCLA, the Gophers should prove to be smooth sailing. Minnesota sits third from bottom of the Big Ten, having won just four conference games all year. Despite falling to the Bruins on Monday, Michigan enjoyed a productive outing from its bats and saw flashes of potential from the bottom half of its pitching rotation.
If both factors can deliver this weekend, they should be able to secure multiple wins against a struggling opponent. Though it is worth noting that the Gophers are on a five-game winning streak, just one of those wins came against a conference opponent in Wisconsin.
“We have to show up and play really good ball,” Michigan coach Bonnie Tholl said Monday, “…I think we have an outstanding shot at all three victories, but that’s the key, being able to bring the game from inning to inning on both sides, offensively and defensively, to give us the best chance to win.”
A sweep of Minnesota would likely have little impact on the Wolverines’ chances at securing an NCAA Tournament bid. Michigan has a steep hill to climb to reach the tournament due to its inability to beat a ranked opponent all year, and will likely need to rely on a Big Ten Tournament championship to earn an automatic bid.
Still, winning three games would build onto the momentum boost the team has enjoyed via a respectable showing against UCLA. And with the conference tournament approaching, that late run of good form might just be exactly what the Wolverines need — after all, Michigan went on to win last year’s Big Ten Tournament after a late-season surge in which it won 14 of its last 16 regular-season games.
“Tournament time, it’s a brand new season,” Tholl said. “That’s the fun thing. And you can draw on your experience throughout the regular season, but it’s a brand new season, in some sense, and so it might just be the fresh start that we need.”
But before the Wolverines can draw from their regular-season experience in the postseason, they need to finish up the regular season. And, building on its valiant effort against the Bruins, Michigan has the chance to finish it on a high note.
