AUSTIN, Texas — With the end of both the Michigan softball team’s season and her illustrious career as a Wolverine looming, senior right-hander Lauren Derkowski did what she had done for four years — she fought.
After pulling her at the top of the fourth inning of its NCAA Regional clash against Central Florida in favor of sophomore right-hander Erin Hoehn, Michigan called upon Derkowski yet again to save the day in the fifth, after the Knights tacked on three runs to wring back the lead. And, par for the course, she retired eight of Central Florida’s next nine batters to keep the Wolverines alive. But the Wolverines’ offense struggled to reciprocate, and as a result, bowed out of the Regional with a 10-8 defeat.
But in giving Michigan a fighting chance until the very end, Derkowski gave a performance fitting of her body of work all week — and all career — long.
“There’s nobody we wanted to put the ball (in the hands of), other than Lauren Derkowski,” Wolverines coach Bonnie Tholl said. “And she was going to lead the charge. And we’ve asked a lot of her in three plus years, and she has taken it.”
Michigan arguably owed its very presence in Austin to Derkowski. The Wolverines had entered the Big Ten Tournament as a No. 8 seed, off the back of a turbulent regular season, but played their best softball when it mattered most, rattling off four wins to defend their title. And Derkowski was the keystone of it all, pitching shutouts in monumental upset victories against No. 1-seed Oregon in the quarterfinals and No. 2-seed UCLA in the championship. Her stellar play earned her the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award for the second year in a row — and punched Michigan’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regional.
In the first game of the Regional on Friday, against the Knights, Derkowski’s final act continued in style. After pitching the first four innings before making way for Hoehn, Derkowski was entrusted with saving the game again in the seventh inning. She threw three straight changeups — the pitch she had made her signature in her time with the Wolverines — to strike out UCF designated player Izzy Mertes and capture victory.
When Michigan faced the Knights again on Saturday following a loss to Texas, Derkowski opened the matchup with a three-up, three-down inning, before allowing two earned runs over the next two innings. When she walked off the circle to make way for Hoehn in the fourth, she left the Wolverines with a lead.
And when she returned in the fifth, she did everything in her power to regain it. Derkowski didn’t strike a batter out all game, but she forced a lineout and a flyout of her next two batters and followed up with a three-up, three-down sixth inning. After allowing a single in the seventh inning, she followed it up by forcing a pop up to retire the Knights. In the two innings she pitched upon re-entry, she had given up only one hit and no runs.
But Michigan failed to grasp the lifeline Derkowski had thrown them as its batters were retired in order in the bottom of the seventh.
And with it, the Wolverines’ season — and Derkowski’s collegiate career — was over.
“I wish that we could have done more for her today and played better for her today,” Tholl said. “But she’s left her mark on Michigan softball.”
It was far from the ending Derkowski wanted. A reprise of the NCAA Regional loss she and Michigan suffered at the hands of the Knights in her freshman year meant that she’ll never have a chance to do what some of her predecessors, like Jennie Ritter or Hailey Wagner, did, and pitch in the Women’s College World Series.
But that doesn’t take away her 60 career wins or 2.34 career ERA, or her back-to-back Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards, or the litany of other accolades collected.
“It’s been an honor to represent Michigan,” Derkowski said. “… I love this school. I love these people. And there’s no place I’d rather spend my four years.”
And in her final two innings as a Wolverine, Derkowski turned in a performance that demonstrated just why she’ll be remembered by those associated with Michigan softball for years to come.
