NORMAN, OK — After junior right-hander Gabby Ellis had finished throwing eight grueling innings against Kansas, she knew she couldn’t rest long. The Michigan softball team’s ace pitcher would be relied on heavily to save its season Saturday.
Facing off against Binghamton in the first matchup, Wolverines coach Bonnie Tholl had a big decision to make. She either could rest Ellis for a potential rematch against the Jayhawks and trust her other arms to deal with the Bearcats, or almost completely ensure a Michigan victory by using her most in-form arm. She opted for the latter.
“Just gutsy,” Tholl said about Ellis. “It was pure guts by someone who’s thrown double digit (innings) in 24 hours.”
With Ellis on the mound immediately after the first game against Kansas, fatigue was a question mark even before throwing her first pitch. But from the jump, she silenced any concerns, going through the Binghamton lineup with ease. Just like she did on Friday, Ellis demoralized her opponent with a barrage of strikeouts early on.
Given early offensive struggles for the Wolverines, Ellis was afforded no rest heading into the third inning. It still didn’t change her performance, dominating with pitch-to-contact and even forcing the rare double play in the infield. As Michigan started to build a lead later on though, Ellis remained in the circle.
Even with the Wolverines leading by six runs heading into the sixth, Ellis stayed in and finished the final two innings. Just like Michigan anticipated, she was untouchable, pitching another scoreless outing through seven. But it meant that she’d be running on fumes for any action she’d be a part of against the Jayhawks.
“There’s a lot of ups and downs in a game like (Kansas),” Tholl said. “You have to check in on her to make sure she had anything left in the tank.”
With Ellis unable to start, the Wolverines’ pitching staff had no way to stop an offense that was neutralized the day prior. And as the Jayhawks closed in on a 9-6 lead in the sixth inning with runners on first and second, Tholl was forced to break the emergency glass. Already having fifteen innings under her belt the past few days, Ellis re-entered for two more.
Clearly exhausted from her workload now, Kansas finally managed to tee off on Ellis, scoring both of her inherited runners and adding two more on top of that. But though the Jayhawks had retaken the lead 10-9, junior center fielder Jenissa Conway’s three run home run in the bottom of the sixth gave Ellis one more chance to close out the game.
“I keep a level head on the field,” Ellis said. “I wouldn’t say that I pay attention to whether or not I have not let them get any runs, or if they are getting multiple runs.”
And despite getting ambushed in the sixth inning, Ellis remained poised in the seventh. She showed no signs of fatigue against the heart of the order, setting the tone with a crucial strikeout of first baseman Anna Soles. It was smooth sailing from then on, cajoling a deep fly out to Conway and ensuring survival for another day.
“The reason that she’s able to execute that big strikeout in the seventh inning against the big hitter with 18 home runs is because she stayed right in the moment,” Tholl said. “You can manifest success right there.”
Even with seventeen innings of work on her arm, Ellis’ ability to remain present throughout Saturday was enough to get Michigan over the line.
