For the past 20 years, the Michigan softball team has been raising money for cancer research. For the past 17, the Wolverines have done so by helping people play softball. By doing what they love with the community that supports it, the team and its coaches directly contribute to the fight against cancer.
Michigan’s coaches and players gather annually in late April at Alumni Field at Carol Hutchins Stadium to play softball with members of the community as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Former Wolverines softball coach Carol Hutchins began the fundraiser when she was in charge, and although she isn’t on the coaching staff anymore, she still runs the show every year.
The softball program’s involvement began in 2010 with community work alongside the ACS. The team started by raising money and participating in ACS’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer run but didn’t have an event of its own. So when Hutchins saw an opportunity to have a bigger impact on the community, she took it.
“I got to talking to the person in charge, who was the ACS person running that event, and I said, ‘I’d love to see us do something like an adult softball clinic,’ ” Hutchins told The Michigan Daily. “And here we are. Then at summer camp that year, while they were registering all the little kids, I was standing with a group of moms, and the moms said to me, ‘We never got to do anything. I’d love to go to camp.’ I said, ‘Well, if you went to camp, what would you want to do?’ ‘Well, we’d want to run the bases and we’d want to pitch, and we’d want to drink wine,’ and we do it all. And it’s just been a hit.”
The Academy draws numerous Michigan softball fans, many of whom are season ticket holders, to participate in the event each year. Despite not yielding the Academy’s highest numbers, the 130 participants at this year’s event on April 23 were still more than enough to support cancer awareness. The first year, there were 84 participants, and some years, that number has vaulted above 200. The social mixer to follow the on-field event can attract over 400 people dedicated to fighting cancer.
The event begins with participants gathering on the field with the Wolverines to play ball. After brief introductions of the coaches and the year’s co-chairs — this year, that included former Michigan women’s gymnastics coach Bev Plocki and University first lady Susan Hull Grasso — the athletes break into stations to run drills. Groups of two or three players lead each station, and the participants rotate between the stations in their teams. This year, participants got to field ground balls from senior shortstop Avery Fantucci, watch film with redshirt junior catcher Lily Vallimont and hit pitches off senior third baseman Madi Ramey.
After a tribute to cancer survivors following the activities, the big sluggers come out for the Home Run Derby. Donors who raise over $5,000 get the chance to hit homers out of Carol Hutchins Stadium, and Michigan’s own educational studies professor Greg Dooley swung the bat alongside former Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge.
The evening ends with a social mixer that includes a silent auction and guest speakers. This year’s auction featured items such as a pickleball match with Wolverines coach Bonnie Tholl, lunch with Domenico Grasso and pink Michigan softball jerseys. The auction generates a substantial amount of money — before the first pitches were even thrown at the event this year, the Academy had already raised $180,000. By the end of the night, $216,397 had been put aside for cancer research.
“The very first year we probably made just shy of $50,000, and then the last few years, we have been close to $200,000,” Tholl told The Daily. “We marched through a million, and then we marched through $2 million, and then we’re on our way to $3 million, and we are the largest fundraising effort by any college team for the American Cancer Society.”
While the couple hundred thousand dollars raised nearly overnight have an immeasurable impact on funding the ACS’s research, there are other less tangible effects of the Michigan softball team’s annual fundraiser. The familiar faces that return each year — and the new faces that discover the Softball Academy — create an invaluable community shared by the team and its supporters.
“We have a lot of true Michigan softball fans,” Tholl said. “People that are season ticket holders, and then those who have come to the clinic and have become enthralled with what this event is all about, and then they now have become season ticket holders. They have become Michigan softball fans because of it. So it truly is a community event.”
The Wolverines have an incredibly devoted fanbase, and many season ticket holders participate yearly in the Softball Academy fundraiser. Some have been coming since the very first event 20 years ago, and some have just recently discovered the Academy. But no matter their familiarity with the event, the community that is created between the team and its fans is evident.
Many of the teams, consisting of 10 or more people, have been participating in the Softball Academy together for numerous years. These participants recruit their friends, coming up with a team name and often designing shirts or other accessories to represent that name.
“The first year I came, I was a free agent, so I joined up with the Chest Protectors,” Carolyn Hayman, an Academy participant, told the Daily. “Then I was like, ‘This is so fun! I’m going to bring people next year.’ I play tennis, and I brought my tennis friends with me. We love it. Everyone has a great time, and it’s for such a good cause.”
Hayman’s team, the Pop Flies, are distinct, coming adorned in pink balloons of various shades. These balloon skirts, capes and hats are provided by Hayman’s business, POP! Design and Creations. Hayman, like many others, found out about the Academy because she attended softball games. Many newer fans find about the Softball Academy that way too, noting the date when the advertisement pops up on the scoreboard.
“I’m a fan of softball,” Hayman said. “Sort of became a fan back when they won the national championship (in 2005); we started paying attention. I live very close by and when I heard about it, it was when (former Michigan infielder) Sierra Romero was here. And I was like, ‘Geez, that’ll be kind of cool to go learn to hit from her.’ That was why I decided to sign up and had so much fun.”
Another team that makes a regular appearance at the Softball Academy is the Swingin Misses, whose members are mostly recruited from the alumni band that plays at softball games. They have been attending for around 10 years, and are characterized by the personalized names that read across the back of their pink shirts. Teams like the Swingin Misses and the Pop Flies come out to support cancer research while learning from the players they watch each weekend, whether watching from the sidelines while playing tunes, or from the stands.
Not only does the event affect the community, but it also benefits the athletes that run it. After a shortened practice, the players gather at their stations and prepare for their own chance at coaching. Over the years, the veteran players begin to recognize and get closer to the teams that return routinely each year, building relationships when they are not in their uniforms. As the Wolverines coach, they learn about what this day means to the community and those affected by the disease. And their contributions ensure that the community enjoys their time while also raising money by doing what they do best — playing softball.
“Like everyone has said, everyone is affected by cancer,” junior center fielder Jenissa Conway told The Daily. “Whether it’s from ourselves or family, friends or friends of friends, we have all been impacted by it. So just learning about other people’s stories is super heart-touching and you just learn more about it in a way, especially with breast cancer and being a woman, it’s super important in our lives.”
Annually, the Softball Academy is a reminder of the fact that cancer has touched so many people’s lives. It is also a reminder of the impact that a community can make. This year that impact resulted in $16,397 more than the set goal, tacking on to the years of enthusiastic achievement. Every year, the community that supports the softball team is reminded of just why they support them — to make a difference.
Over the years, Hutchins’ dream has become something that has pulled so many people in. The dedication and inspiration of Hutchins and everyone involved has influenced so many people: the players, the coaches and the community that encapsulates it all. By taking time out of their usual practice and the other busy aspects of their lives as student athletes, the Michigan softball team understands that, as Tholl says, life is the bigger game, and being able to make a difference in people’s lives is the real win.
