Opportunity knocked. And Kelley Holmes and Tammy Mika answered.
At the start of the season, the two Michigan softball players were in similar positions. Holmes was the No. 2 pitcher in a three-player rotation, throwing behind and overshadowed by All-American Sara Griffin. Mika was battling for a starting spot after predominantly serving as a pinch-runner a year before.
| This weekend |
|---|
| Who: No. 12 Michigan (7-4 Big Ten, 37-13-1 overall) vs. No. 14 Minnesota (5-3, 30-9) |
| What: A Big Ten doubleheader |
| When: Tomorrow, 1 p.m. |
| Where: Alumni Field |
| Notable: The Wolverines' 27-game home winning streak was snapped on Wednesday, when Central Michigan won, 5-3. |
Holmes wasn't given an option. When Griffin suffered a broken arm at Iowa after an infield collision on April 5, she was forced to step it up.
"I enjoy the challenge," Holmes said. "I tend to perform better in the pressure situations."
And perform better she has. Since the series at Iowa, Holmes has only allowed four earned runs in 49 1/3 innings - a phenomenal 0.57 ERA.
Holmes has met the challenges off of the field as well.
The senior has compiled a 3.9 grade point average in the School of Business Administration - more than three times her ERA and good enough for Academic All-America second-team honors.
Holmes was honored at the Michigan Academic Achievement Banquet on Monday, where she gave the invocation speech.
"It was a great honor," Holmes said. "There were so many students being honored there, and they called and asked me to give" the speech.
In her speech, Holmes thanked the people who helped her during her Michigan career - not just her coaches and teammates, but her professors, too.
Mika was one of six Wolverines honored at the banquet Monday. The sophomore was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team.
But what is most impressive about Mika is what she has done on the field. Mika is not the typical Michigan athlete. She wasn't heavily recruited out of high school - not by Michigan, anyway. But she came here because she loved the school. Hers is a softball version of the typical rags-to-riches story - from substitute to star.
A year ago, Mika was a role player. She pinch ran, and she didn't do much else. She had only 21 trips to the plate and batted a dismal .231 when she did get to the plate. She had one extra-base hit the entire season and drove in only nine runs.
Over the past 12 games, Mika has done more than she did all last year. She has batted .410 in 39 at-bats, including three extra-base hits - one double, one triple and one home run - and six RBI.
Mika has boosted her season average to .391 and has cracked the starting lineup for good, playing either in the outfield or as the designated player.
"Tammy Mika is an inspiration to me," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "I've talked to my team about her. What Tammy does is get excited about any opportunity she has. She's never had an attitude of, 'How come I don't play more?,' even though for a while she didn't play all the time."
Mika came to Michigan because she loves the school - not for the exposure, not for the playing time, not for the reasons that so many other athletes go to Michigan. She was recruited much more heavily by other schools but came to Michigan anyway, knowing that she might not get a lot of playing time.
"She wanted to go to Michigan, she loves Michigan, and she wants to win for Michigan," Hutchins said. "She is totally excited every time she walks out onto the field, whether walking to practice today or to a big game tomorrow."
So she's at Michigan. And since she's been here, Mika has made an impression.
"I admire her as much as any kid I've ever coached," Hutchins said. "She's a winner. She is trying to find ways to win. She works very, very hard. She takes everything to heart.
"I told the kids to look up to Tammy and follow some of her lead, because we could use more people acting like her right now."
| Michigan Schedule |
|---|
| TODAY |
| Baseball at Indiana, Bloomington, 4 p.m. |
| Men's track/field at Kansas Relays, Lawrence, all day |
| Men's gymnastics at NCAA championships, Iowa City, 7 p.m. |
| Women's gymnastics at NCAA championships, Gainesville, Fla., all day |
| Men's golf at Legends of Indiana, Bloomington, all day |
| TOMORROW |
| Baseball at Indiana, Bloomington, 2 p.m. |
| Softball vs. Minnesota, Alumni Field, DH, 1 p.m. |
| Men's tennis vs Northwestern, Tisch Tennis Center, 1 p.m. |
| Women's tennis vs. Penn State, Tisch Tennis Center, 10 a.m. |
| Men's track/field at Kansas Relays, Lawrence, all day |
| Women's track/field at Michigan State Invite, East Lansing, TBA |
| Men's gymnastics at NCAA championships, Iowa City, 7 p.m. |
| Women's gymnastics at NCAA championships, Gainesville, Fla., all day |
| Men's golf at Legends of Indiana, Bloomington, all day |
| Crew at Iowa dual, Iowa City, TBA |
| SUNDAY |
| No events scheduled |