All jokes aside as 'M' softball enters Big Ten

Carol Hutchins was getting mad - really mad. As coach of the seventh-ranked Michigan softball team, she has extremely high expectations of her players. So she couldn't understand why they weren't hitting their cutoff in practice yesterday.

Throw after throw sailed over their targets before Hutchins finally yelled, "Alright, what's going on?"

Her players would've liked to have answered, but they were all laughing too hard. That was when Hutchins realized she was the victim of an April Fool's joke.

"We knew all day they were going to try and do something," Hutchins said. "They're a bunch of jokesters."

What they aren't joking about is their 27-5-1 record and a 23-game unbeaten streak.

Michigan tore through the the month of March without a loss, the first time in history that the Wolverines have gone a month with no setbacks.

Hutchins attributes their success to Michigan's ability to have fun.

"It's been a trademark of our program the last few years," Hutchins said. "I tell them all the time the only time they get in trouble is when they don't have fun."

Michigan takes its traveling circus on the road this weekend to Columbus for a three-game series against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are not necessarily a formidable foe - they are 10-13 on the season - but this weekend is important nonetheless, because it marks the start of Big Ten play.

Hutchins has tried to stress to her team that their record so far means nothing against conference opponents.

"I've told them everybody is 0-0," Hutchins said. "Nothing changes, you don't treat it any differently - it's still softball."

Freshman second baseman Kelsey Kollen is going to Ohio State with family on her mind. Her sister played four years for the Buckeyes and will be in attendance at the games.

"It's just gonna be fun," Kollen said. "We always joke around when we play them in football or hockey or softball."

Despite the perfect record in March, Michigan has their eyes set on a much more distant goal - the Women's College World Series. The Wolverines try not to focus on the games they've played, and instead look at what lies in front of them.

"March is over. April is a new month," Kollen said. "What we did in March doesn't matter, it's what we do in May that counts."

The way Michigan has been playing, it would not be surprising to see it sweep the Ohio State series. The Wolverines should emerge victorious from Columbus and come back home knowing that they will be working just as hard as before they left.

But when they take the practice field next week, laughing and joking like before, there will be one person who will be just a little bit more observant than she was before.

She will be the one yelling at them to hit their cutoff.

04-02-99