Poor hitting hurts Wolverines throughout postseason stint

Michigan's Tammy Mika had been in a bit of a slump. The centerfielder had only three hits in her last 16 at bats.

Now, in the regional tournament that top-seeded Michigan was hosting, the Wolverines were about to be eliminated. Mika was facing perhaps the last at bat of her career. There was one out in the top of the seventh. Her team was down 1-0. With nobody on, Michigan needed a runner on base in order to stay alive.

Unfazed, Mika dug into the right batters box, stared down the Notre Dame pitcher who had shut down Michigan's offense all day and swung on a full count. She belted her first single in four games out of the infield. A sacrifice bunt by Melissa Taylor moved Mika into scoring position.

DHANI JONES/Daily Although Tammy Mika went two-for-three in her final game, the Michigan softball team couldn't snap its hitting funk to pull out a run.

Then the mighty Traci Conrad came to bat. She was the top of the batting order. The best chance Michigan had at batting in the winning run. She had a .391 batting average that was the all-time best in Michigan history. With more hits than anyone else in the Big Ten, Conrad seemed like the best chance to win with the game on the line.

Three swings later, Conrad struck out.

"The bottom line is we just didn't get it done," Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins said.

That had been Michigan's story all weekend. A runner was ready to score eight times in the last two games and Michigan's vaunted offense had been denied. The offense that had averaged more than five runs a game in the regular season couldn't even score one run in their own Regional against the two lowest seeds.

Of the 14 innings that they played they only managed a hit in six of them. Of those, only one inning saw the Wolverines with multiple hits.

Pitching remained Michigan's strong point the last two weekends of the season. The combination of Marie Barda and Jamie Gillies had allowed only eight runs in the last six games, including two shutouts.

"I told them after the game the pitching this weekend did its part and our offense didn't," Hutchins said.

But the hitting had been the key to Michigan's 33-game unbeaten streak, which defined their season. It was also the key to the Wolverines three-game losing streak, which ended their season. The latter forced Michigan to lose the Big Ten title game and eliminated the team from it's own regional tournament for the first time in five years, when the NCAA Regional was started.

Not that the Wolverines didn't try to correct this problem. In the week of practicing before regionals, Hutchins had made hitting their primary aspect of practice. She stressed hitting the tail end of the ball instead of pulling the ball and fouling it off. Her batters were supposed to take cuts at the first pitch that looked good instead of just taking the first pitch.

The result this weekend was a lot of grounders and flyballs hit right to the fielders off the first couple of pitches. The offense faltered, which led to the fielding mishaps.

It showed all weekend. The heart of Michigan's lineup, the first six batters, managed only three hits in 37 at bats. Conrad and Catherine Davie, two of Michigan's seniors and most proficient hitters ever, were held to one hit between them.

And so went Michigan's season. The one that had started out slow and uncertain, the one that roared into the mid-season breaking records and passing milestones, ended with a whimper.

"I feel like we just ran out of gas these last two weeks," Hutchins said. "It wasn't from lack of effort but it just wasn't our turn."

05-24-99