Softball topples tough weather

By Arun Gopal

Daily Sports Writer

After a two-month voyage that took it from San Francisco to Tampa and seemingly every point in between, the Michigan softball team finally returned home this weekend. As one might expect, the Wolverines were eagerly anticipating their first home games, after 33 straight contests on the road.

Jubilantly, Michigan took the field on Friday for a doubleheader against Wisconsin. The Wolverines entered the day tied for first in the Big Ten, with a perfect 4-0 record. In spite of the cold, rainy conditions, the team was full of optimism and excitement.

Michigan (6-1 Big Ten, 28-7 overall ) proceeded to lose to the Badgers (2-3, 23-16), 2-0. The second game was promptly cancelled due to inclement weather.

Unfazed, the Wolverines rebounded yesterday against Minnesota (0-7, 22-19), winning a pair of games from the Golden Gophers by scores of 1-0 and 4-1.

"Wisconsin was able to get the key hits on Friday, and we didn't," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "Our kids really wanted to play today, and I thought that gave us the edge."

The losing pitcher in Friday's game, junior Marie Barda, was able to bounce back from that disappointment with a strong outing in the nightcap yesterday. Barda pitched a complete game two-hitter against Minnesota, registering six strikeouts along the way.

"In spite of the weather, I think I did pretty fair this weekend," Barda said. "I did eventually adjust to the rain and the snow."

The "rain and the snow" fell during Friday's game against the Badgers. Temperatures that hovered in the teens were accompanied by a stiff wind throughout the contest.

Not to be outdone, the clouds opened up during the sixth inning, and it wasn't long before fans and players alike ran for cover from the torrential storms that drenched Ann Arbor.

Sitting in the stands in this type of weather is difficult enough - trying to play a sport at a high level is nearly impossible. In spite of that, Barda was still able to limit Wisconsin to two runs on four hits, while striking out ten.

"It's hard because my muscles started getting tense and sore," Barda said. "I just tried to run back to the dugout and warm myself up as much as possible.

"It was okay in the beginning, because when I'm pitching out there, I get warmed up. It's when I'm sitting on the bench for a long period of time that I get kind of cold."

Yesterday's weather - which was by no means balmy - was still an improvement over the quagmire that engulfed Alumni Stadium on Friday afternoon.

Although low wind chills nearly forced the cancellation of the doubleheader, the teams played on. Michigan responded in the opener with a dominant pitching performance courtesy of freshman Marissa Young, who pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout.

"I thought Marissa was really on," Hutchins said. "She was staying ahead of the batters, and I thought she pitched well."

Young's two-hitter was immediately followed up by Barda's two-hitter in the second game. But, in spite of the great pitching, Michigan still struggled to come away with two victories over the Golden Gophers. Again, the problems can be traced to the Wolverines' suspect offense.

Even though Michigan currently sports a respectable .286 team batting average, the Wolverines have struggled to score consistently. Evidence of this can be found in Michigan's schedule, which has been littered with 1-0 and 2-1 games.

While these kinds of scores might be exciting for the fans, the team would prefer to win more comfortably. But, in order to do so, Michigan simply has to find a way to get more people across the plate.

"If we work more on our offense, we'll do just fine," Barda said. "I think that we need to be more focused when we're up to bat - just go up there swinging."

"Our team knows what we need to do to win ballgames," Young added. "We're going to pick it up the rest of the season."

DANNY KALICK/Daily

Michigan centerfielder Chrissy Garza slides into home but is called out on the play. The Wolverines eventually won both games of the doubleheader.

DANNY KALICK/Daily

Michigan freshman infielder Marissa Young makes contact at the plate yesterday. Young's performance was a definite bright spot for the Wolverines.