The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2019 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2014: Michi- gan softball pulled out a pair of one- run games against Arizona State May 18, securing an NCAA Regional cham- pionship in Tempe, Ariz. The Wolverines battled past the Sun Devils in the first game of the day, 4-3, but still needed to win the second to prevail for the title. They came from behind to do so, and literally pulled vic- tory back over the wall of defeat. Michigan senior outfielder Lyndsay Doyle reached over the centerfield fence, yanking back a would-be sev- enth-inning home run by ASU's Amber Freeman. Even getting to that dramatic ending proved a challenge, with the Wolverines entering the seventh down by a run. Trailing 4-3 with one out already in the books, Michigan tied it up on a solo homer by sophomore Sierra Lawrence. Senior Taylor Hasselbach didn't wait around, smashing the very next pitch deep over the wall in right centerfield, making it 5-4 Michigan. Doyle's heroics did the rest, preserv- ing the game for junior pitcher Haylie Wagner and sending Michigan to the Super Regional. "When Taylor hit that ball I thought maybe this is meant to be, and that last part of the game I thought maybe it isn't," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins observed. "It was just a great softball day. We just hung tough regardless of what happened in the game and found a way to score more runs than them, and ultimately that's the only thing that mattered." Wagner noted, of Doyle's game - saver: "I trusted her the entire way, and I knew it was a hard-hit ball. I knew it was either make or break right there, but once I saw her jump up I knew that she had it. I couldn't be more proud of her right now." 10 YEARS AGO, 2009: Carol Hutchins' softball team took no mercy on visiting Baylor in the conclusion of an NCAA Super Regional at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines bat- tered the Bears, 7-1, May 23 to finish a two-game sweep that saw U-M prevail by a combined score of 15-2. The win sent Michigan to the Wom- en's College World Series behind Jor- dan Taylor's sterling pitching effort. Taylor (19-5) scattered five hits while striking out 13. The Wolverines scored all seven runs in the third and fourth innings, breezing to the Super Re- gional title. Three juniors paced Michigan's of- fensive attack. Angela Findlay drove in three runs for the Wolverines, while Roya St. Clair and Nikki Nemitz picked up two RBI each for the 46-10 home team. "I'm just so happy for my kids. They've worked so hard this year," Hutchins said. "It was clearly our turn. I felt like things went our way, and we made them go our way. And our kids were determined to finish this off and get on with it." 25 YEARS AGO, 1994: Michigan's Molly McClimon's title in the 5,000-me- ter run put the Wolverines on the road to winning the Big Ten Champion- ships in Madison, Wis. U-M scored 179 points, 39 more than runner-up Illinois. Michigan distance runner Courtney Babcock finished second in the 5,000 behind McClimon, but became the Big Ten champion in the mile. An eight- time indoor and outdoor All-American, Babcock also earned a national cham- pionship as the anchor of Michigan's distance medley relay squad. In 2004, Babcock was elected into the Michigan Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame, while McClimon earned induction in 2007. — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Carol Hutchins' softball squad swept Baylor in the 2009 NCAA Super Regional for its first trip to the Women's College World Series since winning it all in 2005. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN