The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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50 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JUNE/JULY 2025 BY ANTHONY BROOME T he Michigan softball team grabbed its second straight Big Ten Tour- nament championship with a 2-0 win over No. 9 UCLA on May 10 in West Lafayette, Ind., closing out an incred- ible week that culminated with the 12th Big Ten Tournament title in program history. The victory came a few days after the Wolverines' upset win over No. 4 Or- egon in the quarterfinals, giving them a pair of top-10 victories en route to the title and the Big Ten's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. In the win over UCLA, the Wolverines scored 2 runs in the sixth inning to put themselves ahead and would stay there thanks to Tournament Most Outstand- ing Player Lauren Derkowski and soph- omore Erin Hoehn. Derkowski, a right- handed senior pitcher, allowed no runs on 3 hits and surrendered 1 walk over five innings, and then Hoehn slammed the door with six straight outs in the final two innings. She also earned All- Tournament team honors. "You're looking at two really talented pitchers in the circle who have the abil- ity to put their team on their backs," head coach Bonnie Tholl said. "I didn't expect this to be a 100 percent pitchers' duel. I definitely didn't think that we were going to shut them out, but I'm thrilled." The offensive breakout in the sixth inning came via a one-out hit from ju- nior infielder Indiana Langford, a single to left field. She would advance to sec- ond after a fielding miscue in left field, then was batted in via a Jenissa Conway double over the center fielder. Conway advanced to third on a groundout, and sophomore outfielder Ella Stephen- son brought her home on a single up the middle. Langford and Conway also earned All-Tournament recognition. The win was redemption for the Wol- verines, who were swept by the then- No. 7 Bruins in the final home series of the season. There were good mo- ments throughout the season, but Tholl said they needed a signature stretch of games to get rolling again. "Getting the offense and defense clicking at the same time has been a little bit of our Achilles' heel this year," Tholl said April 29 after the UCLA se- ries, via The Michigan Daily. "And we need a moment to win and believe, and you learn how to win by winning." Goal achieved. Throughout the Big Ten Tournament, which included wins over Wisconsin (3-2), Oregon (5-0), host Purdue (4-2) and UCLA, Michigan was able to put the pieces together to get back to cham- pionship form. Each game's success seemed to build off what came before it. "You saw great defense, outstand- ing tough pitching and timely hitting," Tholl said after the Oregon win. "I think it's just 100 percent belief in the prepa- ration we've been doing since Septem- ber. And I've said it all along … the re- ward is coming, and you saw a little bit of the reward today." Michigan's perseverance paid off, and four wins in four days while sequencing some of its most clutch moments of the season is something that was incredibly affirming for the players. "It's a great feeling knowing that we can do it when we're playing our best," Conway said, per The Michigan Daily "It didn't matter how good UCLA was, we knew it was going to be fighting. We knew we were going to get it." U-M's Big Ten Tournament victory serves as the perfect segue into the pro- gram's 31st NCAA Tournament appear- ance. The Wolverines were selected to the Austin Regional and were set for a showdown against Central Florida on May 16. Texas, the No. 6 seed, hosted the pod that also includes Eastern Il- linois. U-M is 90-25 all-time in the NCAA Regional Round and has won 18 regional titles in school history. ❏ ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE U-M Softball Grabs Two Top-10 Wins For Second Straight Big Ten Tournament Crown The Michigan softball team (38-19) qualified for its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance after earning the Big Ten Conference's automatic bid as tournament champions for the second year in a row. PHOTO COURTESY U-M PHOTOGRAPHY