The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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She is really doing a good job of being in a one-pitch mentality. She is excel- lent in that respect." Wagner has been a huge reason why the Wolverines have started the season strong, but Hutchins has two other pitchers who can help diversify the lineup and give the team an extra advantage: Driesenga and true fresh- man right-hander Megan Betsa. After a stellar career at Union Grove High School in McDonough, Ga., during with she was a four-time first-team all-state selection and won the Georgia Player of the Year and Georgia Pitcher of the Year awards as a junior and senior, Betsa arrived in Ann Arbor expecting to make an im- mediate impact. "I told myself from the beginning that I was going to help Haylie and Sara on the mound," Betsa said. "We were all going to be essentially No. 1 pitchers, and that was what I was working toward all fall. "The first weekend, it was a lot more overwhelming than I was ex- pecting it to be. I had those first week- end nerves, but after that, I realized: 'This is the same game I have been playing since I was 5 years old.' There is no difference. Maybe the hitters are a little better and the lineups are a little deeper, but it is the same pitch, the same game." In nine starts and 13 appearances, Betsa had posted a 6-3 record with a 2.27 ERA. She had allowed 35 hits and 16 earned runs while fanning 63 in 49 1 ⁄3 innings of work. Players To Watch SOFTBALL 1. Sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero: A year after becoming the second player to ever win the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year awards in the same season (U-M's Sara Griffin, 1995), Romero is not slow slowing down as a sophomore. As of March 16, Romero was batting .493 with 26 runs scored, six home runs and 31 RBI in 25 games. Romero also had an impressive on-base percentage (.615). 2. Freshman second baseman Abby Ramirez: A standout shortstop at Trin- ity High School in Chicago, Ramirez earned Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps All-America honors. A move to second base as a rookie has not slowed her down. Ramirez has started all 22 games, recording a terrific fielding percentage (.991). In 68 at-bats, she was hitting .324 with 16 runs scored and one RBI. 3. Senior outfielder Nicole Sappingfield: A two-time captain, Sappingfield has elevated her game in her final season with the Wolverines. After an impres- sive batting average of .387 as a freshman in 2011, Sappingfield didn't quite reach that level of success in the next two seasons (.317 in 2012 and .309 in 2013), but she is back on track now. Sappingfield had the second-best bat- ting average on among regulars (.398) through 25 contests, with 21 runs, one home run and 14 RBI.