The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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21 home runs — at the time eclipsing the previous record of 15 dingers — while driving in 77 (a mark that still stands today). In her sophomore season, however, Findlay became too anxious at the plate, drawing a career-low 36 walks, striking out a career-high 53 times while clearing the fence for a career- low nine home runs. Also collecting Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2013 after hit- ting .379 with a U-M single-season- record 23 home runs, and 71 RBI, Romero could have fallen victim to the same sophomore slump that seems to drag down so many greats. Instead, she improved her batting average by 112 points, bettered her slugging percentage by 57 points, de- spite hitting five fewer home runs, and raised her on-base percentage by 106 points. "I told myself coming into my soph- omore year, I was coming in with a clean slate," Romero said. "I wasn't going to try to do more than my fresh- man year because then I would put too much pressure on myself and that's when it would all go wrong. "I relaxed and wanted to have a good time with my teammates. When we're having fun, that's when I play my best." Head coach Carol Hutchins, pre- siding over her 30th team at Michi- gan, had some sage advice for the sophomore slugger. "She told me, 'The success you had as a freshman doesn't carry over. You're starting over,'" Romero re- layed. "I began the season hitting .000 with no home runs and no RBI, and so it was all about what I did go- ing forward. I talked to my dad, and he told me to focus on hitting the ball Romero finished the season with a .491 batting average, ranking second nationally and first in Michigan history by 36 points over Melissa Taylor's .455 effort during the 2001 season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS