The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Betsa then struck out 10 woebegone Wildcats in a 9-0 win over Northwest- ern, pushing her season record to 26-4. Senior lefty Haylie Wagner (21-2) took over for the finale, firing a three-hitter in the 6-1 championship game victory over Nebraska. Romero just kept hammering away, booming the third of her three tourna- ment home runs in the title game. With a year-plus remaining, she could wind up the best player ever to wear the Michi- gan softball uniform. That's saying something, yet Hutchins keeps pushing for more. She wants Romero to be a Derek Jeter, not merely an Olympic-class performer but a spe- cial leader as well. Romero is about to fly by a star of the 2005 national championship squad — Samantha Findlay — in a pair of high- profile categories. The junior boasts 61 career home runs to Findlay's Michigan- record 62, and 217 RBI to Findlay's U-M standard of 219. Of course, Romero isn't a one-woman show, by any means. She's hitting .469, but a half-dozen other Wolverines are above the .300 mark, including sopho- more outfielder Kelly Christner's .420. Findlay has something none of them possess — a national championship ring. The scramble for that elusive prize begins immediately. Whatever happens, Hutchins' crew is in it to win it, and leads a pack of other high-level achiev- ers in recent months. Bev Plocki's women's gymnastics team took first at the Big Ten Champion- ships, the 19th such under Plocki and the 20th time in 24 years for the pro- gram. U-M finished seventh nationally, marking the 21st time in the last 23 years the Wolverines placed among the top 11 nationally under Plocki. Kurt Golder's men's gymnastics team took fourth in the NCAA Champion- ships this season, following back-to-back national titles. The Wolverines have won four national titles in Golder's 18 years as head coach. Ronni Bernstein's women's tennis team earned a Big Ten championship this spring, making it six straight confer- ence crowns for that program. Mike Bottom's men's swimming and diving team took the Big Ten title for the fifth year in a row and the sixth in his seven seasons at the helm. Bottom's crew bested everyone with a national title in 2012-13, and has never finished out of the top 10 nationally since he took over in 2008-09. There's no question, Harbaugh Mania has overtaken the University of Michi- gan fandom. Anticipation for the kickoff to the 2015 football season pegged in the red the moment James Joseph signed on the dotted line. But Harbaugh himself put it well at the annual Bob Ufer Quarterback Club banquet: "I can't stand up here and talk like Mike Bottom. No question about it. I haven't won the championships. Haven't done a darned thing, like Red Berenson, or any of the other coaches that are up here." No doubt, Harbaugh plans to do a lot of darned things. In the meantime, it's worth noting those already there. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine.