The Wolverine

August 2015 Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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"I'll remember our fight and how family oriented we were," Romero said. "It made softball a lot more fun. Softball can be a very competitive and stressful sport sometimes, because more often than not, you're going to fail. "The group of girls we had was amazing. Our team chemistry was amazing, and our fight every game." Hutchins fielded another great team, a decade earlier. Several players from the national championship squad of 2005 sat in the stands in Oklahoma City, rooting for the second crown in Michigan's 38-year softball history. It wasn't to be, and Hutchins isn't interested in comparisons between the two. "They'll never get to play each other," she said. "We'll never know. This team was a great team in its own right, and every team writes its own legacy. Team 28 wrote theirs, Team 38 wrote theirs. All I can tell you is, I'm equally as proud of both of them." P r i d e a b o u n d e d f o r a c re w t h a t s c o re d 5 4 0 r u n s o n t h e season, averaging 7.9 a game. The Wolverines drilled 118 home runs, easily eclipsing the previous record of 103, racked up by the 2005 squad. Meanwhile, Betsa struck out 333 hitters in 211 and one-third innings, taking command during the regular season. When tournament time came around, Wagner dug in and gave the Wolverines a chance to win it all. Her 1-0 shutout over Florida in the penultimate game of the season gave the Wolverines a shot at the title. "She stepped it up that last weekend," Hutchins observed. "She Head coach Carol Hutchins and her Wolverines set a school record with 118 home runs, won the Big Ten Championship, finished 60-8 on the year and reached the NCAA Championship series, where they fell to Florida in the final contest, 4-1. PHOTO BY DARYL MARSHKE/MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY

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