Kornacki: Wolverines Get Letters of Encouragement from 2005 Champs
5/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball, Features
• WCWS Central
By Steve Kornacki
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Michigan softball head coach Carol Hutchins saved something special for her team before its Women's College World Series opener at 6 p.m. CDT Thursday (May 28) against Alabama.
She handed them letters of encouragement written by members of the Wolverines' NCAA championship team of 2005 during the pre-game meal.
"Our alumni got in touch with me about this idea of writing letters to this team," said Hutchins, who has been Michigan's coach since 1985. "Angie Danis, who was on the 2005 team, suggested it. And I thought it was a great idea."
Samantha Findlay, the slugging first baseman whose 10th-inning homer against UCLA decided the '05 Series, was so enthusiastic about making her message personal that she hand wrote and scanned it. The other letters came as email printouts.
"We wrote letters to all the girls, and in most cases we wrote to the girl on this team who wore our number," said Findlay, who wore No. 16. "We're all pretty excited about this, and it means a lot to us. Hopefully, it will mean a lot to them. I'll be watching the games and hope they go all the way and get the championship back to Ann Arbor -- where it belongs.
"I wrote to (catcher) Morgan Swift, who is a freshman just like I was in 2005. I told her to take everything in and enjoy it. I told her to be a great teammate and to be ready because they will need you this week."
Morgan Swift (left) and Samantha Findlay
Jennie Ritter, the 38-game winner and All-American from '05, wore No. 15. There isn't anyone wearing that number on this team, and so she was a natural match for 30-game winner Megan Betsa, whose No. 3 was not worn by a player on the national championship team.
Ritter shared the letter she wrote to Betsa, the starter against the Crimson Tide, with MGoBlue.com, and here is how Ritter closed her message:
"No matter how tired you are, you have more in you. You will feel tired. Ignore it. Your mind will quit before your body will. Don't let it. There is ALWAYS more in you. Fight it. You will not be given more than you can handle, and you can handle more than you think.
Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. Leave it all on the field. No limits. No let ups!
No matter what happens, you will always have Team #38. You are a unit that can only be summarized in one word: SPECIAL. Fight for another day with this team every time you step on the field.
You also have the support of Teams 1 through 37, and that family will always be there for you to lean on! We are all so proud to be a part of Michigan softball and what Team 38 exemplifies this year. You are strong, confident and have a chip on your shoulder that could make even the strongest teams intimidated. That's Michigan softball. That's why we believe in you!
Good Luck, and Forever GO BLUE!
Jennie Ritter
(On Behalf of Team #28)"
Ritter, a Louisville Slugger fast pitch softball equipment representative, watched her alma mater and the other teams practice on Wednesday (May 27) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. She sat in a seat behind the Michigan dugout and spoke about the importance of sharing the inner feelings of competing at the highest level with Betsa.
"That's something I wished somebody would've told me going into this," said Ritter. "You think about throwing a lot and being tired, but the mental drainage of every game and everything that goes on outside it is draining. But you are not going to get something you can't handle.
"So, just go out there and do it. One thing that helped me was realizing I was going to make it through. Our mantra was: 'Do what you do.' We were trying to explain to them (in the letters) that the stage was nothing. You made a decision to be here, you made a decision to win a national championship, and that's why you're here."
No. 24 Jessica Merchant, the captain and All-America shortstop, wrote to current starting first baseman Tera Blanco:
"Dear Tera-
Congratulations on everything that 'Team 38' has accomplished! We, the members of the 2005 national championship team wanted to reach out and let you know that we are behind you, and we believe in you! Here is the best part: so is everyone else that has ever worn the Maize and Blue! Being a part of the first national championship team is something that I will never forget, but the most important accomplishment of my life is being a part of Michigan softball.
Yes, we won the big one, but it wasn't just about us. It was about every single player that paved the way before we arrived on campus. When you step between those lines in Oklahoma City, know that you have made us proud! Play hard, have fun and WIN THE WHOLE THING!!!!
Step on the field knowing that you have the greatest team behind you, all of the Michigan alums. We will be watching, rooting and helping will you to the top. And remember, no matter what, 'THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE CHAMPIONS.'
Go Blue,
Jessica Merchant, Class of 2005, #24
P.S...Hit some #DINGERS!! ?"
Merchant, now an assistant softball coach at the University of Minnesota, included the letters she received from former Wolverines teammates after winning in '05, in her letter to Blanco, noting that they "taught me what it meant to be a Michigan Woman."
Sierra Romero (left) and Angie Danis
Ritter said Danis sent the entire chain of encouragement letters to every '05 player.
"It was eerily interesting how similar all of the letters were," said Ritter. "It was Angie's idea, and it was a great idea. One person would read them and cry. It's amazing that the passion is still there. We all feel like it was just yesterday, and we all feel like the next step is for Michigan to go out and win it again."
No. 32 Danis, a pitcher and utility player, shared her thoughts with All-America second baseman Sierra Romero, who broke Findlay's career record for runs batted in with 223 and tied her homer mark with 62.
No. 17 Alessandra Giampaolo, who had two hits and scored a run in the 4-1 win over UCLA in the championship game and became an All-America outfielder in 2008, wrote to 22-game winner Haylie Wagner.
No. 22 Tiffany Haas, an All-America second baseman, corresponded with five-tool center fielder Sierra Lawrence.
No. 25 Becky Marx, who would become an All-American in 2006, wrote to Lauren Sweet, who also happens to be a timely hitting catcher who works extremely well with a talented pitching staff.
The two No. 21s (Kelly Christner now and Rebekah Milian then) both were left fielders, and the No. 14s (Lauren Holland then and Lauren Connell now) both were backup catchers named Lauren.
Lauren Sweet (left) and Becky Marx
Findlay said she likes the fact that the Wolverines don't retire uniform numbers despite having 13 different Big Ten Player of the Year selections and 35 All-Americans.
"Not retiring numbers helps keep everybody from past teams a part of the current team," said Findlay.
Ritter said: "That number is your legacy, and you want that number to carry on. You want whoever wears that number next to be better than you ever were. To me, retiring numbers is an individual thing -- it's a way for your legacy to live on. But that's not what Michigan softball is. It's doing things as a team and a family."
The letters tie into that approach, and Hutchins is pleased that her national championship team made a point of going all-out to encourage this year's team, which is the No. 3 seed behind No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Oregon.
"I never compare my teams," said Hutchins. "Team 38 is creating its own destiny. They're a good team, and good teams don't always win because it's not just talent. You have to have a good amount of talent, but in a game like that you've got to have guts. You've got to have nerve, and you've got to believe. And you've got to believe in your teammates. You've got to believe in your coaches. You've got to believe in yourself.
"Our talent's great, but our belief is fantastic."
However, Hutchins liked re-enforcing that inner-toughness with the words of a championship team that exuded confidence and became the last team standing.
Without any knowledge of the letters coming the team's way, Wagner said, "We're together and a family, and that is what is going to get us there and get us through."
