Kornacki: Wagner Carries Wolverines to Championship Series
5/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Coach Hutchins with Haylie Wagner
By Steve Kornacki
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Haylie Wagner has put her Michigan teammates on her back and carried them all the way to championship round of the Women's College World Series. She came in with the Wolverines trailing for the second time in three days, and once again she didn't give up an earned run while earning the victory.
The senior left-hander's stellar performance Sunday (May 31) in a 6-3 win over Louisiana State ran her scoreless streak to 9 2/3 innings -- during which she has struck out 10 while allowing six hits and two walks.
And just imagine how tough she might be if she hadn't been battling a cold ever since Wednesday, the day before the WCWS began.
And also imagine where the Wolverines might be without her. That isn't a pleasant thought. She got the comeback win over UCLA on Friday (May 29), the day after Megan Betsa shut out Alabama. And so Michigan went 3-0 in double-elimination play to reach the best-of-three championship series with No. 1 seed Florida that begins at 7 p.m. CDT Monday (June 1).
Wagner (24-2) comes at hitters with her hair on fire. And after every pitch, it's obvious that she can't wait to let the next one rip. Her delivery features plenty of gusto and motion and ends with a violent wind-milling action as she releases the optic yellow orb homeward.
Wagner can be pretty intimidating and sets a "tone" for both sides.
"She's come in, and she's energized us," said Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins. "She wants the ball. She's attacking the hitters, and she's giving us the confidence that we need on the mound. And that's what the pitcher's job is to do is to set the tone that we can win this game.
"She's just been outstanding. Her leadership on the mound has been fantastic. And we have such a great one-two punch, and she's just come in with that left jab. It's been fantastic."
Wagner relieved Betsa (31-4) with runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth inning, when the Tigers scored twice to take a 3-1 lead. No. 3 hitter Bianka Bell -- batting .421 with a team-high 18 homers and 73 runs batted in -- had a great opportunity to make it a big inning.
However, Wagner struck her out on four pitches to end the rally. The Wolverine senior ran in from the circle, bounding with joy, and you could sense momentum swinging. The Wolverines scored twice in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game.
Michigan (59-6), which has won 28 consecutive games, took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Sierra "SiLo" Lawrence pulled a double down the left-field line to score pinch-runner Olivia Richvalsky and Tera Blanco.
Lawrence was batting .367 with 14 homers and 56 RBI after Michigan won its NCAA Regional, but in the Super Regional against Georgia and in the WCWS she was batting .167 (3-for-17) with two RBI. How was she able to stay focused and get the job done?
"Staying one-pitch focused and believing in myself," Lawrence said, "and knowing that if I didn't get it done somebody behind me was going to get it done."
When asked about coming through in the clutch again after a drought, Lawrence smiled and said, "I only had one at-bat. That was my last at-bat. I don't remember the other one."
Hutchins, seated next to Lawrence during the postgame interviews, smiled at that mention. She preaches focusing only on the moment, and Lawrence had just validated her gospel.
Lawrence advanced to third base on a fielder's choice grounder by Sierra Romero, while Abby Ramirez was thrown out at home on the play. But then Lawrence stole home, and Romero stole second on a crazy play that was designed to steal a run while giving up an out after the run scores. But Romero and Lawrence executed their baserunning to perfection, and LSU shortstop Bell slipped while planting a foot to throw home.
"I was ready to have some fun with SiLo (pronounced see-low)," said Romero. "I know how she runs, and I know how I run, so I knew that was going to be really interesting. It's something we work on in practice, and it's something that I trusted SiLo with, and she did what she did, and we got the run."
Romero on U-M's double steal
That gave Wagner a three-run lead with three outs to go. She has been inspired to shine in the Series ever since missing it in 2013 with an injury and was so close to her second win in relief.
Hutchins caught up to Wagner before she got very far out of the dugout on her way to the mound and had something to say.
Hutchins told her, "If you're as excited to go out on that mound as you have been every inning, that'd be good enough. That's all we want."
Wagner beamed with joy, nodding her head.
Afterward, when asked if Hutchins connected with her at that moment, Wagner responded, "Absolutely. What could be a better place to be than on the mound in the seventh inning of a game to get us to the championship round? I don't want to take this uniform off yet."
Hutchins liked the look in her pitcher's eye as they ended the conversation.
"We want somebody that wants to go out there and have the seventh inning, not afraid of the what-ifs that could happen," said Hutchins. "She went out there, and she was excited. She may have been a little over-amped for that first batter, I'm guessing."
Wagner walked Bell, whom she'd struck out under pressure upon entering the game, but then got a pair of fielder's choice groundouts before fielding a weak grounder hit by pinch hitter Kailey McCasland and tossing the ball to first baseman Blanco for the final out.
Wagner on the game's final play
She confounded the Tigers for three and one-third innings, allowing only two singles and a walk while never letting more than one runner reach base per inning.
"She throws really good speed," said LSU coach Beth Torina. "She's left-handed, throws a curveball. She was able to get in on our righties, and then it broke pretty hard away from our lefties. She's really talented. She's an All-American. She earned that title. She's been there, and she's done that. She's a great pitcher -- threw with great velocity today. And she was just tough."
Asked to describe Wagner's style, Hutchins said, "Her style? She's Haylie Wagner. She's been a work horse for us for four years. She's had an opportunity to play in the World Series, and I'd say she's done pretty well so far."
Her teammates are feeding off her energy and success as surely as she's done that likewise them.
"My heart and soul is everybody's heart and soul," Wagner said. "So, we play as a team, we win and lose as a team, and we go out there and play every single pitch together. So, my heart and soul comes from everybody else around me."
When asked about some hoarseness in her voice and whether it had come from celebratory shouting, Wagner explained, "I've got a cold. I've had it since Wednesday, but I'm about over it."
She hasn't let anything or any batter stop her yet.
