Kornacki: Betsa Has Things Under Control
5/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 21, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Megan Betsa has things under control.
Betsa, the two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, has put the University of Michigan softball team on the doorstep of another NCAA Regional championship.
She blanked Miami (Ohio) on one hit over five innings in Saturday's (May 21) 6-0 win, with Sara Driesenga throwing the last two innings. Betsa didn't walk anybody and registered six strikeouts in a totally dominating performance.
The one hit Betsa allowed was a one-out single to Rylee Whispel in the third inning, and Betsa nearly got her on a called third strike one pitch prior to that.
Betsa has the No. 2 Wolverines (48-5) in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tourney and headed to the championship game 2 p.m. Sunday (May 22) at sold-out Alumni Field.
The pitching line for Betsa in beating Valparaiso on Friday (May 20) and then Miami: 10 innings pitched, two hits, zero runs allowed, one walk and 15 strikeouts.
As strong as Betsa (25-3, 1.87 ERA) has been this year, leading the nation with 11.5 strikeouts per seven innings, control hasn't been a strong suit. She came into NCAA play with 254 strikeouts in 155 innings, but also had 95 walks.
Betsa was allowing one walk for every 2.67 strikeouts before this weekend.
Against Valparaiso and Miami, she's made it one walk with 15 strikeouts.
What gives?
How did a pitcher who allowed fewer hits (79) than walks (95) before this weekend correct the one flaw in her game?
"That's a fantastic performance," said Wolverine head coach Carol Hutchins. "And again, it goes back to one-pitch softball. You can't do that if you pitch more than one pitch at a time, and Megan's worked very hard this week to stay in control of what she controls.
"She can't control if her offense scores runs, but she can control what she does out there. It's a mental discipline."
The game was scoreless through three innings, and Michigan had only a 2-0 lead before exploding for four runs in the sixth.
Hutchins said, "I told my team, 'Credit to Megan Betsa.' Really, a pitcher has to be tough as nails when the offense is sputtering around. And we were sputtering around. You know, they can start doubting. But Megan just stayed in her moment and did her part. I give her a lot of credit, and we finally got things going."
Sierra Lawrence -- the only Wolverine to hit the ball hard and square each time up -- lined a high-hopper over the shortstop for a two-run single to get the big inning rolling.
Still, Betsa never wavered before that. She mowed through the Miami lineup with such precision that she didn't go to a three-ball count on a single batter.
Pulling the strings, both literally and figuratively, was Wolverine pitching coach Jennifer Brundage.
"We shrunk the strike zone this week in practice with the strings," said Betsa. "My job was to throw the ball through the strike zone and not let my emotions get the best of me, and I thought they were actually being really aggressive, and that was allowing me to get ahead in the counts."
Betsa was so sharp that she threw only 14 called balls among 60 pitches.
Those "strings" Brundage pulled in for a tighter strike zone for drills got Betsa better focused.
"The whole ball had to be on the plate," said Betsa.
Hutchins explained: "Her pitching coach is brilliant, and she does have to throw through strings in a simulated strike zone during her workouts. I thought it was brilliant. Jen shrunk it almost in half, and (Betsa) has to spin it through the zone. Sometimes (in games), she avoids the zone, and she focuses on the hitters hitting it.
"Just spinning it through the zone, and she can still make it move. When you have great spin, even if the ball doesn't move, it screws up the hitters. And then (Brundage) went back and expanded (the strike zone) back to normal, and it made it seem really big I'd guess. So, it's a great drill, and I'm sure it won't be the last time Megan sees it."
It's also worth noting that Miami set a school record for taking walks this season.
"I was just feeling good out there," said Betsa. "Everything was working again. My curve was not as good as yesterday, but it was still there, and they were swinging at a lot of pitches.
"They had a good game plan, and I was just trying to keep them off balance."
Betsa said she used "verbal cues," talking to herself any time she felt as if she was "thinking too much" with a hitter in the box rather than honing in as she does pitching between the strings in drills.
Betsa also is working well with catcher Aidan Falk.
"When she's back there and she's loose and she's having fun," said Betsa, "it really translates into how we pitch. So, I think we have a good thing going back there, and she just needs to keep doing what she's doing."
Betsa said it's a matter of battery mate trust.
Last year, in going 31-5 and being voted All-America second team, she hooked up with senior catcher Lauren Sweet. The Wolverines have used three inexperienced catchers this season, and Falk becoming the steady hand behind the plate has been important.
Betsa was the ace last season, when senior Haylie Wagner also was significant in the circle, and led Michigan to the NCAA championship game during an exciting Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
That experience will bode well in the games ahead for Betsa, who learned to perform on the biggest stage.
"That's helped a lot," Betsa said of the 2015 World Series. "I remember last year, I was nervous for every game. I'm just going out and now every game just seems like another game to me. And I think that that's helped a lot."
The junior from McDonough, Georgia, is learning to control her emotions and pitches, and that leads to controlling the outcomes of games.
Betsa's been at her best this weekend.
