Feeling the Family, Love that is the Michigan Softball Dynasty
5/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 8, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It's a family affair and a love affair. And, of course, it's a dynasty.
University of Michigan softball is a feel-good bundle of triumph and joy.
That was never more evident than Sunday afternoon (May 8), when the Wolverines beat Rutgers, 8-0, and celebrated a ninth consecutive Big Ten championship and the 202nd win during the careers of seven super seniors.
While the seniors were honored in a postgame ceremony at Alumni Field after their final regular-season game, someone in the sellout crowd of 2,473 shouted, "Thank you, ladies!"
Another shouted, "We love you, ladies!"
The seniors -- Lauren Connell, Sara Driesenga, Sierra Lawrence, Olivia Richvalsky, Sierra Romero, Mary Sbonek and Kelsey Susalla -- were handed long-stemmed yellow roses, and their mothers received white roses along the first-base line for Mother's Day. They got hugs from Wolverine head coach Carol Hutchins and so did many of the family members with them.
Then the seniors jogged to home plate for the presentation of the Big Ten championship trophy. No other Big Ten men's or women's team has a longer reign as conference champs than these softball Wolverines. The rest of the No. 2 team in the country rushed out of the dugout to join the trophy hoist, dancing in rhythm to a rap song that was blaring.
"We're a great team because we truly care about each other as people," said Hutchins, "and I just told them when we were in the locker room, 'As proud as we are for that trophy, the trophy's not really the thing.' They should be proud of what they've done to get their achievement. And that's all you can ever do when at the end of the day you look in the mirror and say, 'I did my best.' If they did their best, that's good enough. Some days maybe it isn't, but I'm proud of them for that.
"They've been really great Michigan women, and they represent themselves and this program, and they take care of the program. They understand their place in the world, and they're going to keep taking care of this program for the rest of the season, and we're all going to be in this together. There's nothing more fun than the next few weeks because everyone recognizes what a family we are and has a great appreciation for it."
Romero added: "It's what we worked for all season. We set goals, and the first goal is to win a Big Ten championship. Then we just keep moving forward, and we know what the ultimate goal is in the end. But this (day) makes me think back to conditioning season and running that conditioning test together and not having fun at that moment, but we pushed through it. And it makes me think of how hard we've worked together and pushed each other, had each other's back and the stuff that nobody sees that has gotten us so far."
They sang on the field: "It's GREAT to be A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!"
They danced, hugged and cried more than you'll see at most weddings. They received championship hats and T-shirts and ran from the field to their locker room through a sea of fans shouting and cheering. The players signed autographs and posed for photos.
It's family.
"We're all about team, and we just want everyone to have success," said Romero, "and we have fun doing it. It's a lot more fun when you're playing as a family. Everyone's out there playing for each other, and we've done that all season. We'll just continue to do it."
It's love, too, and the players can feel it.
"Definitely," said Susalla, the right fielder hitting .364 with 10 homers and 50 runs batted in. "What makes my career here so special is the fans and how loving and part of the team they are for us, too. It's really great."
Driesenga (20-0), who pitched the final inning to complete a shutout with Megan Betsa (22-3), added, "There's no greater place for us to play than right at home. The atmosphere the fans bring is amazing."
They're at 202 wins and counting, and only Florida's senior class (223 wins) has exceeded them.
"Hutch tells us when we come in that our job is to leave the program better than it was when we got here," said Lawrence. "So, that touches home with me, and that's what I want my legacy to be."
It was quite a weekend for Michigan (44-4, 21-2 Big Ten) showcasing just why it's a dynasty.
Romero hit a homer in each of the three games against Rutgers, which the Wolverines swept to the tune of 28-2.
However, the likely national player of the year gets plenty of help. Lawrence is batting .441 and leads the team with 67 runs and 18 stolen bases while also contributing 10 homers and 40 RBI. Sophomore first baseman Tera Blanco (.415, 10 homers, 57 RBI) has joined the three slugging seniors to power the nation's top scoring offense.
Romero is among the nation's leaders by batting .485 with 71 RBI, and she now has 16 homers to push her school career-record total to 79. Yet, it could be that she is only getting started. Her back hadn't been quite right all season, but Romero finally felt fine this weekend and exploded with power.
"We have a great trainer here who has been working with me since I came back from summer ball," said Romero. "I don't know any athlete who doesn't have aches and pains, but you push through them. That's what you're supposed to do, and it was nice to feel pretty good this weekend."
Romero and her classmates likely will get more games at Alumni Field. Michigan is in a position to host an NCAA regional after next weekend's Big Ten Tournament at Penn State.
Still, it was an emotional day with all the families here.
"This is what makes Michigan softball special," said Mike Romero, Sierra's father. "We've been to other games throughout the country, and there's nothing like Michigan. People always talk about Sierra's stats and what she's done throughout the years. But there's little said about what Michigan has done for Sierra, and I think that's more important than anything.
"The people of Ann Arbor and the University welcomed her with open arms, and she came here an 18-year-old Hispanic girl, almost 3,000 miles away, and the people here have always been nice. What Sierra has really enjoyed about it is that this was her home away from home."
The Romeros live in Murrieta, California, between San Diego and Orange County. Joining her parents on the weekend trip were her brother, Michael, and sister, Sophia, on their first trip to Ann Arbor. Grandparents, Humberto and Carolina Romero, and an uncle, Mario Romero, also attended.
"There's no place like this," said Melissa Romero, her mother. "It's so sad because I loved seeing Sierra here for the last four years. I'm remembering bringing her here for her freshman year and getting her into her dorm, and now we're getting ready to say good-bye.
"So, it's bittersweet. But it's been so much fun, and there's no place I'd rather have her be than here."
During the celebration, Hutchins, still soaking wet from the Gatorade bath provided by the daring junior class, put her right arm around Melissa and her left arm around Sierra. They leaned back and smiled, not wanting to let go.
"She's been so terrific to Sierra not only as a coach but a mentor off the field personally in life," said Melissa. "Her door was always open, and she made us feel comfortable not being here.
"Hutch was the one steady person Sierra could always rely on. So, it's been great. We owe so much to her. That embrace we had out there, she said, 'I love you.' I said, 'I love you, and I'm thankful for everything.' It was hard."
They had to let go. It's that way every year for Hutch and her seniors.
"I call it bittersweet," said Hutchins, getting a bit misty. "I don't like this day at all. I don't like to get emotional, but you do. You stop and reflect on your senior class and what they've meant to the program, and my time with them is limited.
"So, I hope they do a good job and keep me around for a while."
The more they win in the postseason, the longer she gets to coach them. The NCAA Women's College World Series concludes June 8 in Oklahoma City, and so no matter what, they have one month left together, tops.
Yet, they remain family for life, in love with each other and the experience they shared.
That's Michigan softball.
"Ultimately," said Hutchins, "I hope that when they look back on their season and their careers they will look back with really big hearts and (say) this was the best time of their life."
