Hutchins Discusses Returning 1-2 Pitching Punch, Replacing Five Starters
2/4/2020 9:30:00 AM | Softball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 2019 Wolverines were nearly perfect during the Big Ten Conference softball season. They went 22-1 to claim the regular-season title by a game over Northwestern before sweeping three games in the league tournament for the program's first double-championship season since 2015.
Their goal of returning to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2016 wasn't realized when James Madison took the deciding game of a pitching-duel NCAA Regional at Alumni Field and the season ended with a 45-13 overall record.
Their quest of yet another Big Ten title -- Carol Hutchins has coached 21 regular-season and 10 tourney champs -- and reaching Oklahoma City for the WCWS begins as it usually does in Tampa at a tournament hosted by the University of South Florida. The University of Michigan will begin play Friday (Feb. 7) with five games in three days against Georgia State, Illinois State, Florida, USF and Fresno State -- in that order.
Pitching ace Meghan Beaubien (30-6, 1.87 earned run average with 229 strikeouts in 228.1 innings), now a junior and coming off winning the Big Ten tourney MVP award, will be back in the circle along with dynamic sophomore Alex Storako (14-6, 2.02 ERA with 190 strikeouts in 142.1 innings), who was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
However, five strong leaders and very talented starters who provided much power have graduated: catcher Katie Alexander, second baseman Faith Canfield, slugger Mackenzie Nemitz, center fielder Natalie Peters and first baseman Alex Sobczak.
Hutchins, entering her 37th season with an NCAA-record 1,616 wins, took time with MGoBlue.com to discuss the challenge 2020 holds.
Q. So, it starts again in Tampa against some tough competition.
A. A lot of talent there, but I'm not too focused on our opponent. I'm focused on us and getting us ready to play. When we get there, you give the kids opportunities to play. I laugh, thinking back to 2015, when (Kelly) Christner hadn't started the year before, and she had talent. She batted eighth in our first game and ended up being our No. 3 hitter and a first team All-American.
Your team has got to bloom. And, man, we're not quite there yet in February. We evolve, and this group definitely will evolve. We have a lot of kids who haven't played, and even juniors and seniors who haven't played a lot. I don't know who's going to end up being on the field for us full-time. I foresee this year's lineup taking longer to develop than last year's did. As they get tested, we'll see who really shows up. Our freshman and sophomore classes are going to have big impacts on us this year.
Q. I noticed you have four freshmen -- pitcher Chandler Dennis, infielder Julia Jimenez, utility player Audrey LeClair and outfielder Lexi Voss -- rated highly in the recruiting rankings. This time last year, you were already pretty confident about left fielder Lexie Blair. Are any of these new players catching your eye that way?
A. Probably Julia, we call her JuJu, and that's what she goes by. She's the most consistent and ready to play at this level. It won't be as big a transition for her as the others. But this incoming class is very talented just like last year's, and it's a bonus when they're ready to step in and play. But it's not a given. This game is faster-paced, and every pitch matters. Hitting at D-1 is a whole new game, and they need some seasoning.
The sophomores and juniors need more seasoning, and we also have some seniors who need some experience. We lost five starters, and that's a lot. The early season is going to provide a lot of learning curve, and we've got to roll with it and use it to get better.
Storako (left) and Beaubien are a formidable pair in the circle
Q. Where might Jimenez (Etiwanda High in Rancho Cucamonga, California) figure into the lineup?
A. We've been working her at second base. She can play shortstop and third base. She's roamed the outfield. She can play a lot of places. She played for the Firecrackers, a southern California team that is one of the top in the country. She came in with a foot injury that took her until this semester (to recover from). She came back a whole new player and really worked her game.
Q. You've got Lexie Blair coming back. She was unanimous first team All-Big Ten and a finalist for national freshman of the year. She led you with a .406 average, 22 doubles and 54 RBI while making some big plays in left. You spoke at the end of last season that what she does going from a freshman to sophomore is going to be really important.
A. Freshmen are great. They don't have any expectations. Now, she'll be battling expectations. In the fall, she struggled with the burden of her own expectations. A lot call it sophomoritis. But whatever you want to call it, she got more comfortable in the second half of the fall. As good a hitter as she was, we need her to improve on certain pitches. But she's been pretty good in this preseason. I see her being aggressive and a little more confident. She was so good most of last year.
Q. Lexie had a great Big Ten Tournament and then dropped off in the NCAA games.
A. She struggled big-time in the NCAA as our whole team did off (James Madison All-America pitcher) Megan Good.
And you see what happens with your lineup when you get a couple hitters going like we did with Romo (2016 national player of the year Sierra Romero) and others over that year who could elevate a lineup. That was a special player with some special kids for a couple of years. Lexie is without a doubt one of our best offensive players, and hopefully she can elevate her game.
Q. Will Lexie move to center in place of Peters?
A. I don't know. We've put her in center sometimes. We've got (2019 right fielder) Haley Hoogenraad (.241, 29 RBI) out there. One of those two will move to center. Who is the best fit? Left field is really difficult. We get some shots out there, and (Lexie) does a great job of being able to read in left.
Q. Meghan Beaubien had a 12-inning shutout win in the first NCAA game against James Madison. Where's she going to take her game this year?
A. I think the biggest thing for Meghan is to understand who she is on our team and be a presence whether she's in the game or not. Pat Summitt puts it best, and I'm a big Pat Summitt follower. (Summitt, who died in 2016, holds the NCAA basketball record with 1,098 wins.) She said, 'The best players have to be your leaders. They have to instill confidence in the team.'
We don't expect Meghan to always get it done. We don't expect Lexie to always get it done. But if they can give that kind of cool calmness to the team and be about, 'Hey, I'm here to show you how to get things done. I got your back.' That moment for Meghan was definitely in that JMU game, and I inspired a little bit of that: "They need to hear that you'll pitch as long as it takes: 'I got it, you guys.'"
And the kids talked later about how Meghan "gave us a total shot of confidence." She didn't ask for a run because she was running out of gas. She can get very caught up and myopic in her game, and you appreciate her great focus. But sometimes it can just tighten you up and you try too hard. Just be free and easy and look at your teammates and give them energy. We need greatness from Meghan.
(Note: Madison Uden won that game, 1-0, with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning against Good.)
Hutchins (left) wants to see Uden, a two-year starter, "go to another level."
Q. You have a perfect complement to Meghan in Storako.
A. Yeah, they are just two totally different looks. Beside the fact that one's righty (Storako) and one's lefty (Beaubien), Meghan throws a much harder pitch. She's been clocked at 70 (mph), not recently. But Storako, believe it or not, doesn't throw as hard as she looks. She pitches in the low 60s, but her spin rate probably doubles Meghan's. She can spin it. Her biggest issue is corralling her pitches because she gets behind in counts (59 walks). But it's difficult because she's throwing balls that really move.
Storako showed a lot of great moments last year, and now we need her to string them together and be consistent. We need more innings from her, and we need consistent innings. She was a little prone to giving up big hits, and rise-ball pitchers tend to be. (Megan) Betsa, as great as she was (Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, 2015 and 2016), was a rise-ball pitcher, and when they hit it, it goes far. But she can curtail that a bit, and I can tell Alex is more mature.
Q. I know you're losing one of your favorites behind the plate in Katie Alexander.
A. (Smiling) I know, but I've already adjusted. I'm over it.
Q. But Hannah Carson, now a sophomore, looked really good in that spot.
A. She's very talented and got some great experience last year. We threw her into the middle of a regional (when Alexander was injured) and at that point I thought, 'Man, I wished I'd gotten her in more games.' She didn't have a lot of expectations but was working hard to help us. She probably feels some pressure, but she doesn't have to fill Katie's shoes. Katie had to evolve.
Hannah's got all the tools. She's got a cannon behind the plate, has got a heck of a bat (.296 with 10 RBI in 54 at-bats), and we've just got to get her to keep the game simple.
Q. Another freshman last year, Morgan Overaitis (.255), has such a nice swing.
A. Yeah, Morgan's been outstanding this year and particularly these last couple weeks. She's played a much better second base, and she and JuJu are kind of battling it out. I like that; I like competition. But when I look at Mo, I believe she's a kid who's going to be in our lineup. It's just where, because she can hit it. She's a force every day and has the tools to be a really great hitter.
Q. Let's look at your infield, where you have Natalia Rodriguez (.303 with .470 on-base percentage and a team-high 12 steals) back at short with Uden (.263, seven homers, 31 RBI) at third.
A. It's nice to have your left side back, and Taylor Bump played a lot at third in the fall. She played her best ball and came on like an animal. She hasn't played with that same aggressiveness since the fall, but she could be a factor. Where? She can play either corner.
I'd like Madison to have a great year. You need certain kids to show up in order for us to be good. Your returning veterans need to have good years, and we don't have many. I want to see Madison go to another level. We need her to be one of our best players.
And Natalia (a switch-hitter) has really improved. Her fundamentals have gotten better. She's been a stellar defensive player for us and has always been a sparkplug because of her speed. We'll use her more right-handed than left-handed this year, and she can hit. She's actually a good hitter and gives us a lot of stability in the middle of the infield.
Carson looks to take over behind the plate as a sophomore
Q. Who's on first?
A. We've been playing Lou Allan (.263 with some clutch pinch-hits) at first. It'll be either Taylor Bump or Lou at first base, and she's a kid we need in our batting order. She's a power hitter who had a really bad injury last year that set her back, and has come a long ways back. Her mobility was really wracked by her injury, and now we look to her to be a middle-of-the-lineup hitter for us and a run producer. Lou has the ability.
Q. When walking over to your office, I noticed "2019" has been painted on the Alumni Field scoreboard under Big Ten champions. The belief you and the team have in attaining those is special, isn't it?
A. It's one of our goals. In their locker room, they have Big Ten champions and College World Series up there. Those are the two things we aspire to every year (Michigan has 12 WCWS appearances and a national title in 2005 with a runner-up showing in 2015). Those things don't change. We don't always reach 'em, but it's not about a destination. It's about what you do every day, and how you attack practice and how you attack games.
Championship behavior is championship behavior. You don't have to be the champion, and you don't necessarily become the champion, but championship behavior is your only chance to win a championship. That's what we're trying to instill in them -- to compete and be our best -- so we can compete.
And the league is as competitive as it's been. We play all of them (top four finishers behind Michigan last year) in a row: Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Ohio State. We have got a heck of a Big Ten schedule this year with a really tough stretch (playing those four between March 28 and April 19).
Q. And you're playing the defending national champs, UCLA, March 5 in the Louisville Slugger Tournament in Los Angeles.
A. How about that? It's meant to make us better, and we started last year 6-8, and that's the first time I can remember a losing record. (Michigan got its seventh win last year against UCLA in a tournament.) And then we found a way and stayed the course. We can't get caught up in our records or outcomes and have to go about our process. It begins with the coaching staff (associate head coach Bonnie Tholl and pitching coach Jennifer Brundage return along with volunteer coach Mary Beth Dennison and graduate manager Haylie Wagner, a two-time All-American and pitching star in the 2015 WCWS), and the staff's better at it than I am, I have to admit.
And this group's had ups and downs already. We took a fantastic trip to Cuba in October that was the trip of a lifetime. It was a great time to bond, and it was awesome.
Q. What was the best thing about it?
A. I think probably, beside the food, which was wonderful, being together for four days. It wasn't about softball, and we did play softball. Our vision was to play the Cuban national team, but we couldn't arrange that. But it was about experiencing a different culture, meeting the other team, and dancing with them. We took all sorts of cool stuff, and it was such a welcoming environment. And they gave us presents, too!
It was a lot like what (Michigan football coach Jim) Harbaugh does on his trips. It was about experiencing a whole different culture and the over-privileged, us, meeting the under-privileged, and our kids got a real good taste of it.
That wasn't much business, but now we'll be all business.
