OKLAHOMA CITY — Kelsey Susalla crushed the 2-2 pitch into the right-centerfield gap. UCLA right fielder Kylee Perez chased after it with blazing closing speed. The ball and the glove were destined to be on a collision course, and Perez was determined to make the ball and the web of her glove meet.
Instead, the ball tipped off of Perez’ mitt for a two-RBI double, leading to Michigan’s biggest rally of the game. While the Wolverines celebrated in the dugout, Perez was left wondering if she could have made the play or not.
Softball is already a game of inches. Whether it’s where the bat makes contact with the pitch, the umpires’ strike zone or the difference between a base hit and an out, every aspect of the game has a chance of going the other way.
“(The margin of error) is pretty slim,” Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. “Every pitch of the game matters. Every out matters.”
In No. 3 Michigan softball’s second game of the WCWS against the seventh-ranked Bruins, the first run and then every subsequent run after could have not happened in regard to how close the plays were. Nearly every run in the contest scored by way of a close call — connecting well to the evenly matched game between two of the hottest hitting teams in the nation.
When UCLA third baseman Mysha Sataraka singled to drive in the game’s first run, her line drive went right over the glove of sophomore shortstop Abby Ramirez. Two batters later, the margin of error came down to balls and strikes. With the bases loaded, sophomore right-hander Megan Betsa was battling Bruin first baseman Maddy Jelenicki, with neither budging to let the other win the at-bat. The showdown lasted seven pitches. The last two deliveries were borderline strikes — pitches that could’ve been called either way. If Betsa could have got the punch out, a run wouldn’t have come across by way of a walk.
It’s a fact that if something happens differently earlier in the game, it will affect what happens later. The first inning could have gone in the opposite direction from what actually happened if the decisions or difference in inches could have gone in the Wolverines’ favor. Michigan may have gotten out of the first inning unscathed. And Betsa may have stayed in the game instead of getting replaced by senior left-hander Haylie Wagner with two down in the first.
“We knew that they were going to come after us, and we just attacked right back,” Wagner said.
But the first inning ended up being irrelevant, as the Wolverines left it behind in the rear view mirror.
In the third inning, the difference went Michigan’s way. Sophomore left fielder Kelly Christner tacked on the Wolverines’ first run with an RBI single. The grounder slipped right past the outstretched second baseman. The junior left fielder Susalla stepped up to the plate next and proved that the margins can be even slimmer. Susalla’s hit off of the diving right fielder’s glove skid further out into the outfield for a 2-RBI double.
The hit could’ve been classified as a near-out, but nonetheless, it tied the game back up at three. Because of the ball not being caught, it gave Michigan another chance to score by way of a sacrifice fly for its first lead of the contest, 4-3.
The first error of the game came in the bottom of the third inning. Wagner earned a routine groundout to the shortstop, but after the first baseman Tera Blanco closed the ball in her glove, the play became nearly chaotic. The two UCLA runners on base advanced to second and third, but the one on second overran second base purposely to get her teammate ahead of her home.
The Wolverines initially didn’t take the bait, but eventually threw it to third late. The rushed, pressured throw was low, bouncing past sophomore third baseman Lindsay Montemarano to allow the run to score. The advanced base running technique by the Bruins tied the game, 4-4.
They wouldn’t score again, however, stifled by Wagner’s dominance in the circle.
“I wasn’t going to let them beat me,” Wagner said.
Susalla hit another ball in the fourth inning that was almost caught. Her leadoff single hit off of the second baseman’s glove, starting another Michigan rally. Senior catcher Lauren Sweet hit another single five pitches later, advancing Susalla to third base. Montemarano dug in next and hit a sacrifice fly RBI again, giving the Wolverines the lead again, 5-4.
After tacking on another run in the sixth inning, Susalla hit another RBI single into left field, this time for a double. Her hit again involved a close call, as the left fielder gunned the ball home, attempting to throw Christner out at home. The throw was slightly offline, as the ball bounced around the catcher and the tumbling-home-in-cartwheel-fashion Christner, giving Michigan a three run lead.
With two down in the bottom of the sixth inning, junior centerfielder Sierra Lawrence had her opportunity to make a play on a well-hit ball. Lawrence trapped the ball in her glove while picking up grass stains in the process, preventing the Bruins from scoring.
Lawrence sealed the victory with an RBI single shooting just past the shortstop. It gave the Wolverines an 8-4 lead, and they didn’t look back from there, scoring two more runs in the inning to win 10-4.
“(I told Lawrence), you’re going to make a huge play,” Christner said. “And then she made that (diving catch), and she came in and got a huge hit. I think just the momentum that built off that was huge.”
Friday’s contest was close until Michigan contagious hitting proved to be too much for UCLA. And in a game of inches, Michigan capitalized on close plays to outslug the statistically best contact hitting team in the country.
“You never know how important a run is going to be,” Hutchins said. “Or how an out is going to be and why it’s so important. You just attack every play and play your heart out, and we played our hearts out.”