Michigan Heads to Tampa for 2018 Season Kickoff

» No. 18 Michigan will kick off its 41st season of intercollegiate play at the annual USF Wilson-Demarini Tournament with a five-game slate this weekend in Tampa, Florida.
» The Wolverines return 16 letterwinners from last season's squad, including five starting position players and one starting pitcher; among them are two All-Americans in RHP/first baseman Tera Blanco and second baseman Faith Canfield.
» Head coach Carol Hutchins is in her 34th season at the helm of the Michigan program and, with a record of 1527-491-5, is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA softball history.

THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 9 -- vs. UAB (Tampa, Fla.), 10 a.m.
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Friday, Feb. 9 -- vs. Georgia State (Tampa, Fla.), 12:15 p.m.
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Saturday, Feb. 10 -- vs. Florida (Tampa, Fla.), 11 a.m.
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Saturday, Feb. 10 -- at South Florida (Tampa, Fla.), 3:45 p.m.
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Sunday, Feb. 11 -- vs. Illinois State (Tampa, Fla.), 9 a.m.
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• Complete Game Notes

The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan softball team (0-0) will kick off its 41st season of intercollegiate play with the annual USF Wilson-Demarini Tournament this weekend in Tampa, Florida. U-M will open play on Friday (Feb. 9) with games against UAB (10 a.m.) and Georgia State (12:15 p.m.), square off against No. 2 Florida (11 a.m.) and host South Florida (3:45 p.m.) on Saturday (Feb. 10) and wrap play with a 9 a.m. slate against Illinois State on Sunday (Feb. 11). All games will be held at the USF Softball Stadium.

• Michigan returns 16 letterwinners, five starting position players and one starting pitcher from last year's squad. Among the returning starters are two All-Americans in senior RHP/first baseman Tera Blanco and junior second baseman Faith Canfield.

• Head coach Carol Hutchins is in her 34th season at the helm of the Wolverines. She has compiled a 1,527-491-5 record over her 33 seasons as an NCAA head coach. Hutchins became NCAA softball's all-time coaching wins leader when she earned her 1,458th with an 8-0, 5-inning win at Indiana on April 2, 2016, and became the first to reach 1,500 wins with an 11-3, six-inning decision against Kent State on March 19, 2017.

• Associate head coach Bonnie Tholl enters her 25th season with U-M and 16th as associate head coach, assistant Jennifer Brundage is in her 20th season and volunteer assistant Alex Lagesse will begin her third season. The coaching trio of Hutchins, Tholl and Brundage have led Michigan to a 939-230-2 record (.803) over the last 19 seasons.

• Seniors Aidan Falk and Taylor Swearingen and junior Faith Canfield will serve as team captains for the season. They were elected in a vote by their teammates and coaches. All three are first-year captains.

• Canfield is the Wolverines' top returning hitter after boasting a breakout season in 2017 in which she batted .398 with nine homers and 40 RBIs en route to NFCA Third Team All-America honors. Blanco saw a dip in her offensive production last year and, for her final season, will look to recreate the success of her sophomore season when she recorded a .404 average with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs to claim NFCA First Team All-America honors.

• Michigan added a righty-lefty combination to the pitching staff this season -- forming a three-member staff with Blanco -- in freshman LHP Meghan Beaubien and freshman RHP Sarah Schaefer. Both are expected to put in innings this weekend and all season long. Beaubien is especially heralded as a three-time Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year honoree and three-time FloSoftball First Team All-American. She was FloSoftball's No. 6 overall recruit in last year's class.

• Of the 54 games on the Wolverines' 2018 schedule, seven are against teams that reached last season's NCAA Tournament, including Baylor and Florida -- both of which reached the 2017 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma -- as well as four teams listed in the preseason Top 25 and three receiving votes. Michigan will play 70 percent (38 of 54) of its games away from Alumni Field this season.

• Michigan posted a perfect 7-0 record over its 2017 fall-ball slate, including two wins apiece against Central Michigan and Michigan State. U-M batted .393 over the stretch, with five Wolverines hitting above .500, perhaps most notably junior Alex Sobczak, who hit .526 (10-for-19) with a team-best seven RBIs. The Wolverines' three-member pitching staff combined for a 0.56 ERA, 66 strikeouts and a .162 opposing average over 48 innings pitched. Beaubien led the group with a 0.00 ERA, 11 hits allowed and 47 strikeouts over 28 innings.