Kornacki: Michigan's Leader in Softball Knowledge Is Also Up There in RBI
5/10/2018 11:44:00 AM | Softball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Tera Blanco is one of the most dynamic hitters the University of Michigan softball team has ever produced, and that's saying something at a school so rich in tradition and accomplishment.
She needs one more run batted in at this weekend's Big Ten Tournament in Madison, Wisconsin, to break a third-place tie with former teammate Sierra Lawrence. Both have 201, and the only two ahead are 2016 national player of the year Sierra Romero at 305 and Samantha Findlay, who had 219 including the three biggest ribbies in program history with the 10th-inning homer that provided the Wolverines their lone national championship in 2005.
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins grinned when those RBI rankings were read following Wednesday's (May 9) spirited practice at Alumni Field.
"That's great," said Hutchins. "I certainly hope she breaks the tie with (Lawrence). I certainly hope she breaks it."
Blanco, who also has a .335 career batting average and 36 homers, didn't hesitate when asked what statistic meant the most to her. It's those RBI, and trailing only Romero and Findlay while matching Lawrence means much to her.
"After four years," said Blanco, "looking back at my career at Michigan, it's really special to be next to great athletes. I'm really proud of it, and I remember always looking up to both Sierras. It's really special."
Those four each played in a national championship game, and that says much about why RBI are widely considered the most important offensive stat.
Hutchins was asked what she most appreciated about Blanco.
"Well, I really appreciated her this year," Hutchins began. "She's been all in and has been a great leader. She's helped mentor the younger kids, and nobody knows the game better than Tera Blanco. She knows the game better than any kid I've ever coached -- any kid.
"She grew up with a coach for a dad and grew up on a ballfield. She's just so savvy. If you watched her in the beat-the-runner game, who was out there organizing everybody? Tera. Tera is that team leader that we need, and she's done that really well this year."
That's some compliment. Hutchins has coached the Wolverines for 34 seasons, won more games than any coach in major college history with 1,570, and has had 35 All-Americans, including Blanco in 2016. And she made it clear that nobody exceeds Blanco's softball knowledge.
Blanco does it all. She hasn't made an error this season, and she has three of them in the last three seasons combined. She's 29-8 with a 2.15 earned run average and a no-hitter in the circle, and she won 18 games as a junior.
So, her knowledge is spread through every facet of the game.
Tera's sister, Kayla, showing her support
And at the root of that knowledge is her father, Jeff, who has coached her since she was 4, through summers of travel ball and when he was on the coaching staff at Huntington Beach (California) Marina High, where she was the varsity MVP all four years. She was playing softball before she attended kindergarten, and she tagged along with older sister Kayla, who played at Cal State-Fullerton.
"I started with tee ball and then played rec ball for two years," said Blanco, "and then I went straight to my dad's travel team. I played for him on that until my sophomore year in high school. We always pitched and hit together, and I would play catch with my older sister. And we always played Whiffleball in our yard. Dad took us to the hitting cages, and we'd play at any field we could get onto.
"What he helped me with most was my mindset in hitting and pitching but mostly hitting. My approach as a hitter is to get a good pitch and swing hard."
When Blanco was named a first-team All-American in 2016 after achieving career highs with a .404 average, 12 homers, 66 RBI, a .537 on-base percentage and .748 slugging percentage, she gave the award to Dad.
"My dad has my All-American one," said Blanco. "He wanted that, and it was good to give that to him. Me and my sister have two big trophy cases at my dad's house, and he has that on my shelf.
"And I got a canvas of me hitting, pitching and running at our banquet, and I gave that to him, too. He was really happy when I handed that to him. He wanted that, too."
Blanco was a unanimous selection at first base on the 2018 All-Big Ten team announced Wednesday, and she attained that honor in each of her last three seasons.
Faith Canfield, a junior second baseman who leads the Wolverines in batting average (.404), runs (42), slugging percentage (.669) and on-base percentage (.508), has played on the right side of the infield with Blanco for three seasons.
What does she appreciate most about Blanco?
"Her competitiveness," said Canfield. "She's not scared of anybody. She's going to go up there, and she loves to win. She's going to do what it takes to win, and the thing about being her teammate is that she is going to push you to be your best because she wants to win, and she's willing to do whatever is needed for the team.
"It's so genuine with her. She's such a great competitor."
Blanco on Senior Day
Blanco gets to the points that need to be made without hesitation.
"The kids call her 'Blunt,'" said Hutchins. "She's not afraid to tell you what she thinks: 'Move your feet. Move over. Go get that ball!' This year, she really emerged. As a freshman she had those qualities because she had that great game savvy."
Canfield added, "She's not afraid to call people out, which is what we need."
Blanco had a strong freshman season and has had only one year that was subpar compared to the others. She batted .288 in 2017 but has bounced back to .362 while cutting down on strikeouts from 21 to 11.
"I've just had more of a calm mindset in having the pitcher pitch to me," said Blanco, "and not really going out of my way to go get pitches. It helped because I drew a lot more walks this year (a career-high 37) and basically had better at-bats."
She also had a no-hitter April 10 against Eastern Michigan, striking out 12 in seven innings.
"That really meant a lot," said Blanco. "It's always been a goal I wanted to accomplish at Michigan, and it was real special. On the no-hitter, my team really helped me out on that. They play amazing defense. Our infield is just amazing and helps out all our pitchers. We have the record for the most no-hitters in a season (at Michigan)."
Blanco reached the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City as a freshman and sophomore, and she wants to return to the game's premier event as a senior. But before moving on to an NCAA Regional, Michigan will be chasing its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2015. The conference's regular-season champs (43-10, 18-3 Big Ten) will open Friday against the winner of a game between Michigan State and Nebraska.
"It will again come down to pitching, defense and timely hitting," said Blanco. "But pitching and defense are the key to everything. Our bats will come around when we need them. We do have really good bats, and I think we're going to have a really good run.
"Our senior leadership has been the difference this year. We all want the same goal, and my class is getting everyone to have fun and playing with confidence."
"Blunt" has made a huge impact with her leadership, pitching, defense and bat. She, after all, knows that game better than anyone "Hutch" has ever coached.
