Beaubien Has Found Postseason Success, Wins NCAA Opener for Wolverines
5/17/2019 11:10:00 PM | Softball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It's been a tale of two postseasons for University of Michigan pitching ace Meghan Beaubien.
Beaubien didn't let the slick conditions, rain delay or losing her starting catcher, senior Katie Alexander, to a knee injury after two innings break her focus or deter her success. The sophomore left-hander threw five crisp, scoreless innings in Friday's (May 17) 8-0 win over Saint Francis in the NCAA Regional opener at Alumni Field.
She allowed just two singles and walked nobody while striking out six to stay on track when highly-recruited freshman catcher Hannah Carson replaced Alexander.
Beaubien
"The biggest difference in this case is going from your catcher that you've thrown to for two years and you're very used to," said Beaubien. "Katie's fantastic and I really hope she's OK.
"But I trust Hannah as well, and Hannah's been awesome this year. She really came in and didn't miss a beat. It really didn't feel like a big physical difference. She did a great job, and that was good."
Beaubien was outstanding in the Big Ten Tournament as well, allowing only three runs in 15 2/3 innings while facing some strong-hitting teams, including NCAA No. 7 seed Minnesota, in leading the Wolverines to the title and earning tourney MVP.
She has now allowed three runs over 20.2 postseason innings on 16 hits with one walk and 22 strikeouts.
This is the Beaubien that Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins had come to expect when she finished the 2018 regular season with a 0.90 earned-run average and was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.
However, last year, after losing a rough outing in the conference tournament opener and pitching so-so after a pair of NCAA tourney losses to Notre Dame, Beaubien's postseason line was not pretty: 21.2 innings pitched with 11 earned runs on 17 hits and a very abnormal nine walks with 21 strikeouts.
How much has last year's experience helped her this year?
"I think it's big," said Beaubien, from Monroe (Michigan) Saint Mary Catholic Central. "Like knowing what it's like to step in front of a postseason crowd, and know it's the postseason, and just understanding that it's still the same game that you've been playing your whole life since you were like 6 years old. And I think once you've done it a year, then that becomes more real to you and you start to get better at it.
"I think I'm just really focusing on the right things and figuring out what works for me from a mentality standpoint. The biggest thing is just trusting my pitches and trusting that what I do is enough to be successful."
She also struggled out of the box this year, posting a 3.95 ERA after nine appearances. But everything started coming together after Beaubien beat No. 2 seed UCLA, 3-1, by allowing three hits over seven complete innings on March 1. She's now 29-4 with a 1.95 ERA and once again was All-Big Ten first team.
Beaubien was extremely economical in the NCAA opener, needing only 57 pitches to get through five innings, and getting several swing-and-miss third strikes on changeups.
"I just felt very poised and very in control of what I was doing," she said. "I think that's important -- especially in the postseason. It's easy to get those nervous jitters. So, I think I was just really happy with the mentality I had in the circle today."
What did Hutchins see from Beaubien against Saint Francis?
"I saw Meghan," Hutchins said with a smile. "She went out there. She was attacking them, I thought, and I thought she did a great job the few times after it wasn't a great pitch. She came back and I said, 'Resilience is the key.' And she came back and threw good pitches, and was a great leader out there for us."
Hoogenraad
Freshman Alex Storako pitched one scoreless inning thanks to a stunning circus catch on the warning track by right fielder Haley Hoogenraad that saved two runs and ended the sixth inning. The Wolverines added three runs in the bottom of the inning to put the run rule into effect and end the game.
Michigan will play James Madison, a 5-2 winner Friday over DePaul, at noon Saturday in the first of three games in the double-elimination tournament.
Hutchins isn't sure if Alexander will be available. She injured the knee while apparently faking a throw to second base, and dropped the ball while falling to the ground.
"It was the back of her knee," said Hutchins. "She said, 'Something hit me.' She thought it was the umpire's knee into her knee. So, she's getting an MRI. We're going to check it out. She seems stable; she's able to walk on it. She's sore. Kids get real anxious when their knees do these things. So, if the MRI is great, then we'll know."
The injury occurred with two out in the first inning, and the runner advanced from first to second with Alexander unable to immediately get up. She also caught the second inning while getting tended to by team trainers between innings. Hutchins said pitching coach Jennifer Brundage notified her that Alexander needed to come out after catching the second, and Carson entered as a pinch-hitter for her in the bottom of the inning.
Michigan got solid hitting, pitching and defense in the victory. Mackenzie Nemitz had two hits, two RBI and scored twice. Faith Canfield and Natalie Peters both had two hits and scored a pair of runs, and Lexie Blair had two hits while scoring once and knocking in one run.
"The first game is always ... I had butterflies," said Hutchins. "I thought we worked through those really well. Hannah Carson came up big for us, obviously. Katie, we don't know where we're at with that. But (Carson) did a great job behind the plate and did a great job at the plate."
Carson singled and had an RBI double that narrowly missed being a homer.
"Of course, I was just hoping (Alexander) was all right," said Carson. "But I knew, no matter what, that if I had to go in, my teammates trusted me and my coaches trusted me. And I just used what I've been practicing in practice."
Asked if she thought the double might clear the wall in right-center, Carson said, "I thought so. A couple more inches higher."
Carson
She's now batting .289 with one homer, three doubles, one triple and 10 RBI in 45 at-bats.
Carson never batted lower than .550 as a four-time All-State selection at Mount Pleasant (Michigan) High, hitting 31 homers and never once striking out. In case you're wondering, she's struck out eight times this season.
"It's great to continue to see our kids step up in the roles they have," said Hutchins. "We've had great role playing throughout this year. So, we have to be ready for a tough battle. We have a really tough game coming up."
She touched on the value of Carson and others being able to answer the call when needed.
"I think it's part of our success," said Hutchins. "We've had them in roles all year. We've seen the emergence of Lou Allan. She's gotten healthy and has been in key pinch-hit roles, and we've seen Morgan Overaitis in key pinch-hit roles. We've seen (first baseman Taylor) Bump come in and play great defense.
"We're definitely more than nine deep, and we've seen both of our pitchers picking each other up when they need to. I think we're going to need them all to get through the tournament."
How long Alexander is out remains to be seen, but Carson saw to it that there was no dropoff. Beaubien retired the first five batters she faced with the freshman behind the plate, and the No. 15-seeded Wolverines (44-11) are on a postseason roll for the first time since 2016.
