Wolverines Fall Ball Wrap-Up With Head Coach Bonnie Tholl
12/4/2024 7:44:00 PM | Softball
By William Calhoun
Team 48 was dominant in all areas throughout its six-game, 47-inning fall ball season, outscoring its opposition 58-4 with wins over Toledo (3-0), Detroit Mercy (12-0), Oakland (19-1), Central Michigan (9-1, 3-0) and Bowling Green (12-2).
The Wolverines maintained some of their offensive momentum from last season, combining for a .388 batting average with 27 extra-base hits, 57 RBI and just 18 strikeouts in 201 total at-bats. Eight Wolverine batters batted .400 or better during the fall season, most notably sophomore outfielder Jenissa Conway with a team-best .636 average (7-for-11) with seven hits, seven RBI, a 1.364 slugging percentage and .733 on-base percentage -- reaching in 11-of-18 plate appearances.
Sophomore Ava Costales and junior infielder Madi Ramey shared the team lead with eight RBI apiece. Costales batted .571 with two doubles, a triple and two homers, while Ramey, who also led Michigan with eight runs, tallied three RBI in back-to-back games against Oakland and Central Michigan. Four Wolverines boasted slugging percentages of 1.000 or better as Michigan slugged for a combined .622 on 15 doubles, four triples and eight homers.
Freshman utility player Lauren Putz boasted a .556 average on a team-high 10 hits, including three doubles, a pair of triples and a no-doubt home run against BGSU, as well as six runs, six RBI and a .619 on-base percentage. Freshman outfielders Megan Beemer and Cece Thorington batted .500 (4-for-8) and .455 (5-for-11), respectively, with Beemer recording four hits and Thorington tallying a pinch-hit RBI single against Oakland. In all, the Wolverine rookies combined for a .411 batting average, 13 runs and nine RBI.
U-M only made a few defensive tweaks from last year's squad, Putz, Ramey and freshman Andee Dircks all earned starts at first base after the graduation of Keke Tholl, while senior Ella McVey and juniors Avery Fantucci and Janelle Ilacqua largely held down the middle infield. McVey, who posted career highs at the plate last season, batted .417 this fall with four runs and three RBI.
Costales and graduate student catcher/infielder Ryleigh Carricaburu carried the load at catcher after junior/sophomore catcher Lilly Vallimont was sidelined with injury after just two games and a .500 batting average in those games. Junior infielder Indiana Langford served primarily as a pinch runner, scoring five runs, while also rehabbing an injury.
Michigan's pitching staff was on par with its offense during the fall season, holding opponents to a meager .153 batting average with a 0.60 earned-run average and 56 strikeouts against 179 total batters faced. In all, U-M allowed just 25 hits and 16 total free passes across 47 innings pitched.
Senior right-handed pitcher Lauren Derkowski, an All-Big Ten first-team honoree and the Big Ten Tournament MVP in 2024, pitched seven scoreless innings this fall, allowing just two hits while striking out seven, and giving the Wolverines' other pitchers an opportunity to carry the bulk. Sophomore RHP Erin Hoehn led the staff with 15 innings pitched and did not allow an earned run while striking out 20 against 51 faced. Freshman RHP Haley Ferguson also posted 12 strikeouts and allowed one run over 10 innings, and senior RHP Emerson Aiken and sophomore RHP/infielder Reganne Bennett combined for 18 strikeouts.
Q&A with Head Coach Bonnie Tholl
Q: What were some of your biggest takeaways from the fall ball season, both for you as a coach and the team as a whole?
A: The biggest takeaway from the fall was recognizing not just the growth physically of the upperclassmen but the emotional maturity as they play with confidence while executing in situational play defensively and offensively. Understanding strategy and execution is huge, and we were impressive in that area. The second takeaway is that our overall athleticism is enhanced with the addition of the newcomers.
Q: What excited you the most about the performance of the newcomers during the fall season?
A: What is exciting about the newcomers is their solid understanding of the game already. They will need to adjust to the speed and intensity of the college game but the learning curve will be small. We have a great combination of speed and power that can have an impact on Team 48 immediately.
Q: What returning players stood out to you in terms of improvement in their game from the end of last season to the conclusion of fall ball?
A: It is always an asset to have players advance their games incrementally and those players that have noticeable advancements are Madi Ramey, Avery Fantucci and even the sophomores have come back stronger physically and they have elevated their play.
Q: Reflecting on areas of improvement following fall ball, what will be the main focus for the rest of the offseason?
A: The fall is the technical part of our training, so we break down individual player needs. After identifying the needs of the individual and what we need positionally as a team, we train those finer skills so that we are ready to bring it all together in January as we begin preseason practice. We spend a great deal of time in the offensive portion of the game because it is the more technical area. As our fall practice portion wrapped up, we inserted more challenges in the cages to keep our competitiveness sharp and continue to provide us feedback.
Q: With Keke Tholl no longer on the team, who have you observed taking on a larger leadership role with Team 48?
A: We graduated two of our three captains, and it is my role to delegate authority so that everyone feels ownership of our success. I always look to the seniors who understand the battles at this level, but Lauren Derkowski will set the tone since she is in the center of the field. Ella McVey and Ellie Sieler will have major influences, and it is always critical for our catchers to bring the energy, so Lilly Vallimont will be counted on for that. I really like that we had so many underclassmen play big roles last season and have shown they can be a huge factor in our success on a daily basis.
