Schaefer Throws Perfecto, Softball Sweeps Weekend

Submitted by South Bend Wolverine on

Just yesterday, freshman pitcher Sarah Schaefer got her first collegiate win in the circle.  Today, she celebrated her birthday by taking it up a notch, throwing a run-rule-shortened 5-inning perfect game, just the 8th in program history.  Michigan pounded Robert Morris in that one, posting a season-high 14 runs en route to their 4th run-rule win of the year.  A pair of 2-run home-runs in the 1st inning set the tone, and Michigan emptied the bench later on.

In the second game, Michigan put the Fort Wayne Mastadons in their place a well, running away with a 7-0 win.  Meghan Beaubien threw the complete-game shutout, while Faith Canfield paced the offense from the leadoff spot, going 3 for 3 in the game.

Michigan will finally get a chance to play in front of the home fans on Wednesday, as they take on CMU at the Wilpon Complex.  Big Ten play commences on Friday with the first game of a 3-game set against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

I'm going to try & get a mid-season report up sometime this week, but it's a busy one for work, so I'm not sure how much detail I'll be able to put into it.  We'll see what I end up having time for.

JonnyHintz

March 18th, 2018 at 6:08 PM ^

The perfect game news was already posted here earlier today. People may think she threw ANOTHER perfect game based on your title. Good news on the weekend sweep though.

Solecismic

March 18th, 2018 at 6:45 PM ^

Schaefer is already a contributor. That's so big for the program.

I know the competition wasn't that great this weekend, but to dominate without giving up free passes is a great sign. For a pitcher who wasn't on the FloSoftball radar at all, this is an unexpected surprise.

Beaubien was dominating as well, but her pitch counts are getting higher - usually a sign of fatigue. Hutch knows what she's doing, though.

One hopefully-not negative, but Lou Allan hasn't played since leaving for a pinch hitter last Sunday.

RoseInBlue

March 18th, 2018 at 7:00 PM ^

Yeah, I noticed Beaubien's pitch counts getting higher.  Mostly in the 1st couple of innings, then she typically figures it out.  I was hoping Schaefer emerging as a 3rd option would allow some more spread of the innings and take some of the pressure off of her.  She's a freshman.  Who knows if she can handle a Megan Betsa-esque workload?