A Lil' Michigan Softball for Y'all

After working at The Michigan Daily, you really gain an appreciation for all Michigan sports. Though the Big 3 have completed their seasons, we vow our coverage of Michigan sports will not slack.

The defending-national champion softball team got off to an extremely slow start this season, before winning 12 of its last 13. The Realests look inside the numbers to detect what's wrong at Alumni Field.

As you can see, the pitching has remained solid - the team just needs to start swinging the bats:

2005 & 2006 Michigan Softball Comparison

2005
Record, Winning PCT: 65-7, .903
Date of 7th loss: June 6
Team BA: .316
Players batting over .340: 4
Runs/G: 5.82
HR/G: 1.43
Team ERA: 0.95

2006
Record, Winning PCT: 25-10, .714
Date of 7th loss: March 16
Team BA: .270
Players batting over .340: 0
Runs/G: 4.94
HR/G: .857
Team ERA: 1.04

Our solution: Hiring former women's assistant basketball coach Ron Mott. They could really use someone screaming "Come on, ladies!" from the dugout and calling timeout after every play...