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One Last Run
By Larry Watts Roya St. Clair can think of no better way to close out her Michigan softball career than to head back to Oklahoma City for the College World Series. "It's the pinnacle of your softball career," the Livonia, Mich. native says. "Everyone wants to be there and have a shot to win it. When we went last year, it had been a while since Michigan had been there and we were all very excited. We have several players who have experienced that trip and now we are looking forward to a chance to get back." Under veteran coach Carol Hutchins, the Wolverines have reached the pinnacle of women's college softball nine times in the past 14 years, but last year's trip marked their first since their title run in 2005. After a victory over Alabama, the Wolverines dropped contests to Florida and Georgia. "It was huge winning that first game and staying out of the elimination bracket," St. Clair says. "But then we suffered a tough loss (1-0) to Florida and fell to Georgia. We have several girls who have learned from that experience." A first-team All-Big Ten selection last year, when she hit .301 while delivering six home runs and driving in 33 runs, St. Clair has been a fixture behind the plate for the Wolverines for the past four years. She has logged over 200 starts, catching eight no-hitters, including three perfect games. "I've basically worked with six different pitchers," she says. "What I like the most about catching is the involvement aspect because I am involved in nearly every play. You never get bored behind the plate." For the past three seasons, St. Clair has been primarily working with junior right-hander Jordan Taylor and senior southpaw Nikki Nemitz. They have combined for over 140 victories during the Wolverines' run to three straight Big Ten titles. "Just because one is a righty and the other is a lefty, I don't really notice a difference in their pitching styles," St. Clair says. "The most challenging part is dealing with them on a daily basis because they are very different people, so I have to treat them differently in difficult situations. It's not like I have to get on one more than the other; they just have different personalities and I have to be able to change with that."
After a breakout year with a .301 average last season, the Wolverines' cleanup hitter has seen her average dip to .259 heading into the regional tournament. However, her power numbers are up with a career-high eight home runs and 41 RBI. "Luckily, we have a new season coming up," she says. "What I did in the past doesn't matter and that's the way I like to look at it. Batting cleanup in our order really doesn't carry any extra burden because I am surrounded by great hitters throughout our lineup." Fortunately, a tough day at the plate doesn't carry over to her work behind the plate, where she has only committed two errors in 465 chances and gunned down 15 of 35 stolen base threats this season. "Obviously, not doing well at the plate doesn't put you in a great mood," she says. "But since I have to go right back out there on defense and work with our pitchers, it's easier to forget about it. The toughest thing is when you're the designated player and you have a couple of innings to think about your next at-bat, which can be very challenging at times." With the graduation of Becky Marx, St. Clair found herself competing with senior Tiffany Worthy, who had little experience, for the starting catching job during her freshman year. St. Clair made 22 starts behind the plate, but when she went through an 0-for-4 day at the plate in a loss to Illinois and left several runners in scoring position, the Michigan coaching staff elected to stay with Worthy. "I was expecting to start right away when I came here because the position was wide open," says St. Clair, who has been catching ever since she was a 12-year-old on a traveling team. "(Tiffany) and I had been switching on and off all year, but I wasn't hitting very well and I don't think the coaches were very happy when I left all those runners on base against Illinois. I wasn't surprised I wasn't catching anymore, but they gave me another chance as a designated player and I think I helped." The lone blemish on the Wolverines' Big Ten record this season is a 5-3 loss to Ohio State in the first game of a doubleheader in Columbus. Michigan rebounded with a 4-3 victory in the nightcap and have been on a nine-game roll ever since, but St. Clair does not see the win over the Buckeyes as a turning point. "We went into the locker room after that loss and Hutch said, 'You lost, what are you going to do about it? It's not how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up.' I think our team took that message and played our game to win that second game. Since then, we have been in control of our own destiny and we simply have taken care of business." St. Clair, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, has already taken care of business in the classroom, earning her degree in sport management on May 1. Loading up on credit hours in the fall and winter, she never had a class in the spring, leaving her plenty of time to concentrate on softball. "My father asked me how it fell to be a graduate and I told him it's not any different than any other spring because I don't have any classes to attend," she says with a laugh. "It will be weird not coming back to class next fall and not being here when the next season begins. However, it's time for someone else to put on that Michigan uniform and make her mark in the program. "I'm not going to miss the conditioning; that's more running than I care to do. It will be nice to work out on my own without someone holding a stopwatch and telling me to pick up my feet." |
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