Michigan Defeats No. 8 Baylor, No. 18 Louisiana at Judi Garman

Friday, March 2

Fullerton, Calif.

9:30 AM PT

Michigan

11-6

Baylor

9-1

Michigan

Baylor

Michigan Defeats No. 8 Baylor, No. 18 Louisiana at Judi Garman

3/2/2018 9:05:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery (Baylor)Photo Gallery (Louisiana-Lafayette)

By: Leah Howard

» No. 25 Michigan defeated No. 8 Baylor, 6-3, and No. 18 Louisiana Lafayette, 3-1, on the second day of action at the Judi Garman Classic.
» Michigan posted 19 hits, including eight for extra bases, on the day; Faith Canfield went 6-for-8 with two homers and four RBI, while Tera Blanco posted three hits and three RBI.
» LHP Meghan Beaubien earned the complete-game win against Baylor and a save against Louisiana Lafayette, posting six strikeouts and five hits allowed through eight total innings.

Site: Fullerton, Texas (Anderson Family Field)
Event: Judi Garman Classic (Day 2 of 3)
Scores: #25 Michigan 6, #8 Baylor 3; #25 Michigan 3, #18 Louisiana Lafayette 1
Records: U-M (12-6), BU (9-1), ULL (11-4)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 3 -- vs. Cal Poly -- Judi Garman Classic (Fullerton, Calif.), 9:30 a.m. PST

FULLERTON, Calif. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan softball team used early and timely hits to knock off a pair of top-20 opponents on the second day of the annual Judi Garman Classic, as it defeated No. 8 Baylor, 6-3, and No. 18 Louisiana Lafayette, 3-1, on Friday (March 2) at Cal State Fullerton's Anderson Family Field.

The Wolverines combined for 19 hits -- eight for extra bases -- on the day, which included 12 against the previously unbeaten Bears. It was U-M's third game this season with double-digit hits and just one off their season high.

Michigan's veterans set the tone. Junior second baseman Faith Canfield went 6-for-8 with two homers and four runs batted in, boasting four hits in the first slate and all three RBI in the second. Senior right-handed pitcher/first baseman Tera Blanco registered three hits and three RBI -- a three-run bomb in the first inning against Baylor -- while senior utility Aidan Falk recorded five hits.

Freshman LHP Meghan Beaubien (9-2) contributed to both wins. She allowed three runs on five hits -- notably a three-run homer in the sixth -- and no walks against Baylor before shutting down Louisiana with a 1-2-3 seventh inning to earn her first collegiate save. She posted six strikeouts on the day. Blanco (3-1) earned the ULL win with four strikeouts and gave up one run on two hits through four relief innings.

Blanco's three-run homer -- a no-doubter to left field -- in the first inning put U-M ahead for good against the Bears. Canfield beat out an infield single to lead off the game while a Baylor fielding error put another runner aboard for Blanco with no outs. It was Canfield's turn in the next inning; she found a similar spot beyond the left-field wall with a two-out, two-strike solo shot.

The Wolverines followed with a run apiece in the third and fourth frames -- on a throwing error and an RBI single, respectively -- to push their lead to six runs before rain returned to force the day's second delay.

Beaubien got out of jams in bottom of the fourth and the fifth innings before the Bears' three-run homer in the sixth cut the U-M lead in half. She responded by retiring the next five Baylor batters on just 13 pitches.

Canfield, who matched a career best with her four hits in the Baylor game, picked up where she left off against Louisiana, when she smashed the first pitch of the contest deep down the left-field line for her fourth homer of the season. The Wolverine captain drove in two more runs in the second inning, after a leadoff walk, fielding error and subsequent wild pitch that put both runners in scoring position with a two-out single up the middle.

Both teams threatened with runners in scoring position in the third and again in the sixth, when the Ragin' Cajuns plated their lone run on a sacrifice fly. Beaubien entered in the seventh, forcing a strikeout, ground out and pop-out to close out the game.

Michigan (12-6) will wrap up play at the Judi Garman Classic -- and its 10-day spring break trip -- tomorrow (Saturday, March 3), taking on Cal Poly at 9:30 a.m. PST at Anderson Family Field. The game will be streamed live on FloSoftball.

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