U-M Outlasts Hofstra, Upends Rams at Leadoff Classic

Saturday, February 27

Columbus, Ga.

12:30 PM

Michigan

4-4

Hofstra

0-3

Michigan

Hofstra

2/27/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Amy Carlton

Site: Columbus, Ga.
Event: NFCA Leadoff Classic
Results: #5 Michigan 5, #23 Hofstra 2 (9 innings); #5 Michigan 4, Colorado State 1
Records: U-M (5-4), Hofstra (0-3), CSU (3-7)
Next U-M Games: Sunday, Feb. 28 -- vs. Arizona State at NFCA Leadoff Classic (Columbus, Ga.), 11:30 a.m.

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Freshman pitcher Kate Eiland (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS) collected one win in relief and then went the distance for her fourth straight victory as the University of Michigan softball team picked up two wins at the NFCA Leadoff Classic Saturday (Feb. 27).

The Wolverines won their second extra-inning game of the tournament, outlasting Hofstra University 5-2 in a nine-inning game to complete pool play 2-1. Michigan advanced to the Silver Division championship bracket, earning the No. 1 seed in the divisional playoffs ahead of No. 2 seed and defending national champion Fresno State, and scored a 4-1 win over Colorado State University.

The first-round victory over CSU sends the No. 5-ranked Wolverines (5-4) into a rematch with No. 18 Arizona State in the Sunday divisional semifinals (11:30 a.m.). Michigan beat the Sun Devils 4-2 in an eight-inning battle Friday (Feb. 26) in the tournament-opening game for both teams. The winner advances to the divisional championship game at 2 p.m.

Senior Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and freshman second baseman Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Mater Dei HS) provided the late-inning heroics for Michigan against Hofstra. Davie, who continued a hot-hitting tournament with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, drilled a RBI double in the eighth to break open the scoreless game, then muscled through a single in the ninth for the Wolverines' fifth run. Kollen's lone hit for the game, a two-run RBI single in the ninth, scored the game-winning runs.

Sophomore pitcher Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) threw her best game of the season against Hofstra. Barda had a no-hitter alive into the seventh, striking out six and allowing five walks before being relieved with two outs in the seventh by Eiland. Eiland picked up the relief win (4-1) and a pair of strikeouts in her two and one-third innings of work. Jen Smith (0-2) allowed 11 hits and struck out seven in her complete game loss.

In the day's second game, Colorado State (3-7) scored a run in the top of the third, but the lead was short-lived as Michigan tied the game in the bottom of the third. Kollen drilled her career-first triple down the left field line in the fifth, scoring pinch runner Mary Conner (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) for the go-ahead run.

Davie finished 2-for-3 with a lead-off double in the sixth. She scored three batters later on a Chrissy Garza (Southgate, Mich./Anderson HS) RBI. Kim Bugel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) drove in Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) for the final Wolverine run with a single up the middle.

Eiland, who has pitched all three Michigan victories in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, held Colorado State to five hits in the complete-game outing and moved her season record to 5-1. Kyla Kiester took the loss for CSU, allowing seven hits and four walks in five and two-thirds innings.

Maize 'n Blue Diamond Gems

• Tammy Mika (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) singled against Hofstra to extend her team-best hit streak to seven games but saw her streak ended with an 0-for-3 game vs. the Rams. . . . Catherine Davie went 3-for-4 game vs. Hofstra and powered career double No. 42 vs. Colorado State to extend her hitting streak to six games.

• Michigan hitters powered three doubles against Hofstra, with Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS), Kim Bugel and Catherine Davie each collecting a two-bagger. . . . Conrad's double is the 43rd of her career, keeping her on pace in the chase for the Michigan career record of 58 held by Sara Griffin (1995-98). Davie's two doubles on the day moved her into third place.

• Sophomore Chrissy Garza recorded her first career RBI vs. Colorado State. Garza, who earned a start in right field, was 0-for-2 with a walk in addition to the RBI.

• Michigan goes into Sunday's Silver Division semifinal vs. No. 18 Arizona State with a 3-3 season record vs. nationally-ranked opponents. U-M is 2-0 vs. Top 25 teams faced at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

• The nine-inning finish made the first-ever game between Michigan and Hofstra a memorable one in the newly-created series. . . . The Wolverines evened their all-time series vs. CSU at 1-1. The last time the teams met was in 1991.