Michigan Sweeps Spartans, Ties Best League Win Streak

Wednesday, April 21

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

42-6-1, 14-0

Michigan State

31-16, 5-5

Michigan State

Michigan

Michigan Sweeps Spartans, Ties Best League Win Streak

4/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Amy Carlton

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Results: #6 Michigan 4, Michigan State 0; #6 Michigan 11, Michigan State 2
Records: Michigan (43-6-1, 15-0 Big Ten); MSU (31-17, 5-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Games: Saturday, April 24 -- DH at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 1 p.m. CDT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Two wins over cross-state rival Michigan State University -- one a stellar 4-0 pitching effort and the other an 11-2 offensive explosion -- on Wednesday (April 21) pushed No. 6-ranked University of Michigan's Big Ten Conference softball regular-season win streak to a school-record-tying 25 games.

Michigan (43-6-1, 15-0 Big Ten) will play its fourth straight series against the second-place team in the conference when the Wolverines close their April schedule with a three-game set at University of Iowa Saturday and Sunday (April 24-25). Michigan State's two losses to U-M dropped the Spartans (31-17, 5-6 Big Ten) into seventh place.

A seventh-inning single down the rightfield line by Michigan State's Shealee Dunavan ended Marie Barda's (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) bid for a career-first no-hitter in the first game. The sophomore retired the next three Spartans to post her third career one-hitter and second of the season. Barda (18-1) struck out five and allowed two walks in her sixth shutout effort of the season.

After three scoreless innings in the opener, Michigan came up big in the fourth inning, scoring three unearned runs and chasing MSU starter Erica Strutz (22-10) from the circle. Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) scored run one on an error by Spartan catcher Margaret Hollis. A Rebecca Tune (Aloha, Ore./Jesuit HS) single scored Tammy Mika (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) and Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS). The Wolverines added a run in the fifth on a Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) double.

Michigan exploded for 11 runs on 11 hits in the nightcap, opening the game with four runs in the first inning. Michigan State cut the lead to two, 4-2, in the fourth inning, but a run in the fifth and three in the sixth gave Wolverines a comfortable 8-2 advantage. Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS), hitless in the opener, was 4-for-4 with two doubles and a pair of RBI. Freshman Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Mater Dei HS) added three hits and three RBIs while Volpe tallied a game-high four RBI.

Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS) went the distance for Michigan, giving up six hits and four walks in her 14th win of the season (14-2). MSU starter Becky Gray took the loss (8-5).

Maize 'n Blue Diamond Gems

• Traci Conrad upped her career doubles total to 55 with her two in the second game. Conrad is third all-time behind Sara Griffin (58/1995-98) and Catherine Davie (56/1996-present). Davie (17) and Conrad (16) are one-two in the season doubles statistics.

• Kelsey Kollen's 3-for-5 performance in game two was her team-leading 21st multiple-hit game of the season, and was her fourth game with three hits. . . . Michigan pitchers Marie Barda and Jamie Gillies posted their career first wins against the Spartans.

• Michigan held Big Ten hitting leader Shealee Dunavan to single hits in each game. . . . The Wolverines extended their series lead to 52-19 vs. Michigan State, while U-M head coach Carol Hutchins won her 45th game vs. her alma mater (MSU class of 1979).