Irish Eliminate Wolverines from NCAA Regional

Friday, May 21

Ann Arbor, Mich.

11:00 AM

Michigan

51-13-1

Notre Dame

42-19

Michigan

Notre Dame

5/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

By: Amy Carlton

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Event: NCAA Regional 6 Softball Championship (Game 4)
Result: Notre Dame 1, #5 Michigan 0
Records: Notre Dame (42-19); U-M (51-13-1)
Next U-M Game: Season complete

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jennifer Sharron played a starring role for Notre Dame on Friday (May 21) as the Fighting Irish eliminated host and top-seeded University of Michigan 1-0 in the NCAA Softball Regional 6 Championship at Alumni Field. Sharron pitched a complete-game shutout and drove home the winning run as the Fighting Irish (42-19) advanced to the 1:30 p.m. Saturday (May 22). Their opponent will be determined by the results of the remaining games Friday. Michigan, the Big Ten Conference regular-season champion, ended the season with a 51-13-1 record.

Notre Dame plated the game's lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lizzy Lemire, 2-for-2 on the game, reached on a one-out double and scored one out later when Sharron singled down the third-base line. Sharron made sure her RBI held up as she pitched the complete game, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out four.

Michigan's best scoring chance came in the top of the fourth inning. Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) walked with one out and moved to second on a hit batsman. With Rebecca Tune (Aloha, Ore./Jesuit HS) at the plate, the Wolverines worked a double steal to perfection. The catcher's throw to third base went into leftfield; however, Kosanke was tagged out after getting caught in a rundown attempting to score on the overthrow. Sharron then retired Tune to end the threat.

Sharron improved to 20-9 on the season with her fifth shutout of the season, while Michigan starter Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS) was tagged with the loss (17-6), pitching the first 4.2 innings before giving way to Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS).

Quotes

Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
"The bottom line is we didn't get it done. We didn't get the hit we needed all weekend. We didn't score a run all weekend. We just didn't get it done. I have a lot of disappointed players. I told our pitchers after the game that they did their part but our offense didn't. We had a good year but I think we just ran out of gas. It wasn't from a lack of effort -- this just wasn't our tournament."

Notre Dame Head Coach Liz Miller
"I think the biggest thing today was the fact that both teams laid it out on the line. I thought it was going to be an extremely emotional game, and it was. Both teams played their hearts out. The game could have gone either way."

On pitcher Jen Sharron ... "She was very strong on the mound. Her changeup was very effective today, and it was a very big difference for us. It really kept Michigan's hitters off balance. You can see from one day to the next what that one pitch can make for her."

On your preparation for Michigan's hitters ... "We go through every one of the hitters and talk about how we want to pitch them. We prepare a strategy beforehand and our goal was to keep Michigan off-balance and to keep them guessing what pitches were coming. We need to keep their speed players off the bases because they had been such a big factor in their run production this season."

About Michigan ... "I think any time Michigan takes the field they are ready to play ball. They are such a good team and program. I think they were ready to play today. It is definitely hard when you're in the position they're in, hosting the regional and being the No. 1 seed. That is another pressure you don't otherwise feel, and we have been in that same scenario before."

Notre Dame Pitcher Jen Sharron
About ending the game against Traci Conrad ... " I didn't approach it any differently than I would pitch another player. I made an effort to stay focused on every pitch and every batter that I faced today. I went right at her and if she was going to beat me, it was going to be with my best pitches. Traci is an excellent hitter ... that whole team is so strong offensively that I knew if I let down for one minute they could capitalize on it."

Notes

• Michigan became the first team eliminated from the NCAA Regional 6 Championship. The No. 1-seeded Wolverines were eliminated from competition without winning a regional game for the first time since their inaugural NCAA regional tournament appearance in 1992 (lost 1-0 and 8-0 to Arizona).

• Michigan was shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 1996, when the Wolverines lost 5-0 to Oklahoma and 8-0 to Arizona at the Arizona Hillenbrand Invite on March 7, 1996.

• The Wolverines ended the year without scoring a run for 20 consecutive innings. The scoreless streak is the longest of the 1999 season, with the team's last runs coming in the first inning of the Big Ten final against Minnesota.

• The two setbacks ended the Wolverines' season without a trip to the Women's College World Series. This will be the first time since 1994 that Michigan will not be finishing its season at the WCWS.

• Notre Dame's 1-0 victory ended a four-game losing streak to Michigan. The last Fighting Irish victory against the Wolverines was a 4-3 win in nine innings on Feb. 26, 1995. That same year, Michigan defeated Notre Dame on consecutive days (2-0 and 15-6) at Alumni Field to advance to the Women's College World Series, beginning its string of four-straight WCWS trips.