Michigan Continues 2002 Season Mastery of Ohio State

Friday, May 17

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:30 PM

Michigan

48-9

Ohio State

54-13

Ohio State

Michigan

5/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 2-seeded Michigan softball team found a way to beat No. 3-seeded Ohio State for the fifth time in the 2002 season as the Wolverines scored three runs in the sixth inning to take the game 3-0 on Friday (May 17) in NCAA Regional 6 action at Alumni Field. Freshman pitcher Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) picked up her 21st win of the season as she threw 6.1 innings of four-hit ball before Marissa Young (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS) came on to pick up her fourth save of the year.

Doe

Michigan (48-9) loaded the bases three times with less than two outs but was unable to score on its first two opportunities, in the bottom of the third and fifth innings. However, the Wolverines were finally able to break through in the sixth inning.

The Wolverines solved their scoring troubles in the bottom of the sixth. With a runner on first, Lisa Mack (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) laid down a bunt and the attempt to get the lead runner at second base failed, which put runners on first and second. Following a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk to load the bases, Meghan Doe (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino HS) slapped the pitcher's offering over the shortstop's head to push the first run of the game across the plate with her first RBI of the season. After a popout, Monica Schock (Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS) earned her sixth RBI of the regional as she drew a walk on five pitches. Young's single drove in the third run for Michigan and the rally ended as Doe was thrown out at home plate as she attempted to score from second base.

The Buckeyes, after not recording a hit since the first batter of the first inning, hung tough in the bottom of the seventh as a single by Stacy Roth and double from Kristine Himes to start the inning put two runners in scoring position. Chrissy Fowler appeared to drive in OSU's first run of the ball game, but Himes was called out for interfering with Michigan shortstop Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) as she was trying to field the ball. The call left runners on the corners with one out. Young was then called in to seal the victory and she did just that by fanning the last two Ohio State hitters.

Each team struggled offensively to start the game. The Buckeyes had just one hit through the first three innings, while the Wolverines had just one in the first two. Michigan threatened with only one out in the third as Young came to bat after Schock was intentionally walked to load the bases. Young swung away at the first pitch, however, fouling out to the leftfielder. The Buckeyes then forced Melinda Moulden (LaCrescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley HS) into a groundout at third base to end the threat.

Young came to bat in the same situation in the bottom of the fifth, with the same result. A one-out foulout kept the bases filled for Moulden, who flew out to left.

Michigan will play at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday (May 18) against either No. 1-seeded Washington or No. 4-seeded Central Michigan. Ohio State will play at either 2 or 7 p.m. Saturday depending on the outcome of Game 7 between Washington and Central Michigan.

N O T E S

Michigan is now 5-0 against Ohio State in 2002, with all five games played at Alumni Field. This is the second time U-M has shut out the Buckeyes (May 10, Big Ten Tournament).

U-M's Meghan Doe earned her first RBI of the season with her bases-loaded single in the sixth inning.

Nicole Motycka has now won 16 straight games in her freshman campaign and is 3-0 against Ohio State. Her 21 victories tie Sara Griffin's school record for most wins by a freshman; Griffin was 21-7 as a rookie in 1995.

With two strikeouts in the top of the seventh inning against Ohio State, Marissa Young has struck out 18 of the last 27 batters she has faced in the her last two appearances.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
On the mental game ... "We knew that was going to be the battle of battles, and Nicole (Motycka) pitched outstanding against them. I told the kids that the key to that whole game, after we had loaded the bases in the third and fifth innings without scoring a run, was that we didn't get down. I was concerned that we might have. In a game like that you know it's going to be hard to score and you might have to play forever, but you have to keep going and not let that mental side of things get to you. We hung on until we could get something going."

On the decision to change pitchers with two outs left in the game ... "I was confident in Nicole and I thought she was in her groove and pitching well. Those were their two best batters and I just told the defense that the two runners didn't matter. They made another pretty good contact with the ball and I thought that since Marissa's (Young) strength is the fact that she strikes people out, it was time to make the change. Marissa came in and did her job; Nicole did hers earlier."

Michigan Centerfielder Meghan Doe
On her game-winning hit ... "I knew I had to get it through the infield. She threw me a high pitch, which I'd typically try to hit out of the infield and I just made good contact with it."

On switching hitting styles for the winning at-bat ... "In practices it's easier when a machine is always throwing strikes all the time. A lot of it in the game is mental and that's what I've had the most difficulty with in changing my approach to the pitches in a game situation. Hopefully I'll just keep getting better at it through the next few years."

Michigan Pitcher Nicole Motycka
On settling in ... "In the beginning of the game I was a little tense, but I settled in and found my groove around the fifth inning."

On her success against OSU ... "I give a lot of credit to our defense. I don't strike many people out; I throw drop balls and our defense does a wonderful job making the outs."

Michigan Second Baseman Kelsey Kollen
On her 3-for-3 performance ... "Obviously it helps when you've seen the pitchers a few times before, but I was just seeing the ball really well today."

Ohio State Head Coach Linda Kalafatis
On the game ... "It has been five in a row and we cannot seem to be able to figure out how to beat Michigan, in particular Motycka. We certainly came in intending to make some adjustments and did not do that. I thought Wendy (Allen) threw a good game, maybe not her best, but a good game and stopped them in some critical situations with a lot of runners on. You cannot hold that team down for too long and they took advantage of a break. I think they lead the inning off the a walk that maybe opened the door for them a little bit. I know that Wendy pitched her guts out and threw with a lot of heart. We have to score runs to give her some support. I know we have the firepower to do it but we are not doing it."

On why Motycka is so hard for Ohio State ... "She is fisting us and jamming our righty hitters. We have tried a couple of different things. I would like to sit up in the stands and watch and come up with an answer. We are going to have to find it. She is going to be around for a while. We may face her again this tournament. I do not think that she was very settled at the beginning of the game. I know that she likes to get ahead of batters and pick away. I thought that we had an opportunity at the beginning of the game but she kept getting us and that kept building her confidence."

On walking Monica Schock to load the bases twice ... "I think it was the smart move to make. Wendy matches up against her pretty well. At that point we just chose to go after a couple of other hitters. We chose to load the bases and make it a little easier on out infield and it worked twice. I have no shame or ego in making the smart move in the game. We put a lot trust in Wendy that she could get those hitters and she did."

Ohio State Sophomore Pitcher Wendy Allen
On the game ... "It was a tough game. We held them until the sixth inning and they just are a very tough team. You can only hold them for so long."

On twice getting out of bases-loaded situations ... "We have faced this team five times so I sort of know the hitters. You try to think of how to beat them, you try to use what you have already used and sometimes it works and sometimes it did not."

Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423