Michigan
39-12, 13-5
Michigan State
35-15, 13-6
Title Eludes Michigan After Heartbreaking Loss to MSU
5/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 13th-ranked University of Michigan softball team suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss against Michigan State today (Sunday, May 4) at Alumni Field, surrendering the Big Ten title to Iowa. Despite managing nine hits off Spartan pitching, the Wolverines (39-12, 13-5 Big Ten) came through with only two multi-hit innings in the game, keeping them from scoring after taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning in front of a crowd of 1,487, which is the largest home crowd in the history of the program.
| | Doe had her team-best fifth three-hit game of the year. |
This afternoon's contest was the last regular-season game for four of the Michigan players. Lisa Mack (Saline, Mich./Saline HS), Melinda Moulden (LaCrescenta, Calif./Crescenta HS), Liz Elsner (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Canton HS) and Young were all honored today with Senior Day at Alumni Field. Escorted onto the field by their parents, the four "true blue" were recognized for all accomplishments, both in a Michigan uniform and in the classroom.
After giving up one hit in the top of the first inning, Michigan drew first blood in the bottom of the frame with back-to-back singles by Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) and Doe. With one out, Monica Schock (Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS) singled off the glove of the pitcher to load the bases for Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS), who hit a sacrifice fly to rightfield, giving the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
Michigan State showed they were not backing down in the third, when a pair of singles put runners on first and second with two out. A single down the leftfield line scored the runner from second and a misplay by Moulden allowed a second run to score all the way from first, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead.
Michigan attempted retaliation in the bottom of the inning with two out and Moulden on first. Merchant hit a rope to left-center for a double, but Moulden was thrown out at home plate with a perfect relay from the Michigan State shortstop for the third out of the inning, leaving the Wolverines trailing by one run.
Michigan's defense in the top of the fourth kept the Maize and Blue within one run of the Spartans after a leadoff single prompted head coach Carol Hutchins to bring Young over from first base in relief. A running catch in shallow centerfield by Doe and a spectacular diving catch in foul territory down the rightfield line by Courtney Betley (Corona, Calif./Santa Ana Mater Dei) rung up two outs to keep the Spartan runner at first. Young finished the job, striking out the next batter for the final out of the inning.
The Wolverines were hitting the ball on the nose in the bottom of the fifth, only to locate drives into the gloves of the Spartan fielders. On the first pitch of her at-bat, Haas drilled a line drive directly at the shortstop for the first out of the inning, followed by a well-placed single to shallow left-center by Doe. With two out and the runner on first, Schock hit a hard shot right at the Michigan State second baseman for the final out of the inning, keeping the score stagnant at 2-1 in favor of the Spartans.
Despite holding Michigan State to one hit in the final four innings, the Wolverines could not put anything together on the offensive end. Managing only three hits from the fourth inning on, Michigan was unable to put two hits together in one frame after their third-inning rally attempt. Doe came through in the clutch, giving the Wolverines life in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out single, but the third groundout of the inning left Michigan short of attaining its seventh Big Ten title in nine years.
Michigan now moves into postseason action beginning with the Big Ten Tournament Thursday through Saturday (May 8-10) in Iowa City, Iowa. The Wolverines will be the tournament's No. 2 seed.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
On the game overall ... "We could not have asked our kids to do much more. They really played well today, much better than yesterday, but sometimes things are not meant to be. We hit the ball on the nose today but did not have much to show for it. Michigan State is a very good team and Jessica Beech is a tough, gutsy pitcher, so you have to give them credit for these two wins."
On the play when Melinda Moulden was thrown out at the plate ... "The ball took a weird bounce off the fence in left-center, so I thought we had a chance to score Moulden from first, but their centerfielder got the ball in quickly. I always like to be aggressive and force the other team to make a play, so you give MSU credit for making that play."
On how Michigan bounces back from this loss ... "We still have a chance to attain a lot of our goals this season. I am disappointed for our fans that we are not hosting the Big Ten Tournament next weekend, but this Michigan team can still accomplish a lot more and compete for the national title at the end of the season."
N O T E S
Meghan Doe's 3-4 performance at the plate is her team-best fifth three-hit game of the season. She is tied for second on the team with 14 multi-hit games this season, one behind Melinda Moulden.
Today marked just the second time this season Michigan collected at least nine hits and lost. The only other loss was an 8-7 defeat to Oregon in eight innings on Feb. 15. The Wolverines are now 20-2 this season when they get at least nine hits.
The Wolverines' 13-5 final mark in the Big Ten leaves them in second place, a half-game behind regular-season champion Iowa (13-4). The two teams did not meet this season because a two-game set scheduled for April 4-5 at Alumni Field was cancelled due to rain. Michigan has won six of the last nine Big Ten championships, finishing in second place the other three occasions (1997, 2000, '03), each time behind Iowa.
Today's crowd of 1,487 is the largest in the history of the program, surpassing the previous record of 1,452 that was set on May 17, 1998, in the NCAA Regional championship game vs. DePaul.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Beech (24-7)
L: Motycka, Nicole (16-8)
Batting:
RBI: Furrow 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lewis 1 ; Schick 1
SB: Lewis 1
Batting:
2B: Merchant, Jessica 1
RBI: Merchant, Jessica 1
SF: Merchant, Jessica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Haas, Tiffany 1
