Merchant Goes Yard Twice; Michigan Bests Long Island

Saturday, February 21

Boca Raton, Fla.

2:00 PM

Michigan

Long Island

7-2

Long Island

Michigan

2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The ninth-ranked University of Michigan softball team won its fourth straight game and earned a spot in tomorrow's Florida Atlantic Invitational championship game with a six-inning, 11-1 run-rule win over Long Island today (Saturday, Feb. 21). The Michigan bats banged out 11 hits led by two home runs off the bat of junior shortstop Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS). Merchant now has six home runs in Michigan's first nine games. Michigan upped its season mark to 7-2.

Junior starter Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) tossed the shutout, going six innings and allowing a single hit while striking out four. The Wolverine staff has allowed just two runs in 28 innings of work during the tournament.

As was the case in the win over Eastern Michigan earlier today, the top of Michigan's lineup produced early and often. One-out singles from Meghan Doe (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino HS) and Merchant preceded a two-run double from cleanup hitter Jennifer Olds (North Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast HS), who has hit safely in eight of the Wolverines' first nine games. Starter Motycka helped the cause with her own run-scoring double and Michigan led 3-0 after just one inning.

Michigan blew the game open in the second with three more runs, and the big blow was a two-out, two-run blast off the bat of Merchant. Her shot closed out the inning's scoring after Tiffany Worthy (Yorba Linda, Calif./Lutheran HS) led off with a single and pinch runner Amy Prichard (Haslett, Mich./Haslett HS) later scored on a wild pitch.

Long Island's only hit was a two-out single in the second that was quickly erased when Worthy gunned down a potential base stealer to end the inning.

Merchant's solo home run in the fifth extended the spread to 7-0, and a pair of Michigan freshmen helped put it away in the sixth. Worthy finished off her first career multi-hit game with a leadoff double, and pinch runner Stephanie Bercaw (Wooster, Ohio/Hillsdale HS) moved to third on Rebekah Milian's (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) bunt single. Reserve Lauren Holland (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) came off the bench to provide the final RBI of the game, plating Bercaw with a single down the leftfield line.

Michigan moves on to the title game tomorrow (Feb. 22, 1 p.m.) against the No. 2 seed, which will be determined between Florida Atlantic and Rutgers.

N O T E S

Stephanie Winter (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles West HS) made her Wolverine debut as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.

Jessica Merchant's six home runs this season have already bested her previous career best of five for a season.

Michigan set a season high with 11 hits against Eastern Michigan and matched that total against Long Island.

Rebekah Milian set a career best with two sacrifice bunts.

Meghan Doe, who is the only Wolverine to hit safely and score at least one run in all four games this weekend, is hitting .462 (6-13) with five runs scored for the tournament.

Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423