Beavers Walk Off With Win; Rain Suspends Title Game

Sunday, May 23

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:20 PM

Michigan

53-11

Oregon State

44-27

Michigan

Oregon State

5/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Event: NCAA Regional Championship
Scores: #20 Oregon State 1, #6 Michigan 0; Second game suspended by rain
Records: U-M (53-11), OSU (44-27)
Next U-M Event: Monday, May 24 -- vs. Oregon State at NCAA Regional Championship (Alumni Field), 11 a.m. (completion of suspended game)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Rain hindered play once again at the NCAA Regional 6 Softball Championship at the University of Michigan's Alumni Field as foul weather Sunday (May 23) affected the schedule for the third straight day and pushed the championship game to Monday.

After No. 3 seed Oregon State defeated No. 7 seed Illinois-Chicago 6-5 in the losers bracket final, which included a rain delay of an hour and 24 minutes, the Beavers beat top seed Michigan 1-0 on a walk-off home run in the first championship game. OSU then took a 1-0 lead in the second championship game on a solo home run in the first inning before lightning and rain forced officials to suspend the game. It is scheduled to resume Monday at 11 a.m.

With the No. 6-ranked Wolverines (53-11) undefeated coming out of the winners bracket, they needed just one victory Sunday to claim the regional championship. But after six and a half scoreless innings, OSU's Vanessa Iapala drilled a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to give the Beavers the win and create a final-game showdown between the two teams.

U-M sophomore pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) handled Oregon State (44-27) throughout the first 6.2 innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 10 without a walk before Iapala's game-ending blast. Lisa Allen's one-out single in the second inning was Oregon State's lone hit until the seventh, as Ritter retired 16 straight batters after Allen's hit, including eight via strikeout.

On the offensive end, the Wolverine bats remained mostly silent against OSU's Monica Hoffman. The team managed just four hits, with three of them coming from the first two spots in the lineup. Leadoff hitter Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) went 2-for-3, while Meghan Doe (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino HS) went 1-for-3 from the two-spot.

Michigan had its best scoring opportunity at the outset as the Wolverines loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first. However, Hoffman got out of the jam with a forceout at home and a fly to leftfield to strand three runners. Despite a leadoff single from Haas in the third, Michigan could not get anything going for the rest of the contest.

In the second game -- Oregon State's third of the day and the third between OSU and U-M in less than 24 hours -- the Beavers jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Kelly Petersen's two-out solo home run to centerfield off Ritter. Iapala followed with a single up the middle before the game was interrupted.

The winner of the suspended game will advance to the Women's College World Series to face Region 3 champion Louisiana State (54-10) in the WCWS opener Thursday (May 27, 11 a.m. CDT) in Oklahoma City, Okla. That game will be televised by ESPN. California, Florida State, Oklahoma, Stanford, UCLA and Washington joined LSU in winning their regionals on Sunday to advance to the WCWS.

Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423