Michigan
0-1
Baylor
9-1
Seventh-Inning Rally Falls Short in Season-Opening Loss
2/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan softball team finally opened up its 2005 season this afternoon (Saturday, Feb. 12) after heavy rains cancelled the first day of action at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. The Wolverines lost 7-6 to No. 17 Baylor in their season opener despite home runs from freshmen Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) and Alessandra Giampaolo (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic HS) in their Michigan debuts.
Senior shortstop Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) also went deep as the Wolverines fell behind 7-2 before a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh fell just short.
Predictably, the Wolverines started slowly against 17th-ranked Baylor (9-0), which already had eight games under its belt. Michigan committed two costly errors which resulted in four Baylor runs as starter Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) took the loss while allowing six runs. Just two of those runs were earned, however.
Sophomore Lorilyn Wilson (Salem, Ore./Sprague HS) came out of the bullpen to strike out six in three innings of work and keep the Bears at bay. An All-America second-team selection at shortstop last season, Merchant picked up right where she left with a 3-4 effort that included three RBI.
Other Michigan highlights include second baseman Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) collecting two doubles and scoring two runs.
Michigan closes out action today with a contest against UC Santa Barbara at 8 p.m. PST.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: FERGUSON, Lisa (4-0)
L: Motycka, Nicole (0-1)
Batting:
2B: OSBURN, Kelly 1 ; LYNAM, Tessa 1 ; LAKE, Chelsi 1
HR: POMES, Stephanie 1
RBI: LAKE, Chelsi 2 ; POMES, Stephanie 3
Base Running:
RUNS: OSBURN, Kelly 2 ; LYNAM, Tessa 1 ; DANIELS, Jordan 1 ; LAKE, Chelsi 1 ; WILMOTH, Kim 1 ; POMES, Stephanie 1
SB: OTTENS, Katie 1
HBP: CONROY, Kylie 1
Batting:
2B: Haas, Tiffany 2 ; Milian, Rebekah 1
HR: Giampaolo, Alessandra 1 ; Merchant, Jessica 1 ; Findlay, Samantha 1
RBI: Giampaolo, Alessandra 2 ; Merchant, Jessica 3 ; Findlay, Samantha 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Haas, Tiffany 2 ; Giampaolo, Alessandra 2 ; Merchant, Jessica 1 ; Findlay, Samantha 1
