Weekly Release #2
2/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., Feb. 18-20 -- at Florida Atlantic Tournament (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Feb. 18 -- vs. N.C. State, 9 a.m.
Feb. 18 -- vs. Pittsburgh, 11 a.m.
Feb. 19 -- vs. Rutgers, 3 p.m.
Feb. 19 -- vs. Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m.
Feb. 20 -- Championship Rounds, tba
Fri-Sun., Feb. 25-27 -- at NFCA Leadoff Classic (Columbus, Ga.)
Feb. 25 -- vs. South Carolina, 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 -- vs. #17 Georgia Tech, 5 p.m.
Feb. 26 -- vs. Southern Illinois, 12:30 p.m.
Feb. 26 -- Bracket Playoffs, tba
Feb. 27 -- Championship Rounds, tba
2005 RECORDS
Overall: 3-1 (.750)
Big Ten: 0-0 (.000)
Home: 0-0 / Away: 0-0 /Ntrl: 3-1
USA Today/NFCA Rank: No. 8 (Feb. 16)
USA Softball/ESPN.com Rank: No. 9 (Feb. 15)
HEAD COACH
Carol Hutchins (Michigan State, 1979)
Head Coach Records --
All (21st year): 878-350-4, .709
U-M (20th year): 855-339-4, .710
Big Ten (20th year): 342-124 .729
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
Bonnie Tholl (Michigan, 1991)
ASSISTANT COACHES
Jennifer Brundage (UCLA, 1996)
Jennifer Teague (Indiana-Wesleyan, 1999)
2005 CO-CAPTAINS
Jessica Merchant, Nicole Motycka
First Pitch
Michigan returns to the Florida Atlantic Classic in Boca Raton, Fla., for the second straight year this weekend (Feb. 18-20). The Wolverines (3-1) are coming off their first weekend of the season, dropping their opener to No. 17 Baylor (7-6) before rattling three straight wins, including a 9-0 win over No. 13 Oregon. Michigan faces N.C. State (9 a.m.) and Pittsburgh (11 a.m.) on Friday before finishing pool play at the FAU Classic on Saturday vs. Rutgers (3 p.m.) and host school Florida Atlantic (7 p.m.). The six-team tournament also includes Ohio State with a championship round taking place on Sunday. The championship round consists of the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 2 seed, No. 3 vs. No. 4 and No. 5 vs. No. 6.
Opponents
N.C. State (10-2): The Wolfpack won 10 of their first 11 before falling 2-0 to Elon in their last game on Sunday (Feb. 13) ... N.C. State split two games with Mississippi State, winning 2-1 and falling 5-1 ... N.C. State is hitting .318 as a team with six regulars hitting over .300, led by Jennifer Chamberlin (.472) ... Chamberlin also leads the Wolfpack with two home runs and 16 RBI ... in the circle, N.C. State's ace is Abbie Sims, who is 4-0 with a 0.25 ERA, striking out 44 in 28.0 innings of work ... N.C. State on the Internet: www.gopack.com ... Series: First meeting
Pittsburgh (0-0): The Panthers open their season this weekend ... Pittsburgh is coming off a 21-36 campaign in 2004, but return six starting position players as well as both starting pitchers ... Pittsburgh on the Internet: www.pittsburghpanthers.com ... Series: Michigan leads, 2-0 (last meeting, 2002)
Rutgers (0-0): The Scarlet Knights also begin their 2005 campaign this weekend at the FAU Classic ... Rutgers on the Internet: www.scarletknights.com ... Series: Michigan leads, 3-0 (last meeting, 2004)
Florida Atlantic (1-11): The Owls have dropped four straight heading into this weekend, including an 8-2 loss to Boston College in their most recent game ... FAU has lost to four games to nationally ranked foes Oklahoma, Florida (2) and Georgia Tech ... another loss was a tough 1-0 decision vs. Big Ten representative Northwestern, who is knocking on the door of both national polls ... Lauren Crandall leads the FAU attack with .300 average ... FAU is hitting just .211 as a team ... Candice Freel is 1-2, but sports a 1.98 ERA in four appearances, including a pair of starts ... Florida Atlantic on the Internet: www.fausports.com ... Series: Michigan leads, 4-2 (last meeting, 2004)
Wolverines Defend FAU Classic Title
Michigan won the FAU Classic last season, going 5-0 for the tourney which included a 4-3 comeback victory over host Florida Atlantic in the championship game. The Wolverines rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to overcome a 3-0 deficit as Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS), pitching in her home state, came out of the bullpen to get the win. Michigan shortstop Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) led the way, hitting .438 (7-16) with three home runs and a slugging mark of 1.125 en route to tournament MVP honors. Michigan pitchers allowed just five runs in 33 innings of work, including shutout wins over Eastern Michigan (5-0) and Long Island (8-0).
Movin' Up
Michigan's 3-1 effort at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic earned a promotion in the ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25 up to No. 9 from No. 11. The Wolverines stayed steady at No. 8 in the NFCA/USA Today poll.
Michigan-Rutgers, Rematch
Michigan's matchup vs. Rutgers in day two of the FAU Classic is a rematch of last year's contest between the two schools in the same tournament. Rutgers pushed the Wolverines to extra innings before Michigan pulled out a 2-1 victory behind 11 strikeouts from Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS).
Familiar Foe
Michigan has met Florida Atlantic just six times all-time, but three of those meetings occurred last season. The Wolverines earned wins of 3-1 and 4-3 at the FAU Classic before dropping a single game (1-0) to the Owls two days later. The loss was only a five-inning affair due to rain.
Michigan Bats Break Out
Before leaving for the Desert Classic to open the 2005 season a week ago, the Michigan coaches felt they would have to lean pretty heavily on a Michigan pitching staff that finished last season ranked fourth in the nation in ERA (0.88) and returned its top three hurlers. Instead, it was the Michigan offense that put on a show in Las Vegas, scoring 29 runs on 44 hits over just four games. Of the Wolverines 44 hits, 19 were for extra bases including eight home runs. For the weekend, Michigan hit .367 with a .658 slugging percentage.
Freshmen Influence
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins signed one of her most talented recruiting classes back in the fall of 2003 and the Wolverine coach in her 21st season is starting to reap the rewards. First baseman Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) stepped right into the cleanup role and promptly delivered two home runs and five RBI of the weekend, including a long ball in her first game as a Wolverine. Not to be outdone, centerfielder Alessandra Giampaolo (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic HS) went deep on the first pitch of her collegiate career. Giampaolo finished the weekend tied for the team lead with six runs scored.
Right Where She Left Off
Michigan second baseman Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS), who earned NFCA All-American third-team consideration last season and finished 2004 with a bang by hitting safely in her last five games and in seven of her last eight, started right back up in 2005's opening weekend. Haas went 10-16 (.625) with four doubles, a home run and six runs scored in the Desert Classic. She already has four multi-hit games this season. The junior leadoff hitter has now hit safely in nine straight games and has produced nine multi-hit games in her last 11 dating back to last season.
Debuts
In addition to Samantha Findlay and Alessandra Giampaolo, three other Wolverines made their Michigan debut at the Desert Classic. Freshmen Michelle Weatherdon (Marquette, Mich./Senior HS) and Angie Danis (Manchester, Mo./Parkway HS) saw action over the weekend while junior Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore HS) started behind the plate in the season opener after transferring from Loyola (Ill.).
Playing Long Ball
Michigan put on an impressive power display at the Desert Classic, with seven different Wolverines pounding out eight home runs. Only Samantha Findlay went yard twice in Las Vegas. Fresh off her school-record 15-home run campaign last season, senior Jessica Merchant drilled her first of the season in the opener vs. Baylor. Merchant now has 26 for her career and is just two shy of matching the school record set by Melissa Gentile (1997-2000).
Michigan's Career Home Run List (top five)
| Total | Player | Years |
| 28 | Melissa Gentile | 1997-2000 |
| 25 | Jessica Merchant | 2002-c |
| 22 | Marissa Young | 2000-03 |
| 20 | Stefanie Volpe | 1999-2002 |
| 20 | Melinda Moulden | 2000-03 |
Triumphant Return
Sophomore catcher Tiffany Worthy (Yorba Linda, Calif./Lutheran HS) returned to the lineup when started behind the plate in the win over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday (Feb. 12). It was her first start since March 21, 2004, when a back injury sidelined her just 27 games into her freshman season. Worthy returned by going 1-3 vs. Gauchos and connecting for her first career home run. Worthy went 3-7 (.429) for the weekend. Worthy and junior transfer give Michigan an excellent 1-2 combo behind the plate.
Contributing at the Plate
Despite struggling in the circle in the season's opening weekend, returning NFCA All-American second-team hurler Nicole Motycka made her impact felt in the batter's box. Motycka hit .600 (6-10) in Las Vegas and drew four walks, including a career-best three free passes vs. Baylor. Motycka leads the Wolverines in on-base percentage (.714).
Milestone Watch
Tiffany Haas needs four more runs scored to reach 100 for her career.
Tiffany Haas is only two hits shy of 150 for her career.
Jessica Merchant is four RBI shy of reaching 100 for her career, which would make her the 13th Wolverine to reach that plateau.
Jessica Merchant is three hits shy of reaching 150 for her career.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
