Weekly Release #3
2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Upcoming Schedule
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
Tue., March 1 -- DH at Florida (Gainesville, Fla.), 4 p.m.
Wed., March 2 -- DH at Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.), 1 p.m.
Fri-Sun., March 4-6 -- at South Florida Tournament (Tampa, Fla.)
March 4 -- vs. Chattanooga, 11 a.m.
March 4 -- at South Florida, 3 p.m.
March 5 -- vs. Temple, 9 a.m.
March 5 -- vs. Florida, 11 a.m.
March 6 -- vs. Pittsburgh, 9 a.m.
2005 RECORDS
Overall: 8-1 (.889)
Big Ten: 0-0 (.000)
Home: 0-0 / Away: 2-0 /Ntrl: 6-1
USA Today/NFCA Rank: No. 8 (Feb. 16)
USA Softball/ESPN.com Rank: No. 9 (Feb. 22)
HEAD COACH
Carol Hutchins (Michigan State, 1979)
Head Coach Records --
All (21st year): 883-350-4, .715
U-M (20th year): 860-339-4, .717
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
The eighth-ranked University of Michigan softball has won eight straight, including the Florida Atlantic Classic title this past weekend, since dropping its season opener 7-6 to #17 Baylor. The Wolverines now prep for possibly their toughest test to date at one of the premiere non-conference collegiate softball tournaments in America. The Wolverines are one of 11 nationally-ranked teams participating in this weekend's (Feb. 25-27) NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. The 24-team field consists of six pools of four teams each. Following round-robin play within each pool, the six pool winners along with two at-large selections will advance to the eight-team Gold Bracket playoffs. The other four second-place teams along with four at-large selections will make up the Silver Bracket while the remaining teams will comprise the Bronze Bracket.
Michigan's Pool
Michigan is in pool four along with South Carolina, No. 13 Georgia Tech and Southern Illinois. The Wolverines open up action on Friday (Feb. 25) vs. South Carolina (2:30 p.m.) and Georgia Tech (5 p.m.). Michigan closes up Pool play on Saturday (Feb. 26) vs. Southern Illinois (12:30 p.m.) before moving onto the bracket playoffs. The championship rounds conclude the tourney on Sunday (Feb. 27).
Opponents
South Carolina (8-6): The Gamecocks have dropped five of their last seven after opening the season 6-1 ... South Carolina is 1-0 vs. the Big Ten with a 9-0 win over Wisconsin (Feb. 13) ... South Carolina has faced one ranked opponent, falling 4-2 to No. 18 Florida State (Feb. 18) ... Melanie Henkes is 4-2 with a 1.62 ERA for a staff that sports an overall ERA of 1.84 ... USC is hitting .276 as a team with five players hitting .300 or better, led by Meghan Conrett (.419) ... South Carolina on the Internet: www.uscsports.com ... Series: USC leads, 7-5 (last meeting, 2004).
#13 Georgia Tech (13-0): The Yellow Jackets have 13 straight to open the season, including seven shutouts ... Georgia Tech is 1-0 vs. the Big Ten with a 3-0 win over Northwestern (Feb. 11) ... Jessica Sallinger is the staff ace with an 8-0 record and a 0.89 ERA ... she has 73 strikeouts in 55.0 innings of work ... GT is hitting .313 as a team, led by Christine Sherida, who is hitting .475 with two home runs and a team-best nine RBI ... Georgia Tech on the Internet: www.ramblinwreck.com ... Series: Michigan leads, 1-0 (last meeting, 2004).
Southern Illinois (3-4): Southern Illinois dropped a tough 3-2 decision its last time out vs. No. 14 Florida (Feb. 20) ... three of the Salukis' four losses are by just one run, including a 1-0 loss to No. 1 California (Feb. 18) ... SIU is 1-0 vs. the Big Ten with a 4-3 win over Michigan State (Feb. 19) ... SIU is hitting .261 as a team, led by Kelly Creek's .476 average ... Katie Louis is hitting just .188, but all three of her hits have been home runs ... Amy Harre is 1-3 with 2.02 ERA, but has 26 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work ... Southern Illinois on the Internet: www.siusalukis.com ... Series: SIU leads, 2-1 (last meeting, 1999).
Wolverines Head Back to NFCA Classic
Michigan went 3-0 in pool play of last season's NFCA Classic before falling to South Carolina 1-0 in the first round of the Gold Bracket playoffs. Michigan earned wins over Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech to win its pool and then dropped a tough 2-1 decision to South Carolina in eight innings. Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) took the loss to South Carolina despite striking out 13 and walking just one without allowing an earned run. The 2004 Leadoff Classic was somewhat of a coming out party for Ritter, who went 1-1 with a 0.40 ERA and struck out 27 batters in 17.2 innings while walking just one. She went the distance in the tournament opener to beat No. 14 Nebraska, allowing one run on only three hits.
Leadoff Classic History
Michigan is making its ninth straight appearance in the elite non-conference tournament. Michigan has reached the Gold Championship bracket on four occasions, winning its only Gold title in 1998, beating Oklahoma 7-3 in the semifinals and Oklahoma State 8-3 in the championship game. Michigan is 29-13 all-time at the Leadoff Classic.
Michigan at the NFCA Leadoff Classic
| Year | Record | Finish |
| 1997 | 5-1 | Gold-3rd |
| 1998 | 5-1 | Gold-1st |
| 1999 | 3-2 | Silver-3rd |
| 2000 | 5-1 | Gold-Consolation champ |
| 2001 | 3-2 | Gold-Consolation round |
| 2002 | 4-2 | Silver-1st |
| 2003 | 1-2 | N/A-rained out |
| 2004 | 3-2 | Gold-Consolation round |
Familiar Foes
Michigan faced both South Carolina and Georgia Tech in last season's leadoff classic, defeating the Yellow Jackets 3-1 in pool action and falling to South Carolina in the opening round of the Gold Bracket. The Wolverines clinched their pool title with the win over Georgia Tech, which was keyed by Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS), who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing two hits and an unearned run. Jennie Ritter was equally dominant vs. South Carolina, but her 13-K effort was not enough as the Wolverine offense mustered just five hits and Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) drove in the lone Wolverine run.
No-No
Nicole Motycka tossed her first career no-hitter and the 21st in Michigan history when she held Rutgers hitless in the Wolverines' five-inning 8-0 win via the run rule. Motycka struck out five, walked just one and allowed only one runner past first base for her second win of the season. Michigan's last no-hitter was by Jennie Ritter vs. Notre Dame on March 12, 2004, in Tallahassee, Fla.
Quick Starts
Michigan has scored in the first inning in seven of its nine games this season and much of that is due to the start leadoff hitter Tiffany Haas is off to. The Wolverines have outscored opponents 18-5 in the first inning this season and are 6-1 when doing so. Haas is hitting .563 with a Big Ten-best 18 hits and a Michigan-best 12 runs scored. Haas opened the season with eight straight multi-hit games before going 0-2 with a walk in the win over Florida Atlantic to claim the FAU Classic crown.
Balanced Lineup I
Michigan's batting order has been as balanced early this season as it has in a long time. Eight different Wolverines have started at least half (four) of the games thus far and are hitting .300 or better, including four regulars hitting better than .400. Tiffany Haas (.563) leads the way and is followed by Grace Leutele (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena HS) (.464), Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) (.435) and Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) (.400). The balance throughout the Michigan order is even better evidenced by the fact that nine different Wolverines have already hit a home run this season. Freshman Samantha Finlday (Lockport, Ill./East HS) is the only Wolverine with multiple home runs and she has three.
More Motycka
While Nicole Motycka's no-hit performance vs. Rutgers was an impressive feat, it's her ability at the plate that has stood out just two weeks into her senior season. Her .435 average and 11 runs score jump right out, but it's her pitch selection that could be her biggest area of improvement. Motycka entered this season with 20 career walks in 270 at-bats, but has already drawn eight walks this season in 23 at-bats and leads the Wolverines with a .581 on-base percentage.
Balanced Lineup II
You can't have balance without production from the bottom of the order and the Wolverines have been getting just that. Michelle Teschler (Casco, Mich./Richmond HS) has started seven games, three in the No. 9 spot and four as the No. 8 hitter. The senior outfielder is hitting .316 with a home run and is hitting .375 since going 0-3 in the season opener. Stephanie Bercaw (Wooster, Ohio/Hillsdale HS), who has combined with Teschler to solidify the rightfield position, has started four games in the No. 8 spot and is hitting .308 with two doubles and four RBI. Bercaw owns the longest current Wolverine hit streak at four. The bottom three spots in the lineup have combined to hit .289 this season. Here is a breakdown of the batting average production from each spot in the Michigan lineup:
No. 1 (.545)
No. 2 (.276)
No. 3 (.400)
No. 4 (.348)
No. 5 (.417)
No. 6 (.464)
No. 7 (.321)
No. 8 (.321)
No. 9 (.221)
Streaking
Nobody has been hotter for the Maize and Blue during their eight-game win streak than junior third baseman Grace Leutele, who has hit safely in seven of those eight games and has posted four multi-hit games during that stretch. Overall, she is hitting .542 and slugging .833 over her last eight contests with four doubles and a team-best nine RBI.
Playing Long Ball
As mentioned earlier, the Wolverines power has been on display this season, going deep 11 times in nine games, but the power has been spread out to nine different players. Jessica Merchant has one of those long balls and now has 26 for her career and is just two shy of matching the school record set by Melissa Gentile (1997-2000). The following is a list of the top-five home run hitters in school history:
Michigan's Career Home Run List (top five)
| Total | Player | Years |
| 28 | Melissa Gentile | 1997-2000 |
| 26 | Jessica Merchant | 2002-c |
| 22 | Marissa Young | 2000-03 |
| 20 | Stefanie Volpe | 1999-2002 |
| 20 | Melinda Moulden | 2000-03 |
Michigan vs. Ranked Teams
Michigan will face at least one ranked team this weekend at the Leadoff Classic in No. 13 Georgia Tech. With 11 total ranked teams making up the 24-team field, chances are the Wolverines will run into another ranked team along the way. Michigan is 1-1 vs. ranked teams this season, falling to Baylor (7-6) in the season opener on Feb. 12, but bouncing back one day later (Feb. 13) to beat No. 13 Oregon (9-0) in five innings.
Seeing the Ball
Michigan's lineup has done an excellent job this season in terms of pitch selection as evidenced by 26 walks drawn in nine games and a .430 team on-base percentage. The Wolverines are averaging 2.89 walks per game this season, which averages out to 173 walks over a 60-game regular season. The Wolverines drew 122 walks in 67 games last season.
Holding Steady
Michigan held strong as the No. 9 team in the nation according to this week's ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.
Classic Repeat
The Wolverines went 5-0 this past weekend to claim the FAU Classic title for the second straight season in Boca Raton, Fla. The Wolverines used pitching to defeat N.C. State (3-0) and Pittsburgh (3-0) on Friday while the bats broke out on Saturday in wins over Rutgers (8-0) and Florida Atlantic (12-3). The 4-0 record earned the Wolverines a spot in the championship game on Sunday against host FAU where the Wolverines grabbed a 9-1 win over the Owls. Michigan finished the weekend outscoring its opponents 35-4 while Grace Leutele hit .533 to lead an offensive attack that hit .377 for the tournament. Nicole Motycka's no-hitter was the highlight for a Michigan staff that went 5-0 with a 0.93 ERA, striking out 45 in 30.0 innings of work.
Honors for Wilson
Sophomore hurler Lorilyn Wilson (Salem, Ore./Sprague HS) went 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 11.2 innings at the FAU Classic to earn tournament MVP honors. Those efforts bumped her Michigan career record to 10-0 and garnered the Oregon native her first-ever Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award.
Defense Improves
After committing three errors in the season-opening loss to Baylor, the Wolverines have made just three miscues during the current eight-game win streak and have played errorless softball in their last three contests heading into the Leadoff Classic. Michigan is fielding at a .974 rate, which lists second in the Big Ten behind Purdue.
Milestone Watch
Tiffany Haas has started 88 straight games for the Wolverines at second base. Haas last missed a start in game two of a doubleheader vs. Eastern Michigan on April 29, 2003.
Grace Leutele's next home run moves her into a tie for seventh on the Michigan career list with 14.
Jessica Merchant has 39 career doubles and is two shy of tying for seventh on the career list with Stefanie Volpe (1999-2002).
Nicole Motykca has 63 career wins and her next victory will move her into a sixth-place tie on the Michigan career list with Andrea Nelson (1988-91) and Marie Barda (1998-2001).
Nicole Motycka has 373 career strikeouts and is four shy of moving into a sixth-place tie on the career list with Barda.
Jennie Ritter has 377 career K's and her next strikeout will move her into the top five all-time at Michigan.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
