Wolverines Clip DePaul for Hutchins' 900th Career Win

Saturday, March 19

Fullerton, Calif.

7:30 PM PT

Michigan

25-1

DePaul

8-10

DePaul

Michigan

Wolverines Clip DePaul for Hutchins' 900th Career Win

3/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

FULLERTON, Calif. -- The fourth-ranked Michigan softball team extended its school-record winning streak to 25th straight as Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) moved to 11-0 on the season with a complete-game victory in a 1-0 win over DePaul in quarterfinal action tonight (Saturday, March 19) at the Kia Klassic. Senior co-captain Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) went yard with a solo shot in the second inning, and that proved to be the difference as just three DePaul baserunners advanced past first base against Ritter.

The win was the 900th of head coach Carol Hutchins' career, making her just the eighth coach in NCAA Softball Division I history to reach that milestone. Hutchins now has 877 career wins at Michigan from 1985-present after winning 23 games in her one season (1984) as a head coach at Ferris State.

It did not appear anybody would reach base against Ritter at all as she struck out the first five batters she faced. On the other hand, Michigan's bats looked live early on with Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) leading off the first with a double. She did not advance, however, and the Wolverines waited until Motycka's shot in the second for a 1-0 lead.

DePaul's first runner reached via a leadoff single in the third, but that was it as Ritter set down the final two hitters on fly balls. Michigan did threaten to blow things open in the third after Haas singled and two Wolverines were hit by pitches to load the bases with one out. Michigan failed to cash in and the battle settled into a classic pitchers' duel.

Both teams went down in order in the fourth and fifth, while DePaul's two-out single in the sixth meant little. The Blue Demons did manage to put the tying run on second with two outs in the seventh, but a harmles bunt attempt fielded by catcher Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Stevensville-Lakeshore HS) provided the final out of a 1-0 Michigan win.

The Wolverines move on to face No. 11 Texas tomorrow (March 20, 10:30 a.m. PST) in the semifinals of the championship bracket with the winner moving on to face the winner of the game between No. 1 Arizona and No. 24 Fresno State in the championship game at 1 p.m. PST.

Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423