Back to the WCWS: Wolverines Rebound to Defeat Huskies

Saturday, May 28

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

59-5

Washington

35-21

Michigan

Washington

Motycka's two-run, game-tying homer started an 11-run outburst.

Back to the WCWS: Wolverines Rebound to Defeat Huskies

5/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Rich Marion

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Event: NCAA Super Regional
Scores: #21 Washington 3, #1 Michigan 2; #1 Michigan 11, #21 Washington 2 (6 innings)
Records: U-M (60-5), UW (35-22)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, June 2 -- vs. DePaul at Women's College World Series (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 6:30 p.m. CDT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan softball team advanced to the 2005 Women's College World Series after an 11-2 victory over the University of Washington today (Saturday, May 28) at Alumni Field. After starting the day up one game in the best-of-three NCAA Super Regional series, the Wolverines dropped Game 2 in a tight 3-2 pitching battle to force the rubber match. Though the Huskies grabbed an early 2-0 lead, the Wolverines came back with 11 runs over the final five innings for the 11-2 victory care of the run-rule.

The heart of the Michigan lineup came through for the win, as the 2-5 hitters drove in all of the Wolverine runs, combining for 10 of Michigan's 12 hits. Designated player Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) was a prime catalyst in the win, finishing the game 2-for-4 with four runs batter in and one run scored. Third baseman Grace Leutele (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena HS) also put up a quality performance, hitting 3-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored, while first baseman Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./Lockport East HS) finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.

Pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) again put up solid numbers for Michigan, earning both the win in game three and the loss in game two for the tournament's final day. Ritter (33-2) allowing a combined six hits, three runs (two earned) and four walks while striking out 15 over 10 innings. She shined in the elimination game, coming on in relief of starting pitcher Lorilyn Wilson (Salem, Ore./Sprague HS) after the Wolverines had earned a 4-2 lead. Ritter went on to shut down the opposition, rendering the Huskies hitless for the final four innings of the contest while striking out five of 12 batters.

After falling 3-2 in a game-two pitchers' duel, the Wolverines began the elimination game down early, surrendering a two-run home run in the top of the first. After managing just seven hits and two runs in the day's first game, the Michigan bats came alive in the top of the second. Motycka put the first runs on the board, driving a two-run home run to leftfield to tie the game 2-2.

Wilson kept the Huskies at bay before the Wolverine offense continued to dominate in the top of the third. Centerfielder Alessandra Giampaolo (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic HS) hit her second home run of the series, blasting a solo shot over the fence in rightfield to give Michigan a 3-2 lead. Shortstop Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) kept things going for U-M with a single. After a fielder's choice to move the her second, Leutele earned her first RBI of the day with a single to centerfield for a 4-2 advantage heading into the fourth.

The Wolverines broke the game open in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of some Washington errors. After walks to catcher Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore HS) and Giampaolo, a passed ball on a strikeout by Merchant put runners on every base for Findlay. With two outs, Findlay came through, ripping a double down the leftfield line to score two runs for a 6-2 lead. Motycka capped off the Wolverine drive with a two-run single for an 8-2 advantage.

With a six-run lead, Ritter continued to mow down the opposition, striking out five of six batters in the next two innings. Michigan added to its large lead in the top of the sixth, earning three runs with the help of a two-run home run from Leutele. With a nine-run advantage (11-2) heading into the bottom of the sixth, Ritter retired the side to record the win care of the run rule.

Michigan (60-5) will take on No. 8 seed DePaul (45-19) in Game 3 of the WCWS on Thursday (June 2) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT, and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.

Q U O T E S

Washington Head Coach Heather Tarr
On the team effort ... "I'm proud of our girls, proud of the way they battled. We had our ups and downs this season. I am absolutely 100 percent proud of these young ladies for all that they have been through."

On the team's ability to bounce back ... "These guys were behind the eight ball so many times this year and we were in a lot of positions where a lot of people didn't believe we were going to get out of it. I'm not going to measure this team on the last game. I'm going to measure them on how they responded -- how they responded to last night's loss. They came back and won a game today. We were in a position to win another one, it just got out of hand."

Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
On coming back from a loss ... "[Washington] had since yesterday at whatever time that game finished to know what they had to do today. We had 30 minutes. I think that's a tough setup to have to come back and play right away. Our kids just turned it up. I think they realized that they had to go for it."

On what's in store in Oklahoma ... "All I know is you have to come and play to win and I'm certain this team is going to come out and play to win. Anything can happen out there with eight quality teams. Anybody can win that tournament, and if anybody can win it, we can win it. We are certainly going to go out there to play to win."

U-M Senior Designated Player Nicole Motycka
On her game-tying home run ... "Once it went over, I felt -- honestly -- a little bit of relief. It's 0-0. Not that I didn't think we were going to be able to do it, early in the game that just gave us a little bit of ease."

On Michigan's slow start for the day ... "We tried too hard. After a while, if something is not going your way or if you think too much, we started to try too hard because we knew we could do it. It was just a matter of time before we did, but try harder, try harder and you get worse in softball."

N O T E S

• Michigan secured its eighth trip to the WCWS in 11 years.

• Washington fell short of what would have been its third straight WCWS appearance. The Huskies have been in seven of the last 10.

• Michigan and Washington are now tied 6-6 in their all-time series.

• Ashley Boek finishes her career with 127 starts, first on the Huskies' all-time list.

• Kristen Rivera's home run in game three is the 79th of her career. She finishes her career at the top of Washington's all-time home runs list.

• Grace Leutele's sixth-inning home run was Michigan's 100th of the season. The previous best for a Wolverine squad came in 2003 with 50.

• Michigan becomes the third team in NCAA history to hit the 100-homer plateau, a feat that has been accomplished just six times.