Michigan
1-0
DePaul
3-2
Michigan Starts Season With Two Wins at GRU Classic
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The top-ranked University of Michigan softball team opened the 2006 season with a pair of wins at the GRU Classic, defeating No. 21 DePaul 10-2 in five innings and shutting out Longwood 5-0 Friday (Feb. 17) at the UF Softball Stadium.
Michigan powered past DePaul with 10 runs in five innings and held Longwood to just three hits in game two. Senior Grace Leutele (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena) led the Wolverines at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and one run batted in on the day, including a 2-for-3 performance with three runs scored against DePaul. Senior Tiffany Haas (North Tustin, Calif/Foothill) went 3-for-6 on the day with a pair of walks, while junior Tiffany Worthy (Yorba Linda, Calif./Lutheran) knocked in three runs, tallying two RBI against Longwood and one vs. DePaul.
Junior pitcher Lorilyn Wilson (Salem, Ore./Sprague) had the 15th shutout of her career in her 20th complete game, striking out 10 batters and allowing just three hits against Longwood. Senior pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) tossed 5.0 innings against No. 21 DePaul, striking out eight while allowing two runs to move four wins away from tying for fourth place on Michigan's career victories list.
In the season opener vs. DePaul, the Wolverines scored in every inning but the first, ringing up three runs in the second, two in the third, four in the fourth and one in the shortened fifth. Leutele went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, while senior Stephanie Bercaw (Wooster, Ohio/Hillsdale) was 2-for-2 with one RBI. Senior Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore) also drove in a pair with the Wolverines' first home run of the season.
Bercaw kicked things off in the second with an RBI double in her first at-bat of the season and scored on freshman Teddi Ewing's (Olathe, Kan./Olathe East) first collegiate hit, making it 2-0. Ewing scored from third two batters later to give Michigan a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, Ritter struck out four of the first six batters she faced, giving up an infield single in the second.
In the third, Leutele tallied her second hit of the game and Marx took a 2-0 pitch and homered to left-center, making it 5-0.
With runners on second and third in the fourth, sophomore Alessandra Giampaolo (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic) drove in the Wolverines' sixth run of the day, and Worthy's sacrifice fly to center scored senior Rebekah Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) from third. Leutele reached on a throwing error in the next at-bat, moving Giampaolo to third, and both scored on consecutive wild pitches to make it 9-0.
After DePaul mounted a rally with three hits and two runs in the top of the fifth to cut the Wolverine lead to 9-2, Michigan ended the game with a run in the bottom of the inning. Pinch hitter Allison Kidman (Clearwater, Fla./Countryside) reached on an error, and Haas registered her first hit of the season, putting runners on first and second. After the runners moved up on Findlay's groundout, Giampaolo drove home Kidman with her first hit of the season to run-rule the Blue Demons, 10-2.
In the second game against Longwood, U-M's offense struggled through the first four innings, recording just two hits and leaving four runners on base. Wilson had four strikeouts and allowed just two hits through the first four while keeping the Longwood bats at bay until Michigan's offense could get back on track in the fifth. Michigan's four-run fifth inning tipped momentum the Wolverines' way, and the Maize and Blue tacked on another run in the sixth while limiting Longwood to just one hit down the stretch.
Michigan's big fifth inning started with back-to-back singles by Ewing and Haas, putting runners on the corners with one out. Milian singled down the leftfield line to score the first run of the game, and sophomore Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./Lockport East) was hit by a pitch for the second straight game to load the bases. Longwood forced Haas at home in the next at-bat, bringing Worthy to the plate with two out. Worthy hammered the first pitch into centerfield, scoring two with her first hit of the season and making it 3-0 with runners on the corners once again. Leutele singled to center to score Giampaolo for the fourth run of the inning and Marx was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Longwood could record the final out of the inning.
U-M added a run in the sixth when Haas doubled, advanced to third on a fielder's choice, and scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0. Longwood made a charge in the bottom half of the sixth with runners on second and third with one out, but Wilson froze the next batter with a strikeout looking and induced an inning-ending popup to end the game and preserve the shutout.
Michigan continues action in the GRU Classic Saturday (Feb. 18), facing host Florida at 4 p.m. and Penn State at 6:15 p.m.
N O T E S
Freshman Teddi Ewing went 1-for-3 with one RBI, a run scored in her first collegiate game. Ewing singled in a run in her first collegiate at-bat and scored in the same inning for her first collegiate run.
Freshman Allison Kidman had her first collegiate hit and scored her first collegiate run in the fifth inning to run-rule DePaul with a 10-2 result. Kidman pinch-hit for senior Rebekah Milian and singled. She moved to second on a single and advanced to third on a grounder, scoring on Alessandra Giampaolo's base hit.
Senior Becky Marx hit Michigan's first home run of the 2006 season -- a two-run shot in the third inning vs. DePaul. Marx has homered in two of the last three games dating back to the 2005 Women's College World Series. Marx's fifth-inning home run against UCLA on June 7, 2005, erased a 2-0 Wolverine deficit and sparked a four-run inning that helped the Wolverines avoid elimination and capture their first national title the next day. Marx has seven home runs for the Maize and Blue and 21 home runs in her collegiate career -- including two years at Loyola (Ill.).
Senior Grace Leutele registered the first Wolverine hit of the 2006 season when she singled vs. DePaul. Leutele also scored the first run of the 2006 season when Stephanie Bercaw drove her home later in the inning.
Senior Tiffany Haas earned the Wolverines' first walk of the 2006 season when she took ball four against DePaul in the second inning. The walk was the 50th of Haas' collegiate career.
Sophomore Samantha Findlay became the first Wolverine of the 2006 season to reach base when she was hit by a pitch in the first inning against DePaul. Findlay was also hit by a pitch vs. Longwood, giving her 50 percent of her total from last year in just the second game of the season. She has been hit by six pitches in her collegiate career.
Senior Grace Leutele recorded the 100th RBI of her career against Longwood.
Senior Rebekah Milian started her 200th career game vs. Longwood.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ritter, Jennie (1-0)
L: BLAGAICH (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: WILUS 1 ; BLAGAICH 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SHEAKS 1 ; BLAGAICH 1
Batting:
2B: Bercaw, Stephanie 1
HR: Marx, Becky 1
RBI: Giampaolo, Alessandra 2 ; Worthy, Tiffany 1 ; Marx, Becky 2 ; Bercaw, Stephanie 1 ; Ewing, Teddi 1
SH: Marx, Becky 1
SF: Worthy, Tiffany 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Findlay, Samantha 1 ; Giampaolo, Alessandra 1 ; Leutele, Grace 3 ; Marx, Becky 1 ; Bercaw, Stephanie 1 ; Ewing, Teddi 1 ; Milian, Rebekah 1 ; Kidman, Allison 1
CS: Milian, Rebekah 1
HBP: Findlay, Samantha 1
