Michigan Drops NCAA Super Regional Finale at Baylor

Saturday, May 26

Waco, Texas

2:00 PM CT

Michigan

47-12

Baylor

49-14

Baylor

Michigan

5/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Site: Waco, Texas (Getterman Stadium)
Event: NCAA Super Regional
Scores: #10 Michigan 3, #8 Baylor 0; #8 Baylor 4, #10 Michigan 0
Records: U-M (47-13), Baylor (50-14)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed

WACO, Texas -- The No. 10 University of Michigan softball team's postseason run came to an end Saturday (May 26) with a 4-0 loss to No. 8 Baylor in the third and deciding game of the NCAA Super Regional at the Bears' Getterman Stadium. The Wolverines (47-13) forced the rubber match with a 3-0 victory in Game 2 of the series earlier in the afternoon.

Freshman pitcher Nikki Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina HS) started both contests and was masterful in the first, striking out five while allowing just two hits en route to the sixth complete-game shutout of her career. But the decisive nightcap proved a reversal of fortune for the U-M rookie, who gave up three quick runs on four hits -- two of which were home runs -- through one-plus innings pitched.

The Bears matched their game-two hit total after just two batters in the third contest as Ashley Monceaux led off with a deep double to left-center and rightfielder Kirsten Shortridge brought her home with a two-run shot over the rightfield fence. Michigan got out of the opening frame with no further damage, but Baylor struck again early in the subsequent frame as second baseman Alex Colyer hammered a 1-0 pitch into the parking lot beyond leftfield.

The second home run brought senior pitcher Lorilyn Wilson (Salem, Ore./Sprague HS) into the game, but the Bears continued to roll, rallying after two quick outs to score their fourth run on a hard RBI single up the middle by third baseman Brette Reagan.

The Wolverines earned their hits early in the game, including back-to-back singles in the second frame to put a runner in scoring position, but could not bring the runners home. Both teams tightened up on defense after the second, combining for just two hits -- both coming in the fourth inning -- through the next three innings.

Senior Rebekah Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) led off the bottom of the sixth with a base hit through the left-side gap, but BU ace Lisa Ferguson sat down the next three Wolverine batters on three consecutive pitches.

Wilson stayed consistent and strong through the remainder of the contest, giving up three total hits in the relief appearance and retiring nine of 10 batters faces in the final three innings. Michigan, however, could not find the scoreboard as Ferguson went 1-2-3 to end the game.

To force the third and deciding game, the Wolverines needed to win Game 2 of the Super Regional. Senior Tiffany Worthy (Yorba Linda, Calif./Lutheran HS) and freshman Roya St. Clair (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) paced the Wolverines' offensive effort in that contest, both going 2-for-3 at the plate to account for half of Michigan's hits. Sophomore Teddi Ewing (Olathe, Kan./East HS) drove in the Wolverines' game-winning run in the bottom of the second frame, while Worthy and freshman Angela Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) recorded RBI in the fifth.

Both teams put runners in scoring position in the second inning, but only Michigan could capitalize, bringing in a two-out run to take the game's first advantage. Worthy led off the bottom half of the frame with a base hit to rightfield, but Baylor earned quick back-to-back outs when junior pinch runner Michelle Weatherdon (Marquette, Mich./Marquette HS) left the bag early and BU pitcher Kirsten Shortridge followed up with a strikeout. The Wolverines' bottom third keyed the rally, however, as St. Clair and freshman Molly Bausher (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) reached via a single up the middle and a Bear fielding error, respectively. Ewing, in the subsequent at-bat, drilled a hard grounder to BU second baseman Alex Coyler, who couldn't handle the ball, allowing freshman pinch runner Kristin Larsen (Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) to score from second.

The Wolverines continued to mount scoring opportunities in the middle innings, putting a runner on base in the third and fourth, but used a productive fifth frame to pad their lead to 3-0. With Milian on first base and one out, junior Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) ripped a double -- her fifth of the season -- down the leftfield line as Milian trotted into third base. The hit, which hugged the foul line deep into leftfield territory, induced a Baylor pitching change and set up back-to-back run-scoring at-bats from Angela Findlay and Worthy. Findlay's sent a high fly ball deep into rightfield, allowing Milian to tag up and race home, while Worthy drove a single up the middle to bring in Samantha Findlay for the final U-M tally.

With the three-run cushion and two innings remaining, Nemitz was perfect from the pitching circle, retiring six straight Baylor batters -- and earning a pair of assists in the seventh -- to force the third contest.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins

Opening Statement ... "Well, I just think you have to congratulate Baylor. Really, they're such a fine softball team all the way around. They're balanced. They're fast, and they hit the heck out of the ball. I've been impressed with them all weekend. For us to come down and play in this environment, it's clearly their homefield advantage, and that's a credit to Baylor fans. I though my team came out today and really turned it around. We played much better softball -- much more the way we're capabale of -- and I was very proud of my group and their efforts. I was very proud of my freshmen, Nikki (Nemitz), in particular, who came out and had the heart of a champion. She gave it all she had, but that's a tough matchup. Baylor is just really tough. I thought we gave it a good effort, but I think the best team won."

On the momentum swing between games ... "I think it was key for them to come out, hit double and hit that bomb. It was game momentum, and we weren't able to get any momentum going our way. They capitalized on some great cuts. They had seen Nikki (Nemitz) a lot, and Nikki doesn't have a lot of tool yet -- she doesn't have a lot of pitches. You're certainly concerned that could happen, and, unfortunately for us, it happened right off the bat. But they made that adjustment, they got that momentum going, and they shut us down. They kept the momentum on their side for the whole game."

On the Wolverines' improvement over yesterday's performance ... "It's always up to the student-athletes; it's their game. I'm here to direct them and tell them that the only chance we had was to play one-pitch softball. We did such a better job doing that today, especially in that first game. I didn't feel we set a very good tone at the plate in the second game. We were down 2-0, and we didn't have a really good at-bat to start the game. That's where we needed to have a really good at-bat, whether we got a hit or not. But you have to give Baylor credit, because sometimes a team comes out and just beats you."

On this season ... "This was a young group, and we certainly went into the year thinking we'd have some inconsistencies. That's normal for a young group. I was actually amazed that we were in a position of being just one game from the World Series with five freshmen starting, and it was really within our grasp. We have a little consistency throughout the season, and, maybe, Baylor comes to our place, which is certainly worth at least one game when you have this Getterman Stadium on your side. We have a lot of upset kids after this game, but we just need to come back and work hard. It's hard to get to the World Series. I know because we've been there, and I know because we're not going."

U-M Freshman Pitcher Nikki Nemitz

On the difference between today's games ... "I don't know if there was a big difference. I think Baylor was well prepared for what I threw. I may have missed my spots a couple times, but they really just came out swinging aggressively, and hats off to them for doing that. They were aggressive in both games, but I just think they were more prepared in that second game. They were all tough outs, and that's just how it works sometimes."

On the momentum shift between game one and game two ... "There are momentum changes throughout a game. We tried to keep our energy up as best we could. They scored early, and there was still a lot of game left. We knew we still had a shot, we just had to bear down and go after them. We don't want (that momemtum swing) to affect us, and I don't think it did too much. We just knew we had to get the momentum back on our side."

U-M Freshman Designated Player Roya St. Clair

On the Wolverines' game-two hitting ... "We hit the ball hard. We kind of started chasing pitches in the second game against (Lisa) Ferguson, but when we didn't chase pitches, we hit the ball solid and got hits. Unfortunately, we weren't able to string a collection of hits together to get any runs in that second game."

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423