Heavy Rain Suspends Regional Action Until Saturday

Friday, May 15

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

Miami (Ohio)

5/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A major line of thunderstorms moved through southeastern Michigan on Friday evening (May 15) and interrupted play in the 2009 NCAA Softball Regional being held at the University of Michigan's Wilpon Softball Complex, home of Alumni Field. The first-round contest between No. 7 Michigan and Miami (Ohio) was suspended by lightning, and the subsequent heavy rains left the field unplayable, forcing the game to be suspended with U-M leading 3-2 and batting with no outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the third inning.

The Michigan-Miami game, which was the second of two games scheduled on Friday, will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will be followed by three more games in the revised schedule for the four-team, double-elimination event.

In the Friday's other first-round contest, No. 25-ranked Notre Dame rallied back from an early deficit to defeat Cleveland State, 3-1, and advance to tomorrow's winner's bracket contest. That game also featured a 1:07 rain delay.

The winner of the regional in Ann Arbor will move on to a Super Regional against the winner of the regional being hosted by Baylor in Waco, Texas. That regional consists of No. 12 overall seed Northwestern, Louisiana Lafayette, Baylor and Texas State. The Super Regional is a best two-of-three format with the winner advancing to the eight-team WCWS May 29 through June 3 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The revised schedule for Saturday:

Saturday, May 16
Game 2 -- Michigan vs. Miami (Ohio), 10 a.m. (completion of suspended game)
Game 3 -- Notre Dame vs. Game 2 winner, 12:30 p.m.
Game 4 -- Cleveland State vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m.
Game 5 C- Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 5:30 p.m.

Times are Eastern Daylight Time; schedule subject to change

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423