Wolverine Seniors Lead Offensive Attack at Purdue

Sunday, April 25

West Lafayette, Ind.

1:00 PM

Michigan

37-5, 13-0

Purdue

22-24, 3-7

Michigan

Purdue

4/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

April 25, 2010

Box Score

Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Varsity Softball Complex)
Score: #2 Michigan 12, Purdue 3
Records: U-M (37-5, 13-0 Big Ten), Purdue (22-24, 3-7 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, April 28 -- DH at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 4:30 p.m.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan softball team flirted with the run rule but could not gain the necessary advantage until the seventh inning, earning a dominant 12-3 decision at Purdue on Sunday afternoon (April 25) at the Boilermakers' Varsity Softball Complex. The Wolverines waited through a two-hour rain delay prior to the first pitch and dodged a spitting rain through much of the later innings to claim their 16th consecutive win.

Junior RHP Jordan Taylor (Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS) earned the decision -- her second of the weekend -- in relief, striking out four while allowing a hit and no walks through the final four innings. The win improved Taylor's record to 20-2 on the season.

The top half of the lineup accounted for the bulk of Michigan's 14 hits, including senior rightfielder Angela Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS), senior third baseman Maggie Viefhaus (Eureka, Mo./Eureka HS) and senior catcher Roya St. Clair (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) who all registered multiple hits in the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 spots and combined for 10 runs-batted in.

Following a similar pattern as yesterday's slate, the Wolverines chipped away for their early advantage, scoring one apiece in the second and third innings. With the bases loaded and two down in the second after a pair of walks and a fielding error by the Boilermaker second baseman, starting pitcher Suzie Rzegocki was called for an illegal pitch -- the second of two in the contest -- to give Michigan its first lead. St. Clair provided her team its second tally with two outs in the third, driving a first-pitch, line-drive solo shot over the fence in straightaway centerfield for her fifth long ball of the season.

The Wolverine bats came to life in the fourth, using six hits and an error to manufacture six runs in their greatest offensive surge of the weekend. Two walks and a bloop single to shallow rightfield from senior leftfielder Kristin Larsen (Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS) loaded the bases for Findlay, who connected with the first pitch and lined to the fence in left centerfield for a bases-clearing double. Viefhaus followed suit in the next at-bat, taking the 2-2 pitch deep over the left centerfield fence for her 15th homer of the season. Sophomore second baseman Amanda Chidester's (Allen Park, Mich./Cabrini HS) single through the left side kept the Wolverines' momentum going, and senior LHP Nikki Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina HS) drove her home with an RBI single up the middle in the next at-bat.

The Boilermakers scored their three tallies in the middle innings, using aggressive base running to break through in the third before manufacturing two in the fourth off of two hits and an illegal pitch. Third baseman Molly Garst led off the former frame with a single up the middle and after stealing second, came home on a groundout to the circle. Purdue tallied back-to-back base hits to open the fourth, inducing the Wolverine pitching change, and executed a double steal to put both base runners in scoring position. The steal proved effective when Taylor was called for a run-scoring illegal pitch and the Boilermakers scored another on a sacrifice hit.

Michigan responded with two runs apiece in the fifth and seventh innings to close out scoring in the contest. St. Clair drove a two-run double to the fence in right centerfield to account for the fifth-inning runs and followed Viefhaus' RBI double in the seventh with a run-scoring single up the middle for her season-high fourth RBI in the contest.

The Maize and Blue will resume Big Ten competition on Wednesday (April 28), heading to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State in a 4:30 p.m. doubleheader at Buckeye Field. The games will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423