Michigan
28-4, 0
Ohio State
13-12, 0
Hutchins Earns 1,400th Win in Rout at Ohio State
3/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 22, 2015
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Buckeye Field)
Score: #4 Michigan 20, Ohio State 0 (5 inn.)
Records: U-M (28-4, 3-0 Big Ten), OSU (13-12, 0-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, March 24 -- vs. Western Michigan (Wilpon Softball Complex), 4 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- University of Michigan head softball coach Carol Hutchins earned her 1,400th career victory in memorable fashion as the No. 4-ranked Wolverines cruised to a 20-0, five-inning rout over rival Ohio State on Sunday afternoon (March 22) at Buckeye Field. Hutchins is just the third coach to reach 1,400 wins in NCAA softball history; she is the second winningest active coach.
The Wolverines knocked out five home runs, including two apiece from freshman designated player Amanda Vargas and freshman infielder Taylor Swearingen, who both boasted a pair of hits in the game. Vargas, a day removed from her first collegiate grand slam, led U-M with five runs batted in. Freshman catcher Aidan Falk recorded the Wolverines' other homer in a two-hit, three-RBI effort. Sophomore leftfielder Kelly Christner matched her career best with a 3-for-3 day at the plate.
Sophomore RHP Megan Betsa (13-2) was superb from the circle, striking out nine while scattering three hits and a walk en route to her second complete-game shutout of the season. She struck out the side in the third innings and two apiece in the first and second.
Michigan jumped on the Buckeyes immediately, plating six runs in the top of the first. After manufacturing a pair on a sac fly and throwing error, the Wolverines went deep as Falk crushed a three-run bomb down the left-field line, and Swearingen, two batters later, connected with an off-speed pitch and lined it over the center-field wall.
Vargas knocked out a three-run shot to left field to highlight a 10-run second inning. U-M also scored three on an infield fielder choice from junior rightfielder Kelsey Susalla when junior second baseman Sierra Romero's slide into home knocked the ball to the backstop. Junior centerfielder Sierra Lawrence also scored on the play on a defensive obstruction while in a rundown between third and home; she smacked a two-run double up the middle in her next turn at the plate.
The Wolverines padded their lead with two-run blasts from Swearingen and Vargas in the third and fifth innings, respectively. It was Vargas' first career multi-homer game and Swearingen's second.
Ohio State put a runner in scoring position in the fourth, but a 5-3 double play quickly ended the threat. Betsa went 1-2-3 on nine pitches in the bottom of the fifth, earning her ninth strikeout for the first out before forcing a groundout and fielding a comebacker to close out the game.
The Wolverines will return to action on Tuesday (March 24), hosting Western Michigan for a non-conference midweek slate at 4 p.m. at the Wilpon Softball Complex, home of Alumni Field.
Communications Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Betsa, Megan (13-2)
L: O'Reilly, Olivia (7-3)
Batting:
2B: Christner, Kelly 1 ; Lawrence, Sierra 1
HR: Falk, Aidan 1 ; Vargas, Amanda 2 ; Swearingen, Taylor 2
RBI: Lawrence, Sierra 3 ; Blanco, Tera 2 ; Susalla, Kelsey 1 ; Falk, Aidan 3 ; Vargas, Amanda 5 ; Swearingen, Taylor 3
SF: Lawrence, Sierra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Romero, Sierra 3 ; Christner, Kelly 3 ; Lawrence, Sierra 2 ; Blanco, Tera 1 ; Susalla, Kelsey 2 ; Falk, Aidan 3 ; Wald, Nikki 1 ; Vargas, Amanda 2 ; Swearingen, Taylor 2 ; Ramirez, Abby 1
HBP: Susalla, Kelsey 1
Batting:
2B: Conrad, Caitlin 1
