Wolverines Kick Off Spring-Break Trip at Texas Invitational

» No. 20 Michigan will open its 10-day spring-break trip at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas, where it will play two games apiece against Virginia Tech and host Texas, and one against Wichita State.
» The Wolverines are looking to find their groove at the plate after hitting just .160 at last weekend's ACC/Big Ten Challenge; Faith Canfield leads U-M with a .355 batting average.
» Left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien was named the Big Ten's Pitcher of the Week after posting a 0.48 earned run average with 12 strikeouts and just five hits allowed through 14.2 innings last weekend.

THIS WEEK
TEXAS INVITATIONAL
Friday, Feb. 23 -- vs. Virginia Tech (Austin, Texas), 1 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Audio | TV: Longhorn Network | WatchESPN
Friday, Feb. 23 -- at Texas (Austin, Texas), 6 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Audio | TV: Longhorn Network | WatchESPN
Saturday, Feb. 24 -- vs. Virginia Tech (Austin, Texas), 9:30 a.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Audio | TV: Longhorn Network | WatchESPN
Saturday, Feb. 24 -- vs. Wichita State (Austin, Texas), Noon CST
Live Stats | Live Audio
Sunday, Feb. 25 -- at Texas (Austin, Texas), 1:30 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Audio | TV: Longhorn Network | WatchESPN

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

UPDATE: Due to morning rain in Austin, Friday's game times have been altered and pushed back. Michigan will now play Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. CST and host Texas at 6 p.m. CST. Both games will still be live on the Longhorn Network.

The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan softball team (5-4) will kick off its annual spring-break trip in the Lone Star State this weekend, heading to Austin, Texas, for a five-game appearance at the Texas Invitational. On Friday (Feb. 23), the Wolverines will open play against Virginia Tech at 11:30 a.m. CST before facing host Texas at 5 p.m. U-M will again face the Hokies at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 24) and Wichita State at noon, before wrapping up the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. slate against the Longhorns on Sunday (Feb. 25). All games will be held at Red and Charline McCombs Field.

• The Wolverines are set to make their first trip to Austin, Texas, in 10 years. Michigan previously played in the Texas Invitational in 2003 and 2008, posting a combined 7-1 record in those appearances. U-M went 3-0 in a rain-disrupted 2008 event and 4-1 in 2003 with two close wins, 2-0 and 3-2 (8 innings), against the fifth-ranked Longhorns.

• Michigan also has some history with Virginia Tech, which rallied from a game-one loss to defeat the Wolverines -- in Ann Arbor -- in the 2008 NCAA Super Regionals behind USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Angela Tincher.

• Freshman left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week -- the latter for the second straight week -- after earning a pair of wins at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. She posted a 0.48 earned run average with 12 strikeouts and just five hits allowed through 14.2 innings pitched. She threw a complete-game shutout against No. 8 Florida State, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning before settling for a seven-strikeout two-hitter. She also posted four strikeouts and contributed to a shutout win against Notre Dame.

• Michigan struggled from the plate at last weekend's ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 17-18), hitting just .160 with 10 runs scored over four games and a .262 on-base percentage. Junior Faith Canfield was the only Wolverine player to bat over .300, posting a .308 average, while junior catcher Katie Alexander tallied four runs batted in -- the bulk on a three-run homer against Notre Dame.

• The Wolverines committed just one error -- charged to Beaubien -- in 112 touches at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to improve their team fielding percentage to .980 on this season. Michigan currently ranks 21st nationally in the category. Last season, Michigan ranked second in the nation with a .981 fielding percentage, while six Michigan starters boasted fielding percentages of .970 or better, most notably Canfield who has just two errors in 143 touches for a .986 fielding percentage.