Michigan
Purdue
Wolverines to Kick Off 2021 Season with Six B1G Games in Florida
2/24/2021 3:25:00 PM | Softball
» No. 17 Michigan will kick off its 44th season of intercollegiate play with three Big Ten doubleheaders, facing Purdue, Iowa and Illinois, this Friday through Sunday (Feb. 26-28) in its first of two "bubble" weekends in Leesburg, Fla.
» The Wolverines return 16 letterwinners from last season's squad, including seven starting position players and two starting pitchers; among them are All-American Meghan Beaubien and all-region selections Lexie Blair and Alex Storako.
» Head coach Carol Hutchins is in her 37th season at the helm of the Michigan program and, with a record of 1,631-525-5, is the second-winningest coach in NCAA softball history.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 26 -- vs. Purdue (Leesburg, Fla.), 10:20 a.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Video
Friday, Feb. 26 -- vs. Purdue (Leesburg, Fla.), 12:50 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Video
Saturday, Feb. 27 -- vs. Iowa (Leesburg, Fla.), 10:20 a.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Video
Saturday, Feb. 27 -- vs. Iowa (Leesburg, Fla.), 12:50 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Video
Sunday, Feb. 28 -- vs. Illinois (Leesburg, Fla.), 9 a.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Video
Sunday, Feb. 28 -- vs. Illinois (Leesburg, Fla.), 11:30 a.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Video
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan softball team (0-0) will kick off its 44th season of intercollegiate play with three Big Ten Conference doubleheaders this weekend (Fri-Sun., Feb. 26-28) in its first of two "bubble" weekends at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex in Leesburg, Fla. U-M will open play against Purdue in a 10:20 a.m. twin bill on Friday (Feb. 26), face Iowa starting at 10:20 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 27) and Illinois at 9 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 28). All games will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus.
• Michigan will play a conference-only schedule in 2021 and, for the first time under the current 14-team field, will face every Big Ten team. U-M has not played a conference opponent since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which prematurely ended last season after just 23 games. As such, Michigan remains the reigning Big Ten regular-season and tournament champion. In sweeping the 2019 titles, the Wolverines earned their second straight outright championship -- and 21st overall -- with a near-perfect 22-1 regular-season record and added its first Big Ten Tournament title since similarly sweeping the conference crowns in 2015. U-M also achieved the feat in 1995, '96, '99, 2002 and 2005. There will be no Big Ten Tournament in 2021.
• Head coach Carol Hutchins is in her 37th season at the helm of the Wolverines. She has compiled a 1,631-525-5 record over her 38 overall seasons as an NCAA head coach. Hutchins currently ranks as the second-winningest coach in NCAA softball behind Arizona's Mike Candrea (1,638-421-2). She previously became NCAA softball's all-time coaching wins leader when she earned her 1,458th with an 8-0, five-inning win at Indiana on April 2, 2016, and, more recently, became the first to reach 1,600 wins with a 6-2 decision at Ohio State on April 13, 2019.
• U-M returns 16 players from the 2020 squad, including seven starting players and two starting pitchers. The Wolverines lost Madison Uden and Abby Skvarce to graduation; Skvarce led U-M in batting last season (.297) with 12 starts as the designated player, while Uden was a regular starter at third base over her career. Michigan's other two seniors on last year's squad, outfielders Thais Gonzalez and Haley Hoogenraad, took advantage of the NCAA's eligibility relief to return this season. Other notable returners include senior left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien, a 2018 NFCA first team All-American, and two NCAA All-Region honorees in junior left fielder Lexie Blair and junior right-handed pitcher Alex Storako.
• Storako ranked third nationally with a 13.2 strikeouts-per-game average last season. She posted a career-best 16 strikeouts in the 2020 season opener against Georgia State (Feb. 7) and six total double-digit efforts on the year, including three over her last four starts.
• Beaubien posted a 1.03 earned-run average over the Wolverines' spring-break trip last season, covering the last 10 games of the season, including a sterling 0.35 ERA at the Judi Garman Classic, allowing just one earned run -- and three total -- over 24 innings pitched. She carried a perfect game into the sixth inning in a 1-0 loss to No. 3 Texas and similarly held a no-hitter until the fifth inning against Colorado State, settling for a four-hit complete-game shutout.
• After a slow start, Blair ended the 2020 season on a tear, batting .457 (16-for-35) with seven doubles over the Wolverines' last 10 games. She matched a career best with a four hits against Texas Tech at the Judi Garman Classic. Blair, who led U-M offensively with a .406 batting average as a rookie, had only hit .175 over the first 13 games of the season.
• U-M welcomes a four-person freshman class in 2021: catchers Ryleigh Carricaburu and Keke Tholl, and infielders Sierra Kersten and Kaylee Rodriguez.
