Michigan
Michigan State
Four-Game Series Between Michigan and Michigan State Postponed
3/31/2021 3:58:00 PM | Softball
UPDATE (4/1/2021, 10:15 a.m.): Michigan's series against Michigan State, scheduled for this Friday through Sunday (April 2-4), has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The programs will work with the Big Ten Conference to identify potential rescheduling options later this season.
» No. 23 Michigan will host in-state rival Michigan State for a 4 p.m. slate on Friday (April 2) and 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 3), before wrapping the series with a 1 p.m. game Sunday (April 3) in East Lansing.
» Michigan leads the nation with a 0.87 team ERA, while starting pitchers Alex Storako and Meghan Beaubien both list top 12 with strikeout-per-game averages of 13.5 and 11.9, respectively.
» Lexie Blair boasts a .482 batting average and has posted at least one hit in every game this spring.
THIS WEEK
Friday, April 2 -- vs. Michigan State (Wilpon Complex), 4 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, April 3 -- vs. Michigan State (Wilpon Complex), 1 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, April 3 -- vs. Michigan State (Wilpon Complex), 3 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, April 4 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 1 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan softball team (13-3, 13-3 Big Ten) will kick off the home portion of its 2021 slate this weekend with a four-game set against in-state rival Michigan State (6-10, 6-10 Big Ten). The Wolverines will host the first three games, playing at 4 p.m. on Friday (April 2) and a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 3) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field, before traveling to East Lansing for a 1 p.m. series finale on Sunday (April 4) at Secchia Stadium. All four games will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+.
• Michigan leads the nation with a 0.87 team earned-run average. Individually, junior right-handed pitcher Alex Storako ranks sixth nationally with a 0.49 ERA, while senior left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien is 22nd with a 0.94 ERA. The Wolverines have earned shutouts in seven of their 16 games this season. U-M previously led the nation in 2008 when All-Americans Nikki Nemitz and Jordan Taylor combined for a 0.88 ERA.
• Storako and Beaubien also rank among the nation's top strikeout pitchers. Storako ranks second with a 13.5 strikeouts-per-seven-innings average, while Beaubien is 11th with an 11.9 average.
• Alex Storako was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after posting a 2-0 record with a sterling 0.49 ERA, 23 strikeouts through 14.1 innings in U-M's series sweep at Indiana last weekend (March 26-28). She posted 17 strikeouts and allowed just one hit in a complete-game, nine-inning win on Saturday and shared a shutout in the series finale, allowing two hits and striking out six through five innings.
• The Wolverines' bats broke through in their series at Indiana last weekend as U-M combined for a .336 average -- a 46-point improvement from their second Florida weekend -- with five home runs and a .522 slugging percentage. Michigan boasted double-digit hits in each contest and for the first time this season, while junior outfielder Lexie Blair batted .500 and senior shortstop Natalia Rodriguez hit .438 in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the batting order.
• Blair leads the Wolverines with a .482 batting average (27-for-56) over the opening three weekends of the season. She posted at least one hit in each of U-M's 16 games, including two hits in each of the last five games, and owns a .732 slugging percentage with five doubles and three home runs. Blair batted .406 as a freshman (2019).
• Rodriguez tallied a hit in each IU game, including a career-best three base knocks in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader. She scored the tying run in Friday's series opener off a third-inning passed ball and drove in the winning runs with a two-run triple in the seventh -- the first three-bagger of her collegiate career.
