Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan to Resume Competition with Four-Game Set at Rival Ohio State
4/7/2021 2:17:00 PM | Softball
» No. 23 Michigan will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a four-game weekend series at rival Ohio State; the teams will play at 4 p.m. on Friday (April 9) before a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 10) and a 1 p.m. series finale on Sunday (April 11) at Buckeye Softball Field.
» Michigan leads the nation with a 0.87 team ERA, while starting pitchers Alex Storako and Meghan Beaubien both list top 15 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
Fri-Sun., April 9-11 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio)
Friday, April 9 -- at Ohio State, 4 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, April 10 -- at Ohio State, 1 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, April 10 -- at Ohio State, 3 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, April 11 -- at Ohio State, 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 end its one-week pause and resume competition with a four-game road series at rival Ohio State this weekend in Columbus. The teams will square off at 4 p.m. on Friday (April 9) before playing a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 10) and a 1 p.m. series finale on Sunday (April 11) at Buckeye Softball Field. 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 fifth nationally with a 0.49 ERA, while senior lefty Meghan Beaubien is 15th 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 ninth with an 11.9 average.
• The Wolverines' bats broke through in their series at Indiana 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 game against Indiana, 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.
