U-M to Kick Off Spring Break Swing with Five at Duke Invitational

» No. 19 Michigan will play a five-game slate at the Duke Invitational this weekend in Durham, North Carolina, opening play against Army West Point at 8:30 p.m. Thursday before facing No. 13 Duke and Northern Kentucky twice on Friday and Saturday.
» Head coach Carol Hutchins currently shares the mantle -- with Arizona great Mike Candrea -- as the winningest coach in NCAA softball history with 1,674 career wins.
» Newcomers currently lead the Wolverines at the plate; Kristina Burkhardt boasts a team-best .448 batting average and 10 RBI, while freshmen Ella McVey and Annabelle Widra own averages of .438 and .313, respectively.

THIS WEEK
Duke Invitational
Thursday, Feb. 24 -- vs. Army West Point (Durham, N.C.), 8:30 p.m.
Live Stats
Friday, Feb. 25 -- vs. Northern Kentucky (Durham, N.C.), 4 p.m.
Live Stats
Friday, Feb. 25 -- at #13 Duke (Durham, N.C.), 7 p.m.
TV: ACCNX | Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 26 -- at #13 Duke (Durham, N.C.), 4 p.m.
TV: ACCNX | Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 26 -- vs. Northern Kentucky (Durham, N.C.), 7 p.m.
Live Stats

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan softball team (5-4) will kick off its annual spring break trip with a five-game set at the Duke Invitational this weekend in Durham, North Carolina. U-M kicks off play against Army West Point (6-4) at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 24), face Northern Kentucky (1-4) and No. 13 Duke (8-2) at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, on Friday (Feb. 25) before wrapping up with second slates against Duke and NKU at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 26). All five games will be played at Duke Softball Stadium.

• Head coach Carol Hutchins boasts a 1,674-537-5 career record over her 39 overall seasons as a head coach and currently shares the mantle as the winningest coach in NCAA softball history. She is tied with Arizona great Mike Candrea (1,674-436-2), the Hall of Famer and eight-time NCAA champion who retired from coaching last spring. Hutchins previously rose to the top spot in 2016, passing Margie Wright's record of 1,457 career wins, and help the wins record for more than two years.

• Duke head coach Marissa Young (2000-03) and Northern Kentucky head coach Kathryn Gleason (1993-96) are both Wolverine alumnae who played in Maize and Blue under Hutchins. Young, in her fifth season at the helm at Duke, was a three-time All-American, the 2002 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and 2003 Big Ten Player of the Year. She graduated as the career strikeouts leader (927) and ranked second in career wins (88). Gleason, in her seventh year at NKU, was a captain on U-M's 1996 team and helped U-M to back-to-back WCWS appearances in 1995 and 1996. NKU assistant coach Alex Lagesse also spent three seasons (2016-18) as U-M's volunteer coach.

• Senior RHP Alex Storako was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Monday (Feb. 21) after posting a 2-0 record, 0.50 ERA and 18 strikeouts against No. 24 UCF and No. 21 LSU at the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational last weekend. The reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, it was Storako's first weekly honor of the season and the sixth of her career.

• Storako leads the conference and ranks third nationally with 58 total strikeouts and ranks 12th with a 12.1 strikeouts-per-seven-innings average. She owns three double-digit strikeout games, including 18 in her debut against Illinois State - the third-most Ks in a single game in her career. Storako also led the nation last season with a 12.9 strikeout average, while the Michigan staff posted the nation's top team mark with a 10.76 strikeout average.

• Graduate student outfielder Kristina Burkhardt continues to lead the Wolverines at the plate, boasting a .448 batting average -- with a team-best 10 RBI -- through the opening two weekends. With five doubles and a triple, nearly half of her hits (13) have gone for extra bases. Burkhardt, who joined U-M this season as a grad transfer, was a two-time All-ACC selection, including a first teamer in 2019, at North Carolina and led the Tar Heels with a .333 batting average last season.

• Michigan's rookies stepped up in wins against UCF and LSU last weekend, with freshmen infielders Ella McVey and Annabelle Widra combining for five hits, four runs and a pair of RBI in those contests. McVey and Widra currently ranked top three among U-M's hitting leaders with averages of .438 and .313, respectively.

Up Next

Tuesday, March 1 -- at North Carolina (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 5 p.m.
Thu-Sat., March 3-5 -- at John Cropp Classic (Lexington, Ky.)