Wolverines to Host Toledo, Oakland in Midweek Matchups

Tuesday, March 15

Ann Arbor, Mich.

5:00 PM

Michigan

Toledo

Taylor Bump (Michigan Photography)

Wolverines to Host Toledo, Oakland in Midweek Matchups

3/15/2022 8:23:00 AM | Softball

By: Leah Howard

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The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan softball team (15-6) will resume competition with a pair of midweek games after an unexpected weekend off due to inclement weather. The Wolverines will host Toledo (7-12) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (March 15) before wrapping up the week's action on Wednesday (March 16) against Oakland (7-6) at 4 p.m. Both games will be played at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field, and streamed live on B1G+.

• Michigan opened up its home portion with a doubleheader sweep against Kent State, 11-1 in five innings and 4-3, last Thursday (March 10). Michigan boasts a stellar 593-139-1 home record at Alumni Field since its 1982 construction. Last season, U-M went 12-1 at Alumni Field.

• Michigan belted three home runs in the KSU doubleheader after posting 11 over its 10-game spring break trip. Sophomore Keke Tholl's three-run homer capped off a seven-run fourth inning that helped secure the Wolverines' first home win. Nine different Wolverines have at least one homer this season; Tholl, senior Hannah Carson, sophomore Sierra Kersten and junior Lauren Esman all share the team lead in the homers with three apiece.

• Graduate student outfielder Kristina Burkhardt continues to lead the Wolverines at the plate, boasting a .479 batting average (33-for-69) with 13 doubles and 19 RBI. Adding two triples, nearly half of her total hits have gone for extra bases. She has recorded at least one hit in all but two games this season and currently owns a 10-game hitting streak.

• Senior outfielder Lexie Blair posted a season-high three hits in the first KSU game last Thursday and knocked out her first home of the season with a two-run shot in the second inning. Blair, who posted just four hits over the season's first seven games, is now batting .317 on the season.

• Senior RHP Alex Storako earned both wins in the KSU doubleheader, allowing one run off two hits and two walks with 13 strikeouts over six total innings pitched. She won in relief in the nightcap, entering with the score tied and no outs in the sixth and recording three quick outs.

• Storako leads the conference and ranks third nationally with 12 wins already his season and lists second with 122 total strikeouts and seventh with a 12.0 strikeouts-per-seven-innings average. She owns seven double-digit strikeout games, including 18 in her season 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 LHP Meghan Beaubien earned a complete-game shutout against North Carolina (March 1), earning one strikeout while allowing just two hits and a walk over five innings. Beaubien improved to 88-25 over her Michigan career, earning a share of the seventh spot among U-M's all-time wins leaders -- tied with Marissa Young (2000-03). She is four wins shy of the sixth spot, currently held by Nikki Nemitz (92, 2007-10). Beaubien also ranks 10th with 29 career shutouts.

• Head coach Carol Hutchins reclaimed the top spot among NCAA softball's winningest coaches with the Wolverines' 3-0 win against Northern Kentucky (Feb. 25) and now boasts a 1,684-539-5 career record over her 39 overall seasons as a head coach. Hutchins, who previously rose to the top spot in 2016 after passing Margie Wright's record of 1,457 career wins, entered the weekend 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.

Last Time Out

The Wolverines earned a doubleheader sweep in its home opener, defeating Kent State, 11-1 in five innings and 4-3, last Thursday (March 10) at Alumni Field. Storako struck out 13 in the first game -- her seventh game with double-digit strikeouts this season and third in a row -- while allowing one run on two hits, including a fourth-inning solo homer, and two walks. U-M won in a walk-off in the second game when freshman shortstop Ella McVey delivered the game-winning hit with a two-out RBI single through the right side to score junior outfielder Audrey LeClair from second base. [ Recaps: Game 1 | Game 2 ]

Up Next

Tuesday, March 22 -- vs. Western Michigan (Wilpon Complex), 4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 23 -- vs. Miami (Ohio) (Wilpon Complex), 4 p.m.
Friday, March 25 -- vs. Nebraska (Wilpon Complex), 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 26 -- vs. Nebraska (Wilpon Complex), 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 27 -- vs. Nebraska (Wilpon Complex), Noon