Michigan to Wrap Spring Break with Four Games at Kentucky's Cropp Classic

THIS WEEK
Thur-Sat., March 3-5 -- at John Cropp Classic (Lexington, Ky.)
Thursday, March 3 -- at Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), 5 p.m.
TV: SEC Network+ | Live Video | Live Stats
Friday, March 4 -- vs. Kent State (Lexington, Ky.), 12:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Stats
Friday, March 4 -- at Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), 5:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network+ | Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, March 5 -- vs. Drake (Lexington, Ky.), 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Stats

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan softball team (10-5) will head to Lexington, Kentucky, for the second leg of its annual spring break trip at the John Cropp Classic. U-M kicks off the tournament against No. 10-ranked host Kentucky (13-1) at 5 p.m. on Thursday (March 3), continues against Kent State (4-5) at 12:30 p.m. and Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday (March 4) and wraps with a 1 p.m. slate against Drake (4-6) at 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 5). All games will be held at John Cropp Stadium and streamed on ESPN platforms.

• The Wolverines have batted .356 over their six spring break games so far -- a 117-point improvement over their .239 team batting average entering the Duke Invitational last weekend. Nine different U-M hitters own averages of .333 or better over the stretch, most notably graduate students Melina Livingston (.624) and Kristina Burkhardt (.524) and sophomore Sierra Kersten (.500), who are all hitting .500 or better. Michigan boasted season highs with 14 runs and 16 hits, including three homers, in the tournament finale against Northern Kentucky.

• Michigan hitters have also belted seven home runs over the spring-break stretch after entering last weekend with just one on the season. Senior Hannah Carson, who broke a scoreless tie with her three-run bomb in the Duke tournament opener against NKU, now leads the team with three long balls, while Kersten posted a solo shot on each day of action at the Duke Invite -- the first of her collegiate career.

• Burkhardt continues to lead the Wolverines at the plate, boasting a .480 batting average through the opening three weeks. With eight doubles and two triples, nearly half of her hits (24) 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.

• Senior RHP Alex Storako leads the conference and ranks third nationally with 84 total strikeouts while also ranking 11th with an 11.6 strikeouts-per-seven-innings average. She owns four 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 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.

• Beaubien earned her first save of the season -- and eighth of her career -- with a masterful relief performance against No. 13 Duke last Friday (Feb. 25). Beaubien entered with no outs in the seventh and the tying and winning runs aboard and handled all three outs herself with two strikeouts and a groundout to the right of the circle to close out the Wolverine win.

• Head coach Carol Hutchins reclaimed the top spot among NCAA softball's winningest coaches with the Wolverines' 3-0 win against Northern Kentucky last Friday (Feb. 25) and now boasts a 1,679-538-5 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.

Up Next

Saturday, March 12 -- DH vs. Kent State (Wilpon Complex), 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 13 -- vs. Kent State (Wilpon Complex), 1 p.m.