Michigan
Kent State
Schedule Update: Sunday's Kent State Series Finale Moved to 3 p.m.
3/9/2022 2:44:00 PM | Softball
Schedule Update: Sunday's (March 13) series finale between Michigan and Kent State has been moved to 3 p.m. (originally scheduled for 1 p.m.) due to the weather forecast.
THIS WEEK
Thursday, March 10 -- vs. Kent State (Wilpon Complex), 4 p.m.
Tickets | TV: B1G+ | Live Video | Live Stats
Thursday, March 10 -- vs. Kent State (Wilpon Complex), 6 p.m.
Tickets | TV: B1G+ | Live Video | Live Stats
Sunday, March 13 -- vs. Kent State (Wilpon Complex), 3 p.m. (note new time)
Tickets | TV: B1G+ | Live Video | Live Stats
• Game Notes (PDF)
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The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan softball team (13-6) will kick off the home portion of its 2022 schedule with a three-game set against Kent State (6-7) this week at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field. The teams will now open the series with a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Thursday (March 10) -- originally scheduled for Saturday but moved up due to the weather forecast -- before wrapping up as scheduled with a 1 p.m. slate on Sunday (March 13). All games will be streamed live on B1G+.
• Michigan boasts a stellar 591-139-1 home record at Alumni Field since its 1982 construction. Last season, U-M went 12-1 at Alumni Field.
• Michigan similarly kicked off its home schedule against Kent State in both 2017 and 2019. Michigan swept both three-game series at Alumni Field. U-M outscored the Golden Flashes 34-2 in 2019, featuring an 18-1, five-inning decision with grand slams from Lexie Blair and Natalie Peters and a comeback win in the final. In 2017, RHP Megan Betsa tossed a 17-strikeout no-hitter in the series opener, while head coach Carol Hutchins earned her 1,500th career win in the finale.
• U-M also defeated Kent State just last weekend at Kentucky's John Cropp Classic, scoring at least one run per inning, including a five-spot in the first, to cruise to a 13-0, five-inning decision on March 4. Sophomore catcher Keke Tholl went 2-for-4 with four runs batted in, while freshman pitchers Annabelle Widra and Lauren Derkowski combined for a seven-strikeout one-hitter. In all, the Wolverines own an 18-1 advantage in the all-time series against KSU, dating back to 1982, and have won each of the last 10 meetings.
• The Wolverines are coming off a successful spring break trip, over which U-M posted an 8-2 record with two wins over nationally ranked opposition -- No. 13 Duke (3-2, Feb. 25) and No. 10 Kentucky (8-0, March 3). Michigan is 4-5 against ranked teams this season and has faced three top-10 opponents.
• Michigan batted .338 over its 10-game spring-break trip -- a 99-point improvement over its .239 team batting average entering the Duke Invitational. Eight different U-M hitters owned averages of .333 or better over the stretch, most notably graduate students Kristina Burkhardt (.514) and Melina Livingston (.462), junior Lauren Esman (.458) and junior Audrey LeClair (.438), who all hit .400 or better.
• Michigan also belted 11 home runs over the spring-break stretch after entering the trip with just one on the season. Six different Wolverines have at least one homer this season, while senior Hannah Carson and sophomore Sierra Kersten knocked out three homers apiece over spring break to share the team lead in the category -- they are the first long balls of Kersten's collegiate career.
• Burkhardt continues to lead the Wolverines at the plate, boasting a .484 batting average (31-for-64) with 13 doubles and 18 RBI. Adding three 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 an eight-game hitting streak.
• U-M's pitching staff combined for a 1.78 earned-run average over the spring-break trip, with five shutout wins, 78 strikeouts and a .160 opposing average over the stretch.
• Senior RHP Alex Storako was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks after posting a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA in wins against Elon, No. 10 Kentucky and Drake. She gave up just three total hits through 18 innings while striking out 30 batters. She wrapped the weekend with the first no-hitter of her collegiate career, fanning 13 en route to a 1-0 win in eight innings vs. Drake.
• Storako leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally with 10 wins already his season and lists sixth with 109 total strikeouts and 13th with 11.7 strikeouts per seven innings. She owns six double-digit strikeout games, including 18 in her debut against Illinois State -- the third-most K's 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 recorded 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). Beaubien 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 re-claimed the top spot among NCAA softball's winningest coaches with the Wolverines' 3-0 win against Northern Kentucky (Feb. 25) and now boasts a 1,682-539-5 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.
Up Next
Wednesday, March 16 -- vs. Oakland (Wilpon Complex), 4 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22 -- vs. Western Michigan (Wilpon Complex), 4 p.m.
