Michigan
Maryland
Wolverines to Kick Off Postseason at Big Ten Tournament in East Lansing
5/10/2022 4:30:00 PM | Softball
THIS WEEK
Big Ten Tournament (Tournament Central)
Thursday, May 12 -- vs. Maryland (East Lansing, Mich.), 7 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | Live Video | Live Stats | Bracket (PDF)
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan softball team (34-15, 14-8 Big Ten) will open postseason play at the Big Ten Conference Tournament this week in East Lansing, Mich. With the No. 4 seed, the Wolverines earned a first-round bye and will open play in the quarterfinal round on Thursday (May 12) at 7 p.m. against Maryland (29-22, 14-8 Big Ten). All games will be held on Secchia Stadium and aired live on the Big Ten Network.
• Michigan is the defending Big Ten Tournament champion, winning the 2019 crown before the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the event the last two years. U-M has won the league tournament 10 of the 22 times it has been contested, posting a program record of 44-17 at the event.
• The Wolverines wrapped up regular-season play with a three-game sweep at Wisconsin last weekend (May 6-8), during which U-M batted .402 and outscored the Badgers 29-12. Six different Michigan players batted over .350 in the series, while the Wolverines combined for 14 extra-base hits -- more than a third of their 41 hits on the weekend.
• U-M claimed its last six Big Ten series after dropping the first two of the season. Prior to its sweep at Wisconsin, Michigan had done so in bounce-back fashion in the previous three weekend series -- dropping the Friday opener before winning on Saturday and Sunday -- against Maryland, Ohio State and Minnesota. In those three series, U-M was outscored 14-5 in the Friday matchups before outscoring the opposition 32-16 in the other six series games.
• Senior first baseman Lexie Blair earned the final Big Ten Player of the Week award of the season after batting .700 (7-for-10) with three doubles, three runs scored and three RBI in the sweep at Wisconsin. She matched her career best with four hits, including a pair of two-baggers, in the series opener and tallied two hits in the finale. She boasted RBI hits in the first inning of Friday and Saturday's games and scored U-M's first run in the first inning in the finale on Sunday.
• Blair has been a big addition since returning to the Wolverine starting lineup from an injury suffered in the Northwestern series opener (April 1), posting 12 hits -- six for extra bases -- and eight RBI over the eight games since. In addition to her success at Wisconsin, Blair delivered the go-ahead two-run double in the fourth inning to complete U-M's comeback win in the series finale against Ohio State. After starting 155 games in the Wolverine outfield over her career, she has started the last eight at first base.
• Graduate student Kristina Burkhardt ranks sixth nationally with 18 doubles and 10th with a 0.39 doubles-per-game average this season, and lists eighth with six triples and 15th with 0.12 triples per game. Burkhardt's six triples are the most for a Wolverine player since Patti Benedict tied the program record with 11 in 1993. Adding her solo homer against Minnesota, more than 40 percent (26-of-61) of Burkhardt's hits this season have gone for extra bases.
• Junior Audrey LeClair is enjoying a breakout year with a .356 batting average -- a 189-point improvement over her average last season (.167) -- and boasts career highs in every offensive category, including 27 runs, 36 hits and 12 RBI. Primarily a pinch-runner over her first two seasons, LeClair has started 36 games in the outfield for Michigan. She was outstanding in the Wolverines' series at Wisconsin, batting .538 (7-for-13) with seven runs, four RBI and three extra-base hits, including her first collegiate homer in Saturday's contest.
• Graduate student second baseman Melina Livingston boasted a career-high five RBI in the series finale at Wisconsin, driving in a run in all of her plate appearances with two RBI singles, two sac flies and a solo homer. It was the most RBI for a Wolverine player in a game this season.
• Freshman right-handed pitcher Lauren Derkowski posted a 2-0 record in the Wolverines' weekend sweep at Wisconsin, twice winning in relief with a 0.00 ERA, just one hit and five walks allowed and nine strikeouts over 6.0 innings pitched.
• Senior RHP Alex Storako ranks 13th nationally in wins (22), seventh in complete-game shutouts (nine), seventh in total strikeouts (274) and ninth in strikeouts per seven innings (11.3). She owns 12 double-digit strikeout games. 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.
• Already the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, head coach Carol Hutchins became the first to hit the 1,700 wins milestone with Michigan's 8-4 win in the series rubber match against Minnesota on May 1. Hutchins, who is now 1,703-548-5 in her 39 years as a collegiate coach, reclaimed the mantle among NCAA softball's winningest coaches with the Wolverines' 3-0 win against Northern Kentucky (Feb. 25) after previously holding the top spot for more than two years after passing Margie Wright's record of 1,457 career wins in 2016.
Up Next
Sunday, May 15 -- NCAA Selection Show (ESPN2), 7 p.m.
