Wolverines to Wrap Early Tournament Slate at Cardinal Classic

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team (13-10) will close out its early season tournament slate at the Cardinal Classic this weekend in Louisville, Ky. U-M will face South Dakota (13-13) at 3:30 p.m. and host Louisville (16-8) at 6 p.m. on Saturday (March 16) and Dartmouth (1-4) at 10 a.m. and Illinois (8-10) at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday (March 17). All games will be held at Louisville's Ulmer Stadium.

Notes

• Louisville and Ulmer Stadium have been part of Michigan's regular early tournament rotation for some time, with U-M making eight appearances since 2002. The Wolverines will return for the first time since 2016. Michigan went 2-0 in a rain-shortened appearance that season with wins over Illinois State (1-0) and Dayton (7-0).

• Michigan and Louisville will play for the second time this season and U-M will have the opportunity to flip the result from the Joan Joyce Classic on Feb. 17. The Cardinals won that game 2-0 on a passed ball in the first inning and wild pitch in the fifth. Sophomore Maddie Erickson tallied two of the Wolverines' three hits in the game.

• Freshman right-handed pitcher Erin Hoehn tossed a six-inning no-hitter against Bowling Green last Sunday (March 10), striking out a career-high 11 while allowing just three total baserunners. Hoehn's previous strikeout high was five against UCLA (March 5). It was the first no-hitter for the Wolverines this season, while Hoehn is the first U-M freshman to throw a no-hitter since Meghan Beaubien in 2018.

• The Wolverines combined for a 0.82 earned-run average at the NKU Spring Classic with three pitchers boasting an ERA of 0.00. Hoehn, highlighted by her complete-game no-hitter against BGSU, allowed no runs over eight total innings pitched and struck out 12 batters.

• Michigan batted .313 at the NKU Spring Classic with a .373 slugging percentage and .430 on-base percentage. The Wolverines posted a season-high 13 runs and 12 hits against Illinois State -- an upgrade over their 5-3 decision over the Redbirds in the 2024 season opener. Junior outfielder Ellie Sieler led U-M with a .545 average (6-for-11) over its three games last weekend, while sophomore/freshman first baseman/catcher Lilly Vallimont posted a .636 on-base percentage with two hits, four walks and a hit-by-pitch.

• After a four-game hitting lull at the Judi Garman Classic (Feb. 29-March 2), Michigan has batted .350 since, breaking out with a 10-2, five-inning win over No. 13 Florida in its tournament finale. It was U-M's second win over the Gators this season. The Wolverines recorded 10 total hits with three players posting multi-hit efforts. Vallimont led U-M with two hits, two runs and two RBI.

• Hoehn earned the win against Florida from the circle, holding the Gators scoreless through four innings and ultimately allowing two runs on seven hits, a walk and two HBP with a pair of strikeouts. She also registered a three-run double in the third inning.

• Sophomore third baseman Maddie Erickson leads the Wolverines with a .348 average -- a 110-point improvement from her rookie-year average -- along with a .551 slugging percentage and .375 on-base percentage. She owns three homers and 11 RBI and delivered several clutch hits for U-M already this spring, with the game-tying homer in the seventh inning against Oregon State (Feb. 11) and the game-winning homer against in the sixth inning against Sacramento State (Feb. 24).