Michigan
Toledo
Wolverines to Host Toledo Midweek, Kick Off Road Swing at Indiana
3/26/2024 1:44:00 PM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team (20-11, 3-0 Big Ten) will play another four games this week, hosting a midweek slate before kicking off an eight-game road swing. U-M welcomes Toledo (13-12) on Wednesday (March 27) at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field at Carol Hutchins Stadium. The Wolverines will then travel to Bloomington, Ind., for a three-game weekend series at Indiana (22-9, 0-3 Big Ten); U-M and the Hoosiers will play at 6 p.m. on Friday (March 29), 2 p.m. on Saturday (March 30) and 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 31) at Andy Mohr Field.
Notes
• Junior right-handed pitcher Lauren Derkowski earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after posting a 3-0 record over the Wolverines' last four games with a 0.70 earned-run average and 23 strikeouts over 20 total innings. She tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in the home opener against Oakland (March 19) and added eight hits apiece in two games against Purdue. She threw six innings to combine for another shutout in the series opener against the Boilermakers.
• Michigan batted .333 en route to four wins last week against Oakland and Purdue, boasting a .606 team slugging percentage and .407 on-base percentage -- its best weekend hitting performance of the season.
• The Wolverines belted seven home runs over their four home games, including two apiece from junior outfielder Ellie Sieler and senior catcher Keke Tholl. Freshmen Ava Costales and Ella Stephenson both tallied their first collegiate long ball, while Michigan's homer leaders -- sophomore Maddie Erickson and freshman Jenissa Conway -- both posted one to up their season total to five.
• Sieler batted .636 over the Wolverines' opening four home games last week, going 7-for-11 with a 1.182 slugging percentage and .714 on-base percentage. She went 3-for-3 with two leadoff homers in the series opener against Purdue and posted two hits apiece in the second and third series games. She batted 7-for-9 in the Purdue series with five runs scored and three RBI.
• With her standout weekend, Sieler raised her season batting average to a team-best .356 from the leadoff spot -- a 69-point improvement over her batting average last season. Sieler owns a career-best 22 runs scored and is just three shy of her career high in RBI with seven.
• Erickson ranks just behind Sieler with a .354 batting average -- a 116-point improvement from her rookie-year average -- along with a .583 slugging percentage and .380 on-base percentage. She owns five homers and 16 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).
• Conway shares the team lead with five homers and leads the Wolverines with 20 RBI. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week two weeks ago after leading the Wolverines with a .400 batting average at the Cardinal Classic (March 16-17), boasting a 1.300 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage. She posted a pair of home runs and four RBI against host Louisville, drove in a run on an RBI double against Dartmouth and tallied her second career triple in the tournament finale against Illinois.
• Costales batted .444 (4-for-9) over the Wolverines' last four games with a hit in each contest and three RBI while earning four straight starts in the designated player role. She belted her first collegiate homer in the home opener against Purdue and posted an RBI double in the series opener against Purdue.
• Toledo is 13-12 on the season after sweeping Bowling Green on the road last weekend (March 22-24), including a 12-0, five-inning decision in Sunday's finale. The Rockets carry a .310 team average with a .421 slugging percentage and .371 on-base percentage, while the pitching staff has a combined 3.28 ERA. Michigan is 25-12 in the all-time series against Toledo and has won 11 straight since 1996.
• Indiana carries a 22-9 record but started Big Ten play 0-3 after being swept at Penn State (2-1, 8-3, 5-2) over the weekend. The Hoosiers are hitting .307 as a team with a .514 slugging percentage and .387 on-base percentage and own a 4.46 team ERA. Michigan is 93-32 all-time against Indiana but was swept by the Hoosiers -- 4-1, 15-1 (6), 6-5 -- last season in Ann Arbor.
