Michigan
Iowa
Weather Alters Schedule for Weekend Series Against Iowa
4/11/2024 1:37:00 PM | Softball
SCHEDULE UPDATE (4/12/24): Due to high winds and inclement weather, Friday's series opener against Iowa has been postponed and will be played as part of a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 13). The series finale scheduled for Sunday (April 14) has also been moved to a noon start.
Promotions
April 13
• Bark in the Park
• Postgame Kids Run The Bases
• More information
April 14
• Dollar Day -- $1 tickets can only be pre-purchased at MGoBlue.com/Tickets, and will not be available at the box office on the day of the game.
• Festival at the Fields
• Wolverine Kids Club Day
• Michigan Softball Sunday Bingo
• Postgame Autographs
• More information
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team (26-14, 7-3 Big Ten) will continue its homestand with a three-game weekend series against Iowa (16-15, 4-5 Big Ten) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field at Carol Hutchins Stadium. The teams will face off at 6 p.m. on Friday (April 12), 2 p.m. on Saturday (April 13) and 1 p.m. on Sunday (April 14). All three games will be streamed live on B1G+.
Notes
• Michigan lists fifth in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 7-3 record. The Wolverines opened conference play with six straight wins, the program's best Big Ten start since going 11-0 to kick off the 2019 Big Ten schedule.
• The Wolverines improved to 6-0 at home after their 5-0 midweek win over Central Michigan on Wednesday (April 10). U-M is batting .338 at home so far this season with a 0.90 earned-run average, outscoring its opposition 43-8 over the six games.
• Senior first baseman/catcher Keke Tholl tied the Michigan program record with three home runs in U-M's 11-5 win at Michigan State on Tuesday (April 9), posting homers in the second, fifth and sixth innings to become the fifth player in program history to register three in a game and the first since Kelly Christner in 2017. It was her third career multi-homer effort, and she took the team lead with 10 on the season.
• The Wolverines have belted 28 home runs over their last 16 games, including eight from from Tholl, six from freshman outfielder Jenissa Conway and five from sophomore third baseman Maddie Erickson. Tholl and Erickson both tallied homers in the same four consecutive games from March 23-30. Seven different Wolverines have tallied homers over the stretch, including an inside-the-park home run from sophomore Indiana Langford against Toledo (March 27).
• Junior outfielder Ellie Sieler went 5-for-7 over the Wolverines' two midweek games with a home run, double and four RBI. She raised her season batting average to a team-leading .377 -- a 90-point improvement over her previous career high (.287). She has tied her career-best hit total (43) and already owns career highs in runs (32) and RBI (15).
• Erickson also owns a career high with a .357 batting average -- a 122-point improvement on her average last season -- and leads Michigan with a .620 slugging percentage (10 doubles, eight home runs), 46 hits and 28 RBI.
• U-M's 10-game winning streak was halted last weekend at Northwestern, which earned the three-game series sweep. Over the win streak, the Wolverines posted a .353 team batting average, .673 slugging percentage and .433 on-base percentage and outscored their opposition 78-19 over the stretch. Six Wolverines have batted .360 or better, while Erickson (.444), Sieler (.438) and junior Ella McVey (.404) have all batted .400 or better over the 10 games.
• Freshman right-handed pitcher Erin Hoehn claimed both of Michigan's midweek wins in the circle to improve to 13-4 on the season. She earned the MSU win in relief after junior RHP Lauren Derkowski did not pitch the minimum innings, striking out four Spartans and allowed three runs on six hits and a walk through three innings. She started against CMU and allowed just one hit and one walk while fanning six over four innings. Hoehn combined for the shutout with Derkowski, who entered in the fifth to earn her second save this season.
• Iowa enters the weekend with a 16-15 record and is 4-5 in Big Ten play after dropping three games to Purdue (3-2 in eight innings, 4-0, 2-1) on the road last weekend. The Hawkeyes own a .259 team batting average with a .319 slugging percentage and .334 on-base percentage. Their pitching staff carries a 2.43 ERA. Michigan owns a 58-56-1 advantage in the all-time series against Iowa and has won each of the last two meetings -- 2-0 and 6-5 decisions in 2021 in Leesburg, Fla.
