Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan Battles but Takes Pair of Late Losses in Doubleheader at Northwestern
4/6/2024 7:31:00 PM | Softball
» Michigan dropped both games of its Saturday doubleheader at Northwestern, 8-5 and 5-4.
» Maddie Erickson posted three hits on the day with two RBI; Ava Costales knocked out a two-run homer in the second game.
» Erin Hoehn and Lauren Derkowski both took complete-game losses, totaling 19 strikeouts but allowing 13 combined hits and seven walks.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Michigan softball team battled and rallied in both games but dropped both sides of a doubleheader, 8-5 and 5-4, at Northwestern Saturday (April 6) at the Wildcats' Sharon J. Drysdale Stadium.
Michigan was doomed by a pair of early long balls in the first inning of the day's first game. The Wildcats homered on the first pitch of the game and added a two-out grand slam to take an early 5-0 lead. Northwestern added another two-out RBI in the second with a single through the right side.
The Wolverines loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth to post a five-run inning of their own and pull within one run. Sophomore third baseman Maddie Erickson drove a two-run double to left field, glancing it off the glove of the running Wildcat left fielder. U-M added runs on a sacrifice fly from senior first baseman Keke Tholl and a 4-3 RBI groundout from sophomore/freshman catcher Lilly Vallimont.
Northwestern took advantage of U-M miscues to pull away with two runs in the sixth, scoring on an RBI double to center field while a throwing error moved the batter into scoring position. She then came home on a subsequent fielding error at second base.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Erin Hoehn (11-4) took the loss in the circle, allowing eight runs -- seven earned -- on six hits, four walks and three hit-by-pitches. She struck out 10 Wildcat batters for the second game of her collegiate career with double-digit strikeouts.
Michigan struck first in the second slate. Junior outfielder Ellie Sieler led off the game with a triple to left-center when the NU center fielder dove for the ball and came up empty. Sophomore second baseman Indiana Langford reached on a subsequent fielding error, and both she and Sieler scored when Erickson singled back through the circle and the Wildcat pitcher overthrew first base.
NU scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first then took the lead with three runs in the third. The Wildcats tied the game with an RBI double down the left-field line then added two more after a fielding error extended the inning with two outs, scoring on the dropped popup and on a RBI single through the left side.
A pair of freshmen leveled the score in the fifth inning. Outfielder Ella Stephenson roped a one-out double to the right-center field gap, and designated player Ava Costales followed her with a crushed two-run homer that hit high off Welsh-Ryan Arena beyond the left-center field wall. It was her second home run of the season.
Both teams stranded runners in scoring position, Northwestern in the bottom of the sixth and Michigan in the top of the seventh -- after an NU shoestring catch in left-center field produced the third out. The Wildcats walked off in the home half of the seventh, loading the bases with two one-out singles and a walk before another walk produced the winning run.
Junior RHP Lauren Derkowski (11-7) posted nine strikeouts while allowing five runs -- three earned -- on seven hits and three walks.
The Wolverines (24-14, 6-3 Big Ten) will wrap up their road swing and kick off a busy five-game week on Tuesday (April 9) when they head to East Lansing, Mich., to take on in-state rival Michigan State at 6 p.m. at Secchia Stadium.
