Wolverines Eye Peach State for Five-Game Weekend Slate

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team (2-3) will travel to Athens, Ga., for the Red & Black Showcase this weekend. The Wolverines will face four non-conference opponents, opener with No. 10-ranked host Georgia (5-0) at 6 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 13) at the Bulldogs' Turner Softball Stadium. U-M continues against Longwood (2-3) at 1 p.m. and Western Carolina (1-4) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 14) and another Georgia matchup at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 15). Michigan closes out the weekend with a 1 p.m. slate Sunday (Feb 16) at Georgia State (1-4) at Bob Heck Softball Complex in Atlanta, Ga.

Notes

• Michigan will face Georgia for the first time since 2015 when it swept the Bulldogs, 10-3, 7-6, in NCAA Super Regional play at Alumni Field. The Wolverines have gone 6-3 in the all-time series against UGA and will face the Bulldogs in Athens for the second time in program history after previously sweeping a doubleheader matchup there in 2006.

• The Wolverines have faced Longwood in two total matchups, winning most recently in 2023 at the John Cropp Classic in Lexington, Ky. Additionally, the Wolverines are undefeated against Georgia State winning all five of their matchups, with their last win coming in 2020 at the USF Rawlings Invitational in Tampa, Fla. This will be Michigan's first-ever matchup with Western Carolina.

• Senior right-handed pitcher Lauren Derkowski has yet to allow a run this season after posting 17.1 shutout innings at the USF Invitational with a pair of complete-game shutouts against USF and Illinois State. Derkowski posted a 2-0 record with 17 strikeouts and a .138 opposing average. She tossed a 10-strikeout, two-hit shutout against Illinois State.

• Derkowski surpassed 500 career strikeouts during the ISU game and finished the weekend with 505 over her four seasons at Michigan. She is just 13 strikeouts away from cracking the Wolverines' top 10 leaderboard; Haylie Wagner (2012-15) currently holds the 10th spot with 518 Ks.

• Freshman first baseman Lauren Putz led the Wolverines at the plate at the USF Invitational last weekend (Feb. 7-9), batting .357 with five hits -- at least one in four of five games and two in the Georgia Southern tournament finale. She belted Michigan's first home run of the season with a leadoff solo shot in the third inning against Illinois State. Putz also drew three walks to boast a team-best .471 on-base percentage.

• Putz was one of six Wolverine freshmen to make their collegiate debuts at the USF Invitational. Freshmen Andee Dircks and Megan Beemer both earned at-bats, while Cece Thorington appeared in four games as a pinch runner and scored Michigan's lone run against USF. Freshman pitchers Haley Ferguson and Kat Meyers also saw time in the circle; Ferguson earned her first collegiate start against Georgia Southern. Sophomore Reganne Bennett also posted her Maize and Blue debut in the circle after transferring in from South Carolina last summer.

• Sophomore outfielder Jenissa Conway batted .313 with five hits, including two in the season opener against Delaware, and a team-best three runs scored. She drove in the game-winning run with an RBI groundout in the fifth inning against USF.

• The Wolverines posted a team average .244 (32-for-131) over the opening weekend and a .331 on-base percentage with 13 walks and four hit-by-pitch but struggled to produce runs, batting .068 with runners in scoring position and leaving 41 runners stranded on base over the five games.