Michigan
Pittsburgh
Wolverines Look to Maintain Momentum With Five-Game Set in Houston
2/10/2026 4:25:00 PM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team (4-1) will next head south for a five-game set at the Houston-HCU Invitational next weekend in Houston, Texas. The Wolverines will open play on Friday (Feb. 13) against Pittsburgh (3-2) at noon CT and Houston Christian (0-4) at 5 p.m. at HCU's Husky Field before moving to UH's Cougar Softball Stadium, where they will face Incarnate Word (5-0) at 2:30 p.m. CT and Houston (4-0) at 5 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 14) and Lafayette (0-0) at 9:30 a.m. CT on Sunday (Feb. 15).
Notes
• Michigan has previously played in two early-season tournaments in Houston -- opening weekend in 2007 and 2011, going a combined 9-1 in those events. The Wolverines are 3-2 all-time against UH, including a 2-1 mark on the Cougars' field. Houston claimed the last meeting 5-2 at the 2014 Judi Garman Classic.
• Michigan will face three of its five weekend opponents for the first time in program history -- Houston Christian, Incarnate Word and Lafayette.
• The Wolverines combined for a .331 team batting average over the USF Invitational, with five players hitting .350 or better. U-M also posted a .579 slugging percentage with 17 extra-base hits, including seven homers, over five games. Junior right-handed pitcher Erin Hoehn led Michigan at the plate with a whopping .643 batting average (9-for-14), with two doubles and three RBI, while sophomore outfielder Lauren Putz posted a team-best nine RBI. Putz and junior outfielder Jenissa Conway both recorded .462 averages.
• Michigan's USF Invitational offensive numbers were a dramatic improvement over last season's opening weekend, when the Wolverines batted .244 as a team with 32 hits, two homers and just eight runs scored. U-M improved its average by 90 points, slugging percentage by 266 points (from .313 to .579) and on-base percentage by 75 points (from .331 to .406).
• Hoehn tallied at least one hit in each of the Wolverines' games last weekend, and with nine total hits, she is already just one hit shy of her career best, which she recorded as a freshman (2024), and three away from doubling her previous career total. She boasted three hits apiece against host USF and Illinois State and drove in the winning run in the sixth inning against Kansas. Hoehn also contributed from the circle, striking out 16 over 10.1 innings with a complete-game, two-hit shutout against USF.
• The Wolverines posted seven homers, with Putz and Conway -- last season's leaders -- totaling five. Conway led off with solo homers in the first inning in back-to-back games against Florida and Kansas, while Putz belted a game-tying homer to lead off the sixth inning against Kansas. Of Michigan's seven homers on the weekend, five led off innings.
• Michigan put five different pitchers in the circle over the course of the weekend, and the staff combined for a strong 1.75 earned-run average, with 47 strikeouts and a .195 average against. U-M opened the season with back-to-back shutouts against Bethune-Cookman and USF.
• Junior pitcher Gabby Ellis posted a 2-0 record, starting one game and earning the other in relief, with a 1.56 ERA and 12 strikeouts over nine innings. Both runs and three of her five hits allowed came in her first inning in maize and blue against Illinois State. She followed with eight shutout innings and just two hits allowed -- a .080 average against.
• All six Wolverine freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the season opener against Bethune-Cookman. Kiley Carr started three games at second base, and she, Siena Snyder and Sydney Hastings all recorded their first collegiate hits. Grayson LaMarche appeared in three games in the circle, boasting a 0.00 ERA with three hits allowed and eight strikeouts over 4.0 innings.
