Michigan
1-0
Bethune-Cookman
0-3
Wolverines Blank Bethune Cookman, USF to Kick Off 2026 Campaign
2/6/2026 10:30:00 PM | Softball
» Michigan shut out Bethune Cookman 17-0 in five innings and USF 4-0 in its first games of the 2026 season at the USF-Rawlings Invitational.
» Erin Hoehn tossed a two-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts against the host Bulls, while the U-M staff combined for 19 Ks and allowed just five total hits and a .125 average against.
» Hoehn, Jenissa Conway and Lilly Vallimont all posted four hits on the day, while Lauren Putz tallied two homers and seven RBI.
TAMPA, Fla. -- The University of Michigan softball team used big bats, small ball and, more than anything, stingy pitching to kick off its 2026 campaign with a pair of shutout wins, defeating Bethune Cookman 17-0 in five innings and host USF 4-0 on day one of the USF-Rawlings Invitational on Friday (Feb. 6) at USF Softball Stadium.
The Wolverines trotted out four different pitchers over 12 innings on the day, and the staff combined for 19 strikeouts, just five total hits allowed and a measly .125 average against.
Junior right-handed pitcher Erin Hoehn threw a two-hit shutout against USF in the second slate, matching a career high with 11 strikeouts while allowing just one Bulls runner to reach scoring position. Sophomore RHP Kat Meyers earned the win over BCU in the season opener with five strikeouts and two hits allowed over three innings.
Hoehn was also one of three Wolverines to post four hits on the day. Junior outfielder Jenissa Conway batted .667 with three runs and three RBI, while redshirt junior Lilly Vallimont hit .571 with a pair of RBI. Sophomore outfielder Lauren Putz went yard twice -- once in each game -- and boasted a team-high seven RBI and scored four runs.
Michigan manufactured its lead early against the host Bulls, plating three runs over the first two innings on a pair of sacrifice flies and a fielder's choice and drop at home plate. Putz, who pushed across the Wolverines' first run on the first-inning sac fly, provided some power -- and insurance -- late with a leadoff solo homer to right field with the sun setting in the fifth.
The Bulls' used a walk and a base hit with no outs in the first inning to put up their biggest threat of the contest. A fielder's choice moved the lead runner to third base before Hoehn stranded her with a swinging strikeout. Hoehn retired 11 straight between the second and sixth innings before the streak was snapped by a one-out walk. She responded with back-to-back strikeouts -- on just seven pitches -- to end the inning.
Twelve Wolverines combined for 19 total hits against Bethune Cookman, the program's most in a single game since tallying 23 against Rutgers in 2017. Conway went 3-for-3 -- a home run shy of the cycle -- and drove in the season's first run just two batters in with an RBI double to left field to plate senior second baseman Indiana Langford from first base.
Five of Michigan's runs came from long balls. Senior first baseman Madi Ramey led off the second with a solo shot to center field, while Vallimont and Putz went deep for two runs apiece in the second and third innings, respectively.
All six Wolverine freshmen got into the game against BCU. First baseman Siena Snyder and catcher Sydney Hastings tallied their first collegiate hits -- Snyder went 2-for-2 with two runs, while Hastings pulled a pinch-hit, two-run double down the left-field line in her first career at-bat.
Freshman RHP Grayson LaMarche also closed out the game in the circle, earning three strikeouts in the fifth inning, including a four-pitch effort for the final out after BCU stayed alive with a two-out walk.
Michigan (2-0) will play two more games Saturday (Feb. 7) at the USF-Rawlings Invitational, taking on Illinois State at 9 a.m. and No. 6 Florida at 11:30 a.m. at USF Softball Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyers, Kat (1-0)
L: Aimi Tohara-Yshiki (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Conway, Jenissa 1 ; Putz, Lauren 1 ; Hastings, Sydney 1 ; Thorington, Cece 1
3B: Conway, Jenissa 1 ; Vallimont, Lilly 1
HR: Putz, Lauren 1 ; Vallimont, Lilly 1 ; Ramey, Madi 1
RBI: Dircks, Andee 1 ; Conway, Jenissa 2 ; Ilacqua, Janelle 1 ; Putz, Lauren 5 ; Hastings, Sydney 2 ; Vallimont, Lilly 2 ; Hoehn, Erin 1 ; Ramey, Madi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Langford, Indiana 3 ; Dircks, Andee 1 ; Conway, Jenissa 3 ; Putz, Lauren 3 ; Stephenson, Ella 1 ; Vallimont, Lilly 1 ; Thorington, Cece 1 ; Fantucci, Avery 1 ; Ramey, Madi 1 ; Snyder, Siena 2
SB: Langford, Indiana 1
HBP: Fantucci, Avery 1
Base Running:
SB: Leiya Rojas 1
