Davie Leads U-M to Three-Peat at Boilermaker Classic

Sunday, March 28

West Lafayette, Ind.

9:00 AM

Michigan

24-5-1

Bradley

8-8

Michigan

Bradley

3/28/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Amy Carlton

Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Purdue Varsity Field)
Event: Boilermaker Classic
Results: #8 Michigan 6, Bradley 1; #8 Michigan 8, #25 Central Michigan 0 (6 innings)
Records: U-M (25-5-1)
Next U-M Games: Wednesday, March 31 -- at Eastern Michigan (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 3 p.m. DH

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Hot hitting by left fielder Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and back-to-back one-hitters by the pitching staff propelled the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan softball team to its third straight Boilermaker Classic title Sunday (March 28) at Purdue University.

Two Sunday wins -- 6-1 vs. Bradley and 8-0 in six innings vs. No. 25 Central Michigan -- gave Michigan a 4-0 record in the 1999 tournament and pushed its three-year mark in the Boilermaker Classic to 11-1. The Wolverines (25-5-1) keep their March record unblemished, pushing their unbeaten string to 21 games (20-0-1).

Davie hit a torrid .500 over the four tournament games to collect her second Boilermaker Classic Most Valuable Player award. The senior, who was MVP in 1997, tallied two doubles and two triples among her six hits while powering six RBI and scoring eight runs.

Wolverine pitchers Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS) and Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) each threw one-hitters in complete games on Sunday. Gillies (7-2), who had a one-hitter Saturday against Indiana State, recorded the win vs. Bradley with two strikeouts and one walk. Barda (8-1) notched her second career one-hitter against Central Michigan, allowing two walks and striking out four.

Michigan trailed Bradley 1-0 after the first inning but took the lead in the second when Melissa Taylor (Deerfield, Mich./Summerfield HS) drilled a two-run double to score Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) and Karmen Lappo (Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon HS). Taylor, Lappo and Rebecca Tune (Aloha, Ore./Jesuit HS) each doubled while Davie tallied a triple in her last at-bat.

A six-run explosion in the sixth inning sealed the Wolverines' win against Central Michigan. Michigan got four of its six runs on a pair of hits -- a two-run home run by Tune and a two-run double by Davie. Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS), Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Mater Dei HS) and Tune had two hits apiece for U-M.

Maize 'n Blue Diamond Gems

• Catherine Davie is joined on the Boilermaker Classic all-tournament team by Pam Kosanke and Tammy Mika (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS). Kosanke is a repeat honoree, joining Davie on the 1997 all-tournament list. Kosanke hit .600 (6-for-10) with five runs and four RBI while Mika finished the weekend 6-for-11 (.545) with six RBI, two sacrifices and two runs.

• The Boilermaker Classic award is Catherine Davie's third all-tournament award of the season. She was all-tournament at the South Florida Speedline Invitational (March 7) and the Sacramento State Capital Classic (March 21).

• The home run by Rebecca Tune vs. Central Michigan is her second of both the season and her career.

• Marie Barda, who has three career one-hitters as a Wolverine, posted her first career one-hitter against Central Michigan April 7, 1998, in a 3-0 shutout. She is 2-0 lifetime with two shutouts against the Chippewas.

• The Wolverines' win vs. Central Michigan was its 28th in 54 games between the two teams. It was also Michigan's eighth season win in 12 games vs. top 25-ranked opponents. . . . U-M faced Bradley for the first time in softball. . . . Michigan outscored its four Boilermaker Classic opponents 36-1, with only Bradley putting a run on the scoreboard vs. the Wolverines. . . . Michigan recorded a 23-5-1 mark over its five regular-season tournament appearances this season.