Big Innings Produce Home-Opening Sweep for Michigan

Saturday, April 10

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

33-5-1, 6-0

Minnesota

28-11, 2-2

Minnesota

Michigan

4/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Amy Carlton

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Results: #6 Michigan 5, #22 Minnesota 2; #6 Michigan 8, #22 Minnesota 3
Records: Michigan (34-5-1, 7-0 Big Ten); Minnesota (28-12, 2-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game: Sunday, April 11 -- vs. #22 Minnesota (U-M Alumni Field), 1 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Big run-producing innings in both halves of Saturday's (April 10) softball doubleheader led to two Big Ten Conference wins for the University of Michigan as the No. 6-ranked Wolverines swept No. 22 Minnesota 5-2 and 8-3 in their 1999 home debut.

Michigan (34-5-1, 7-0 Big Ten) finishes the three-game weekend series vs. Minnesota (28-12, 2-3 Big Ten) with a 1 p.m. single game Sunday (April 11) at Alumni Field.

In addition to the two important league wins, Big Ten history was rewritten when Michigan senior first baseman Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS) moved past Minnesota's Rachel Nelson (313 hits, 1994-97) as the all-time hits leader in league history. Conrad, who now has 314 hits, broke Nelson's two-year-old mark with a single up the middle in the fifth inning of the day's second game. Conrad finished the doubleheader 4-for-8 with a run batted in and three runs scored.

The Wolverines came back to tie Minnesota 2-2 in the fifth inning of game one, taking the lead for good on a three-run center-field double by freshman Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) in the sixth. Karmen Lappo (Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon HS) doubled in the Wolverines' first run in the fourth, and U-M tied the game in the fifth when Conrad advanced home after Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Volpe, who singled in the first, and Conrad recorded four of Michigan's six hits in the opener. Sophomore pitcher Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) struck out five and held Minnesota to three hits in her compete-game win. Barda goes to 13-1 while Minnesota's Michelle Harrison (7-5) took the loss in relief of starter Steph Klaviter.

Michigan never trailed in the second game, scoring five runs in the first inning and scattering 14 hits in the victory. Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif/Mater Dei HS) and Kosanke tallied three hits apiece while Conrad and Melissa Taylor (Deerfield, Mich./Summerfield HS) collected two hits each. Junior Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS) went the distance for Michigan, earning her 10th win of the year (10-2) with five strikeouts and four hits. Starter Heather Brown (8-1) was credited with the loss, her first of the year.

Maize 'n Blue Diamond Gems

• Stefanie Volpe's game-winning double in the first game is her second game-winning hit of the week. Designated player in the U-M lineup, Volpe drilled a single to left field at Purdue April 7 to give U-M a 3-2, 11-inning win.

• Wolverine leading hitter Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) had four official at-bats over the doubleheader. In game one she was walked three times -- twice intentionally -- and reached on a catcher's interference. In game two, Davie was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

• Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins is one win away from recording her 600th victory as the Wolverine head coach.

• Marie Barda's 5-2 win in the first game was her 11th victory in as many starts, a streak dating back to March 2 and a 4-1 win vs. Providence.

• Michigan extended its unbeaten streak to 30 games (29-0-1) with the two Saturday wins. . . . The Wolverines won their third straight home opener, pushing their home season-opening record to 12-5. . . . U-M carries 13-game series and 18-game Alumni Field win streaks vs. Minnesota. The Gophers' last win in the series was May 4, 1996, and their last win in Ann Arbor was April 6, 1990.