Hutchins Wins 600th to Complete Sweep of Gophers

Sunday, April 11

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

35-5-1, 8-0

Minnesota

28-13, 2-4

Minnesota

Michigan

4/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

By: Amy Carlton

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Result: #6 Michigan 6, #22 Minnesota 3
Records: Michigan (35-5-1, 8-0 Big Ten); Minnesota (28-13, 2-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Games: Tuesday, April 13 -- vs. Penn State (Alumni Field), 2 p.m. DH

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Timely hits and clutch relief pitching helped the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan softball team complete a Big Ten Conference three-game weekend sweep of No. 22 University of Minnesota on Sunday (April 11). The 6-3 Wolverine win also earned 15th-year head coach Carol Hutchins her 600th Michigan victory.

Michigan (35-5-1, 8-0 Big Ten) extended its unbeaten streak to 31 games (30-0-1) and posted its 14th straight win vs. Minnesota (28-13, 2-4 Big Ten) in completing the series sweep. U-M continues its Big Ten homestand by hosting third-place Penn State University in a 2 p.m. Tuesday (April 13) doubleheader.

Junior shortstop Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) pushed through a pair of two-run singles against the Golden Gophers. Her first-inning single provided the go-ahead run, giving U-M a 2-1 lead. Kosanke's single to left in the fifth inning helped seal Michigan's victory, putting the Wolverines ahead 6-2. Kosanke finished the day 2-for-3 and tied her career high for RBI (4) for the fourth time.

Minnesota, which stranded 14 runners during the game, had two late game-winning situations thwarted by U-M junior pitcher Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS), who recorded her second save of the season. The third pitcher used by Michigan, the junior entered with one out and two runners on in the sixth inning and retired the first two batters faced on a strikeout and centerfield flyout. The Gophers came back in the seventh with the tying run at the plate and two outs before Gillies forced the final out on a bunt.

Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) posted the Michigan win (14-1) in relief of starter Kate Eiland (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS). Barda gave up two hits, three walks and a run in her two innings of relief. Minnesota's Steph Klaviter took the loss (10-6).

Maize 'n Blue Diamond Gems

• Kelsey Kollen put together a solid game at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. The freshman second baseman completed the Minnesota series hitting .600 (6-for-10). . . . Melissa Taylor (Deerfield, Mich./Summerfield HS), 1-for-2 in the Minnesota series closer, has hit safely in 10 of the last 12 games and carries a career season-best .375 batting average.

• Carol Hutchins has had a milestone week. First she won her 250th Big Ten game with a 2-0 victory in Wednesday's (April 7) doubleheader opener at Purdue. Today she picked up Michigan coaching win No. 600. Hutchins became the 26th coach in NCAA history (all divisions) to win 600 collegiate career games when Michigan shut out Hofstra 3-0 on March 6.

• Minnesota limited Michigan's leading hitter, Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS), to just two hits in eight plate appearances over the weekend, dropping her conference-leading batting average 19 points to .410.

• Sunday's win was Michigan's 19th consecutive Big Ten regular-season win and the Wolverines' seventh straight conference series sweep. The streaks date back to April 18-19, 1998. . . . The Wolverines need two more wins to match their season-long win streak of 16 games (March 2-20). The record for consecutive wins is 22 set in the 1993 season. The 1999 team already owns the program's unbeaten record of 30 games (current). . . . The five wins over the April 7-11 stretch assured Michigan of a winning season in softball. The Wolverine program has never posted a losing season record over the 22 years of varsity softball, with only eight seasons of sub-.600 performance recorded.