Michigan
45-16-1
DePaul
40-20
Wolverines Fall to DePaul in NCAA Regional Final
5/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
DePaul (40-20) advances to the NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the second consecutive year. Blue Demons reliever Lindsay Chouinard (18-8), who retired 13 of the 14 batters she faced in relief -- including the final 11 Wolverines of the game -- was named the NCAA Region 8 Most Outstanding Player after leading a DePaul pitching staff that allowed no runs over their four-game regional championship run.
After Michigan (45-16-1) stranded a runner on second base to end the top of the first inning, DePaul went to work. Liz Bouck bunted her way to first and advanced to second by beating the throw on Jenny Davis' sacrifice attempt. A wild pitch moved Davis and Bouck to second and third with no outs, and Shavaughne Desecki was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Michigan looked like it might be able to get out of the inning as Marissa Young (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS) induced Chouinard to pop out to rightfield. Young then promptly got ahead of Julie Luna 1-2 before Luna ripped a double into the left-center gap to put DePaul ahead 2-0. Tami Bouck singled through the left side of the infield to plate the third DePaul run. Young (18-4), who threw all six innings, retired the next two Blue Demons on groundouts to end the inning.
The Wolverines threatened again in the third inning when Kim Bugel (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park HS) led off with a single and advanced to third on a pair of illegal pitches, one following each of the first two outs of the inning. Starting pitcher Ashley Ivey then fell behind 2-0 to Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) before DePaul changed pitchers. Chouinard entered the game and struck out Volpe on four pitches, and then limited Michigan to one hit -- a one-out single in the fourth -- as she closed out the game.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
On today's game ... "It was all DePaul -- you have to congratulate them. They came in here with nothing to lose, and they were the best team here this weekend, in my opinion. And to not have a run scored on you is just incredible."
On DePaul's quick start ... "You just knew that we needed to stop the bleeding after they were up 3-0. We certainly had our opportunities and we just didn't come up with a timely hit. I thought we did an excellent job of containing them after that. We didn't come up with the offense. Defense can only do so much, but you have got to have some offense to win it. You have to give a lot of credit to them."
On U-M jelling at the end of the season ... "This team really came together the last few weeks of the season. We had been inconsistent and not playing together. I thought our team played their hearts out, but we just fell short. But I really felt they went for it, and, to me, it's not really whether you win or lose, but rather if you go for it. These kids really went for it."
Michigan Third Baseman Pam Kosanke
On the team's play ... "It was tough to lose today. We played our hearts out all weekend. I'm proud that we came back, and I'm proud that we finished off the season strong and together."
DePaul Head Coach Eugene Lenti
On today's game ... "Michigan has a great team. We knew it was going to be a tough game. Even though we got the three runs early, it was a tough battle all the way. They are as good of quality as opponent as we have faced all year long. And they are one of the classiest group of kids we have played all year long. It is just one of those situations where, unfortunately, somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. For us, it has been the same story all tournament -- timely hitting, fantastic defense and great pitching. Even I can't screw up losing a game when our pitchers don't give up a run. I think this group of kids was under a great burden of expectation trying to follow up from what last year's team did (third place at the Women's College World Series). To play under that burden was phenomenal. This Blue Demon softball team plays for May."
On DePaul's quick starts the entire regional ... "I think it has a tremendous effect on our whole team. We did have some veterans, but we had three or four kids who were new to being in that type of situation. Everybody loves to pitch when you are up by three or four runs. When you are up 3-0, you can go in to pitch, relax and work the corners. This whole weekend Lindsay (Chouinard) has done a great job working the corners. This is where great pitchers live and make their living."
On the team's expectations for regionals ... "We were the last team chosen for regionals. We came out with nothing to lose. We knew from an experience factor that we had been on the field in tight situations and playing tight series, and we knew that (experience) was going to pay dividends in the long run. The kids from last year stepped in and delivered both offensively and defensively."
DePaul Pitcher Lindsay Chouinard
On DePaul's pitchers not allowing a run at the regional ... "It was pretty unbelievable, actually. I just came in here, tried to hit my spots and do the best I could. I really tried to be supportive of Ashley (Ivey) and we both really tried to push each other to do well. We both hit our spots really well and made the ball move -- that was the key."
N O T E S
The 1,266 fans for the NCAA Region 8 Softball Championship game marks the second largest crowd in Alumni Field history. The record of 1,452 was set when Michigan and DePaul met May 17, 1998, in the 1998 NCAA Regional title game.
In the 2000 NCAA Region 8 Championship, teams that scored first won nine of the 10 games. The exception was in game one on May 18, when Central Michigan came from behind to upset top-seeded Stanford 2-1 in 13 innings.
Contact: Amy Carlton (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lindsay Chouinard (18-8)
L: Young, Marissa (18-4)
Batting:
SH: Tune, Rebecca 1
Base Running:
SB: Taylor, Melissa 1
Batting:
RBI: Julie Luna 2 ; Tami Bouck 1
SH: Jenny Davis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Liz Bouck 1 ; Jenny Davis 1 ; Shavaughne Desecki 1
