Michigan Beats Iowa to Advance to Championship Game

Friday, May 11

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:30 PM

Michigan

39-14-1

Iowa

43-12

Michigan

Iowa

5/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan softball team advanced to the title game of the 2001 Big Ten Softball Tournament with a 6-1 victory over No. 15 Iowa Friday afternoon (May 11) at Alumni Field. The Wolverines (39-14-1) used a middle-innings offensive explosion and a five-hit pitching performance from pitcher Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) to power past second-seeded Iowa and into the championship game.

The Wolverines jumped out to 1-0 lead in the first inning without gaining a hit. Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Santa Ana Mater Dei HS) reached on a throwing error by Iowa pitcher Kristi Hanks to start the game and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Big Ten Player of the Year Melissa Taylor (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield HS). After Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Salem HS) walked to put runners on first and second, Monica Schock (Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS) hit a grounder to first, which the Hawkeyes attempted to turn into a 3-6-4 double play, but the return throw to first glanced off the second baseman's glove, allowing Kollen to score.

Michigan came up to bat in the fourth inning and put three big runs on the board with two outs. With Rebecca Tune (Aloha, Ore./Jesuit HS) on first base, Marissa Young (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS) doubled to the left-center with Tune scoring all the way from first. Kim Bugel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) proceeded to hit Hanks' pitch over the leftfield wall for her first career home run and a 4-0 lead for the Wolverines.

After Barda allowed just one hit over the first four innings, U-M provided her with two more insurance runs. Kollen singled to start the fifth inning and Taylor reached on an error by the catcher. The runners advanced to second and third base as Volpe placed a perfect sacrifice bunt. Schock came through with a run-scoring single to bring Kollen to the plate, and Melinda Moulden (LaCrescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley HS) produced another run with a single up the box.

Iowa scored its only run of the game in the sixth inning as Alicia Gerlach reached on an error by Michigan second baseman Kollen. Amber Morrow led off the inning with an infield single and Kristin Johnson singled to leftfield, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Both players advanced to second and third on a passed ball prior, and after Erin Doud's groundout, Kollen was unable to come up with Gerlach's ground ball in the hole. The Hawkeyes put further pressure on the Wolverines by loading the bases with two outs, but Barda snared Lisa Rasche's sharply hit ball back to the circle and tossed it to first base for the final out of the inning.

Barda retired the side 1-2-3 in the seventh inning to move Michigan into the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the seventh straight year. The Wolverines will face the winner of Game 9 (Iowa vs. the Penn State/Illinois winner) tomorrow afternoon (Saturday, May 12, 2:30 p.m.) at Alumni Field.

Q U O T E S

U-M Head Coach Carol Hutchins On the team's performance ... "Scoring first was big for us. I told the players before the game to be aggressive and we were today."

U-M Senior Catcher Kim Bugel
On her home run ... "(Coach Hutchins) always tells us to make sure we take our whacks. I didn't think it was going out of the ballpark but everyone just kept waving it out. I just got my hands above the ball and made good contact."

On this being her first career home run ... "It feels great. Especially because I was able to hit it against Iowa."

U-M Senior Pitcher Marie Barda
On her pitching performance ... "I felt really good going into the game. I just wanted to have fun out there and I was able to do that. Kim (Bugel) really kept me loose and always makes me laugh and smile. It's fun."

On her pitch selection ... "(Assistant Coach) Jen Brundage told me to mix it up and to move the ball on the inside and outside of the plate. I just happened to be in a groove today."

On throwing more inside pitches today ... "It's tough to hit an inside pitch. Jen showed me how hard it is from a hitter's perspective and it was helpful today.

Iowa Head Coach Gayle Blevins
On the outcome of the game ... "Obviously, we didn't play well in any respect today -- hitting, fielding, pitching and so forth. We did not mount any sort of offensive pressure against Michigan and our fielding was not particularly good. Give Michigan credit, they played very well today. We did not do a very good job adjusting to Marie Barda and that cost us."

On the errors made by the team ... "That is probably the most errors we've made since the spring break trip. That is not typical of us but you also need to give credit to Michigan. They really keep you under constant pressure."

On Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Kristi Hanks responding from a tough showing ... "I'm not worried. She'll respond. Kristi has come back and pitched well before and she'll do that tomorrow. We need to play better as a team."

Third Baseman Lisa Rasche
On Marie Barda ... "She is a great pitcher. We need to come with our best game against Michigan and we didn't do it today. We try not to focus on the team we're playing but take care of our team goals."

Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423