Michigan Downs Spartans, Claims Big Ten Title Outright

Sunday, May 6

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

37-14-1, 17-3

Michigan State

21-39, 5-15

Michigan State

Michigan

Michigan Downs Spartans, Claims Big Ten Title Outright

5/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 22nd-ranked University of Michigan softball team's 2-1, eight-inning win over Michigan State this afternoon (Sunday, May 6) coupled with Iowa's 2-1 loss to Northwestern gave the Wolverines the outright Big Ten Conference regular-season championship for the seventh time since 1992 and fifth time in seven years.

Michigan senior outfielder Melissa Taylor (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield HS) finished off a 3-4 performance at the plate with a one-out single down the leftfield line in the bottom of the eighth to score fellow senior Kim Bugel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) from second base and complete the Wolverines' come-from-behind victory on Senior Day in front of 1,187 fans.

Fellow seniors Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale HS) and Chrissy Garza (Southgate, Mich./Southgate Anderson HS) also played key roles as Barda went the distance for the win and allowed just four hits and one unearned run, while Garza went 1-2 with a walk and scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh.

Garza's run in the bottom of the seventh sent Michigan (37-14-1, 17-3 Big Ten) into extra innings in improbable fashion. With Michigan trailing 1-0, Garza led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and moved up to second on a sacrifice by leadoff hitter Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Santa Ana Mater Dei HS). Taylor followed with a groundout to third for the second out, which left Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Salem HS) at the plate and the tying run standing on second base. After Volpe took the first pitch for a ball, Michigan State relief pitcher Keri DeJong sent a wild pitch to the backstop, but the ball caromed back to the Michigan State catcher so quickly she had a play on Garza at third. However, Lacy Hauxhurst's throw to third base was off the mark and scooted through to leftfield, allowing Garza to score the game-tying run.

Prior to the seventh, Michigan had spent much of the game putting runners in scoring position, but the Wolverines were unable to match the single run Michigan State scored in the top of the second. The Wolverines stranded 13 runners on the day.

Hauxhurst led off the Spartan second and reached on an error. Pinch-runner Theresa Pusateri scored on a two-out RBI single off the bat of pinch-hitter Andrea Goldsworthy. That would be the Spartans only run of the game as Barda settled down after the second, setting down 11 straight at point from the second to the sixth until another Wolverine error. The error was quickly erased after the next Spartan hitter lined into a double play. Barda allowed just a two-out walk in the seventh and a two-out single in the eighth, but neither runner advanced any further and the senior hurler put a fitting cap to Senior Day by earning her 16th win of the season.

As the outright Big Ten champion, Michigan earns the top seed and will host the Big Ten Tournament this week Thursday through Saturday, May 10-12, at Alumni Field. The Wolverines own a bye in the first round and will face the winner of the Illinois-Penn State game on Thursday (May 10) at 5 p.m. Illinois and Penn State represent the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively, and will face off at noon Thursday.

Diamond Gems

Today's crowd of 1,187 is the largest regular-season crowd in Alumni Field and Michigan softball history as well as the fourth largest overall home crowd.

Melissa Taylor's three hits today give her a team-best 20 multi-hit games this season and a team-best 12 three-hit performances.

Michigan will be the top seed and host of the Big Ten Tournament for the fifth time in seven years. The Wolverines also hosted in 1995, '96, '98 and '99.

Freshman catcher Monica Schock (Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS) matched a career best with three hits today.

Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423