Late Miscues at Illinois End Wolverines Winning Streak

Saturday, April 17

Champaign, Ill.

Noon CT

Michigan

36-7, 9-1

Illinois

29-15-1, 7-3

Illinois

Michigan

Late Miscues at Illinois End Wolverines Winning Streak

4/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The ninth-ranked University of Michigan softball appeared ready to extend its win streak to 20 games after opening up an early 2-0 lead over Illinois Saturday (April 17) at Eichelberger Field. The Fighting Illini, however, touched Michigan starter Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) for a two-run home run in the third, and after two key Michigan errors in the top of the seventh helped load the bases. Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) hit an Illinois batter to force in the game-winning run in a 3-2 Illinois victory.

The loss snaps the Wolverines' 19-game win streak and drops Michigan (36-7, 9-1 Big Ten) into second place in the Big Ten behind Iowa (27-15, 8-0 Big Ten), setting up the showdown tomorrow (April 18, noon CDT) in Iowa City, Iowa, when the Wolverines and Hawkeyes face off in a doubleheader.

Wolverine highlights on the afternoon include RBI singles for both Monica Schock (Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS) and Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS), while Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) went 1-4 to extend her Michigan season-best hit streak to nine games.

While Michigan made its defensive lapses late in the game, Illinois committed a pair of errors in the first to help stake the Wolverines to their 2-0 lead. Both errors opened up RBI opportunities for Schock and Merchant, with both Wolverines cashing in on the chances. Schock, however, had an opportunity to break the game open in the bottom of the second with two runners and two down but flew out to rightfield.

As would be the case for all three Illinois runs, the Fighting Illini broke through in the third with two outs and nobody on. No. 3 hitter Jenna Hall doubled and cleanup hitter Erin Montgomery followed with a game-tying, two-run home run.

Both teams put runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth innings, but the best threat came from Illinois in the sixth when the first two hitter singled, prompting Michigan coach Carol Hutchins to call on Ritter out of the bullpen. Ritter answered the bell, inducing two straight popouts and a foulout to the catcher.

Ritter appeared ready to take the Wolverines into extra innings after retiring the first two Illini in the seventh. However, third baseman Grace Leutele (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena HS) and Haas committed consecutive errors to put runners on the corners. Hutchins decided to intentionally walk Montgomery, who was already 2-2 with a home run, to load the bases, but Ritter hit the next batter and allowed in the game-winning run.

Michigan, which did not record a hit after the fourth inning, went down 1-2-3 in the seventh.

N O T E S

Michigan's 19-game win streak was the second-longest in school history behind the 22-game run the 1993 Wolverines earned on their way to a second straight Big Ten championship.

The Wolverines fell to 6-4 in one-run games this season.

Jessica Merchant's run-scoring single in the first inning upped her team-leading RBI total to 43. She is now just three RBI from breaking into the top 10 on the Michigan all-time list. Merchant's former teammate, Stefanie Volpe (1999-2002), is 10th on the list with her 46 RBI in 2002.

The Wolverines had committed just two errors in their first nine Big Ten games before today's three miscues.

Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423