2004 NCAA Softball Regional -- Game 14 Recap
5/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
2004 NCAA Softball Regional
#20 Oregon State 1, #6 Michigan 1
Game 14 -- Sunday, May 23 -- 4:20 p.m.
Alumni Field, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Records: Oregon State (44-27), Michigan (53-11)
Championship Game: Sunday, May 23 -- Oregon State vs. Michigan, 6:20 p.m.
Oregon State Walk-Off Homer Forces Second Title Contest
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3 seed Oregon State Beavers defeated No. 1 seed Michigan in the first championship game at the 2004 NCAA Regional 6 Softball Tournament Sunday (May 23) at Alumni Field. With the Wolverines undefeated and coming out of the winners bracket, they needed just one victory to claim the Regional championship. But after six and a half innings of no scoring, Beavers first baseman Vanessa Iapala drilled a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to give OSU the win and the opportunity to take the championship in a final-game showdown between the two teams.
Michigan's Jennie Ritter and Oregon State's Monica Hoffman faced off in the pitchers' duel that saw no scoring until the bitter end. Hoffman went all seven innings for the Beavers, giving up no runs on four hits and dishing off six strikeouts. She picked up her 22nd win of the season and her fourth of the tournament. Ritter (24-7) suffered the loss for the Wolverines, giving up one run on just two hits and handing out 10 strikeouts.
Although the Wolverines were unable to push any runners across, they did not have a shortage of opportunities, leaving five runners on base through the first three innings. Michigan loaded the bases in the first inning with one out, but Hoffman induced a forceout at the plate and a flyout to extricate herself from the jam.
On the pitching side for the Wolverines, Ritter did all she could to help her team win, and it came down to the final out of the contest. With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Iapala's solo home run allowed OSU to walk away with the 1-0 victory.
The next contest will take place at 6:20 p.m. Sunday (May 23) at Alumni Field. The winner will earn the Regional championship and a berth in the Women's College World Series.
N O T E S
With the 44th win of the season Oregon State matches its second highest win total in program history. The Beavers set the school mark with 47 in 1999.
Oregon State sophomore Vanessa Iapala belted her 10th home run of the season when she sent the ball to the deepest part of centerfield to end the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
OSU's walk-off victory marked the third time during this Regional Championship a team won in its last at-bat. Illinois-Chicago is the only other team to do it, as the Flames scored a run in the top of the eighth to beat Bowling Green 2-1 on Thursday and tallied four in the bottom of the sixth to nip Tennessee 6-5 Saturday night.
Michigan sophomore Jennie Ritter struck out 10 batters in 6.2 innings, giving her 30 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched during the regional.
