2004 NCAA Softball Regional -- Game 15 Recap
5/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
2004 NCAA Softball Regional
#6 Michigan 5, #20 Oregon State 2
Game 15 -- Sunday-Monday, May 23-24 -- 6:20 p.m.
Alumni Field, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Records: Michigan (54-11), Oregon State (44-28)
Next Michigan Game: Thursday, May 27 -- vs. Louisiana State in WCWS (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 11 a.m. CDT
Next Oregon State Game: OSU eliminated with 4-2 record
Doe, Motycka Spark Michigan Comeback in Regional Final
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines defeated the No. 3 seed Oregon State Beavers 5-2 in the second of two championship games for the NCAA Regional 6 title Monday (May 24) at Alumni Field. The contest began Sunday night (May 23) and OSU jumped out to an early 1-0 first-inning lead with a home run before the game was suspended by rain and scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. Monday.
Michigan came out swinging, putting runners in scoring position for the first two innings, but was unable to get any runs home. Then in the bottom of the third, Wolverine Grace Leutele doubled to center with a runner on first to tie the game at one. The Maize and Blue broke the game wide open in the bottom of the fourth, stringing together five straight hits to score four runs and take a 5-1 lead. The drive was highlighted by a two-RBI triple by Meghan Doe that scored the second and third runs of the rally.
Oregon State did not back down quietly, however, as OSU managed eight hits off Wolverine pitching. After five straight scoreless innings from the Beavers, they tried to spark some magic in the top of the seventh frame. OSU put its second run of the contest on the board with a two-out RBI single from centerfielder Adrienne Alo, but Michigan pitcher Nicole Motycka retired Alana Mendoza on a comebacker to close out the contest.
Monica Hoffman, who shut out Michigan 1-0 in Sunday's first championship game, started her sixth straight game of the tournament and allowed five runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts. Jennie Ritter started in the circle for Michigan but was pulled for Motycka after she allowed the home run and then three successive singles in the first inning. Motycka stayed strong, allowing one run in 6.1 innings on four hits with eight strikeouts.
Michigan advances to the NCAA Women's College World Series and will face Louisiana State in the WCWS opener Thursday (May 27) at 11 a.m. CDT in Oklahoma City, Okla.
N O T E S
The game began Sunday night at 6:20, was delayed 2:15 due to rain and lightning and was eventually suspended at 8:37 p.m. The game resumed today at 10:54 a.m.
With the 5-2 victory, Michigan advances to its seventh NCAA World Series in the last 10 years.
Michigan junior Nicole Motycka improved to 22-4 on the season, pitching 6.1 innings of relief. She entered the game with Michigan trailing 1-0 in the top of the first.
Oregon State finished the season with a record of 44-28. The 44 wins tie the second-highest win total in program history. The Beavers set the school mark with 47 victories in 1999.
Oregon State senior pitcher Monica Hoffman started all six of the Beavers' games this weekend. Hoffman compiled a record of 3-2 and added a save. Hoffman's only two losses came at the hands of Michigan.
Oregon State junior Kelly Petersen belted her ninth home run of the season to put the Beavers up 1-0 in the top of the first, before the game was suspended due to inclement weather.
Q U O T E S
Oregon State Head Coach Kirk Walker
On the fourth inning ... "They capitalized on our mistakes and came up with come clutch hitting. Once again that is the name of the game. That is who is going to win. It is not who has the most hits, it is who has the timely hits. They did a good job of capitalizing when we made some mistakes and came up with some big hits."
On the play of Nicole Motycka ... "She did what she was supposed to do. She came in and kept the ball down and got our hitters to swing at it."
On the rain delay ... "You can analyze it all you want but it does not change a thing. Sitting around, the rain delays all weekend long. You can analyze all you want, but we didn't win. Who knows why. It is a moot point."
OSU Senior Pitcher Monica Hoffman
On if the weekend ever became too much ... "No, not necessarily. When we were playing UIC in that last inning I seemed kind of tired. I said it earlier. You just run on adrenaline at regionals. You have to give it all you have because this could be the last time you play."
On Michigan's hitters ... "I think they did a good job. There were a couple times that I think they made mistakes on pitches that they hit earlier too. We threw them anyway and didn't learn from their past at-bats. I felt like in that fourth inning especially we didn't do that. Then the second time when they came through we did a much better job of keeping them off base. We just didn't throw the pitches that we should have and they did a good job of hitting those pitches."
Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
Opening statement ... "That is the team I want to go to Oklahoma with. I think we were outstanding because we were down at times this weekend, but we battled back today, especially after the first inning when we had opportunities and it didn't happen. We could have easily gone into a 'here we go again.' It is not always easy. We had the opportunity in front of us and we had seven innings to do it. I am very proud of this team's effort all season. The most important quality is that after losing a game to bounce back. Yesterday I said their response to this adverse situation will determine their destiny, and they are going to Oklahoma."
On consistent hitting throughout the lineup ... "We need different people to pick us up. That is what we have done all year and that has been our game. Throughout the year different people haven't been in our lineup. Jessica (Merchant) isn't always going to get it done. (Jennifer) Olds isn't always going to get it done. Tiffany (Haas) isn't always going to get it done. When somebody isn't going to get it done, somebody else needs to. Whatever happens, we can't ever get down about it. My biggest challenge was keeping my team up all weekend. They felt they were struggling. They knew they were struggling and when you think you are struggling you are really struggling. That was our biggest challenge."
On if the rainout helped ... "We told the kids last night when they finally called it that this was going to work to our advantage. Regardless of what it does, it is what you think it will do and how you frame things. We could have gone out last night and said that we need to play now. Since we were getting called, we decided to tell them that this is going to work for us. Then we have to make it work for us and then it did. It gave (Jennie) Ritter a chance to rest a little and then Nicole (Motycka) who came in a little sore yesterday. Keep in mind that works for Monica Hoffman as well."
Michigan Senior Outfielder Meghan Doe
On facing Monica Hoffman ... "I just think we saw her enough. I think it was the third game we had seen her. I really don't think it was a matter of what she was doing to us. It was a matter of something we controlled within ourselves. Once we figured out what we needed to do that is when we turned it on."
On her two-run triple ... "It was just the right pitch. Bonnie (Tholl, associate head coach) told me not to swing at a high pitch and it was high. I just got my hands up and swung through the ball."
Michigan Junior Pitcher Nicole Motycka
On coming in during the first inning ... "I was kind of surprised, but I was relaxed. I just threw."
On how the weekend helped her confidence ... "Oregon State is a great team. They have great hitters and they have faced the best pitching in the country every weekend out west. To me that gave me a lot of confidence. I am sure it gave our defense confidence. They played great as well."
