Pair of Comebacks Fall Short in WCWS Loss to Stanford

Saturday, May 29

Oklahoma City, Okla.

11:00 AM CT

Michigan

54-13

Stanford

48-18

Stanford

Michigan

Pair of Comebacks Fall Short in WCWS Loss to Stanford

5/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

By: Rich Marion

Site: Oklahoma City, Okla. (ASA Hall of Fame Stadium)
Event: Women's College World Series
Score: #8 Stanford 5, #6 Michigan 4
Records: U-M (54-13), Stanford (48-18)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The sixth-ranked University of Michigan softball team put Thursday's difficult 3-2, 13-inning loss to LSU behind it and battled back from deficits twice today (Saturday, May 29) against Stanford, but a bang-bang play at the plate in the top of the seventh did not go the Wolverines' way in a 5-4 loss that eliminated the Maize and Blue from the 2004 Women's College World Series.

Michigan's keystone combination of sophomore second baseman Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) and junior shortstop Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) continued their fine performances in the WCWS. Haas went 1-3 with a run scored to finish the series 4-9, while Merchant went 2-3 with a double to finish the weekend 4-7 with a double and triple. Both All-Americans return next season along with All-American pitcher Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) to anchor a Michigan team with the ingredients another WCWS run.

Michigan (54-13) had fought back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead and then came back from a 4-3 deficit to tie the contest at four in the bottom of the sixth. The Cardinal, however, scratched across four hits -- one when a ball hit a runner -- to load the bases with one out in the seventh. Meghan Sickler drove a fly ball to leftfield where Wolverine Rebekah Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) made the play and threw a bullet to the plate, but Monica Schock's (Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS) tag was a split second late.

It was the second close play that did not go the Wolverines' way and resulted in a Stanford score. The Cardinal pushed across two runs and reclaimed the lead 4-3 in fifth when Leah Nelson sent a shot down the line in leftfield for a run-scoring double. The ball fell in foul territory down the line after deflecting off the glove of Michigan third baseman Grace Leutele (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena HS). It was ruled Leutele touched the ball in fair territory, and one run scored with runners ending up on second and third. One more Cardinal run scored on an infield ground ball.

Michigan had tied the game at four in the bottom of the sixth when leadoff hitter Haas double for her fourth hit in nine at-bats of the series and moved to third with nobody out on a single from Merchant. Leutele eventually drove in her third run of the series on an infield ground ball that required a great head-first slide at the plate by Haas to tie the game. Schock nearly gave Michigan the lead one out later, but her hard shot one-hopped right at the Stanford second baseman for the final out of the inning, stranding Merchant at second.

The Wolverines appeared to still be feeling some of the effects of the heartbreaking loss to LSU early in the game, and Stanford touched starter Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) for a pair of runs in the second before Motycka came out of the bullpen to leave the bases juiced with a strikeout.

Senior first baseman Jennifer Olds (North Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast HS) drilled what many people believe was the longest home run in WCWS history when her shot went well over the auxiliary seating in leftfield to tie the game at two in the bottom of the second. Michigan took its only lead of the game in the fourth when Merchant led off with a double and scored on Schock's long sacrifice fly to rightfield.

N O T E S

• Tiffany Haas closed the season by reaching base in 19 straight games and in 32 of her last 33 after her sixth-inning double. The third-team All-American finished the season as the Wolverine leader in hits (76), runs (50) and batting average (.358).

• Michigan's last four WCWS losses have been by one run.

• Michigan finished the season 7-8 against ranked teams and 11-8 in one-run games.

• Jennifer Olds' long home run in the second inning was her 10th of the season, which is the fifth-best single-season total in school history.

• Michigan's keystone combination of second baseman Tiffany Haas and shortstop Jessica Merchant shined at the WCWS this weekend. Haas went 4-9 with a double while Merchant went 4-7 with a double and a triple. The pair finished the season as the Wolverine leaders in hitting at .358 and .352, respectively, and both return next season to give the Wolverines one of the premier double-play combinations in the country.

• Playing in their final games in a Michigan uniform were Courtney Betley (Corona, Calif./Santa Ana Mater Dei HS), Angie Churchill (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS), Meghan Doe (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino HS), Jennifer Olds, Amy Prichard (Haslett, Mich./Haslett HS), Meghan Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) and Monica Schock.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
On the game and the season ... "It was obviously a tough way to lose a game, but I was proud of the way we put Thursday's loss behind us and really left everything on the field today. There were a couple of plays in the short we needed to make, but give Stanford credit because they took advantage when we did not make those plays. Although it's tough to lose two games like we did, it does not take away from the outstanding season this team put together."

U-M Senior First Baseman Jennifer Olds
On her long home run ... "As a hitter, you know you hit the ball when you don't feel it come off the bat. (Dana) Sorensen was throwing hard, so I knew I needed to just make some contact. It's probably the longest home run I've ever hit."

U-M Senior Catcher Monica Schock
On the play at the plate ... "It was a tough play because the throw was into the runner and I had to avoid the runner to make the play. It was a great throw by (Rebekah) Milian, and it was a bang-bang play that just did not go our way."