Weekly Release #7
4/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Upcoming Schedule
Wed., April 6 -- at Central Michigan (DH), 2 p.m.
Fri., April 8 -- at Wisconsin, 6 p.m. CDT
Sat., April 9 -- at Wisconsin, noon CDT
Sun., April 10 -- at Minnesota (DH), noon CDT
Fri., April 15 -- at Purdue, 3 p.m., CDT
Sat., April 16 -- at Purdue, noon CDT
Sun., April 17 -- at Indiana, noon CDT
2005 RECORDS
Overall: 35-2 (.946)
Big Ten: 3-1 (.750)
Home: 3-1 / Away: 11-0 /Ntrl: 21-1
USA Today/NFCA Rank: No. 1 (March 30)
USA Softball/ESPN.com Rank: No. 1 (March 29)
First Pitch
Michigan steps out of conference action with a midweek trip to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to face Central Michigan in a doubleheader on Wednesday (April 6, 2 p.m.) and then returns to the Big Ten battles this weekend with single games at Wisconsin on Friday (April 8, 6 p.m. CDT) and Saturday (April 9, noon CDT) and a doubleheader on Sunday (April 10, noon CDT) at Minnesota. This week represents the start of 10 straight road games for the Maize and Blue before playing its last 12 games of the regular season at home, including eight Big Ten contests. The Wolverines (35-2, 3-1 Big Ten) enter this week tied for third in the Big Ten, one-game behind first place Northwestern (4-0 Big Ten) and a half-game behind second-place Purdue (2-0 Big Ten).
Opponents
Central Michigan (11-7): Central Michigan has won five straight after sweeping a two-game series vs. Ohio and a three-game set with Eastern Michigan this past week CMU is 2-2 vs. the Big Ten this season, including a 4-1 win over Michigan State three CMU regulars are hitting over .300, led by Amy Hudson (.383) Jessica Garvin is the staff ace at 8-4 with a 1.48 ERA Central Michigan on the Internet: www.cmuchippewas.com
Series: U-M leads, 38-28
Wisconsin (12-12, 3-1 Big Ten): Wisconsin has won four of its last five and started the Big Ten season with three straight wins before falling 7-1 to Penn State in its last game on Sunday Kris Zacher is hitting .417 with five home runs while Boo Gillette is hitting .372 with six home runs Eden Brock is the staff ace with a 9-4 mark and a 2.25 ERA Wisconsin on the Internet: www.uwbadgers.com
Series: U-M leads, 17-4
Minnesota (16-16, 1-3 Big Ten): The Golden Gophers have lost three straight, including a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Ohio State on Sunday Minnesota hits .230 as a team, but Megan Higginbotham is hitting .308 with two of Minnesota's six home runs this season Lyn Peyer is the staff workhorse with 17 starts and a 9-9 record to go with a 2.22 ERA Minnesota on the Internet: www.gophersports.com
Series: U-M leads, 57-22
Instate Rivalry Renewed
Michigan and Central Michigan have faced each other 66 times through the years, including four matchups in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan owns a 38-28 all-time advantage, but has won nine straight vs. the Chippewas, including a sweep of CMU with two shutouts (4-0, 3-0) in Ann Arbor last season. Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) allowed just three hits and struck out 11 in game one while Lorilyn Wilson (Salem, Ore./Sprague HS) was touched for only four hits and struck out eight in the nightcap. Michigan's last loss to the Chippewas was a 3-0 decision on April 12, 2000, in Mount Pleasant.
Michigan-Wisconsin
Michigan has won five straight over Wisconsin, including a doubleheader sweep (3-1, 5-0) last season at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor. The highlight of the sweep was a three-hit, complete-game shutout by Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) in the nightcap while Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) went 3-6 over the two games with a home run and two RBI. Michigan owns a 17-4 all-time mark vs. Wisconsin and is actually a perfect 10-0 in Madison, Wis.
Michigan-Minnesota Last Season
Michigan has won seven straight vs. the Golden Gophers, including a two-game series sweep last season with wins of 2-0 and 6-1 at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor. Jennie Ritter tossed a complete-game shutout to highlight the series sweep. Michigan's last loss to Minnesota was a 7-0 thumping at the Florida State Invitational on March 10, 2002. The Wolverines have actually won eight straight road games at Minnesota, with its last such loss coming on May 4, 1996.
Old Rivals
Michigan and Minnesota are two of the oldest softball rivals in the Big Ten. The Wolverines own a 57-22 all-time series advantage, with the 57 wins being the third-most Michigan has recorded vs. any opponent. Michigan's top-five series win totals:
Ohio State (66-19)
Michigan State (59-24)
Minnesota (57-22)
Northwestern (56-25)
Indiana (54-26)
The Streak, a Final Look
One final look at the school-record 32-game win streak that was snapped vs. Iowa on Friday reveals some amazing performances. Michigan outscored the opposition 192-22, went 8-0 vs. ranked teams, including the schools' first-ever win over a top-ranked team with a 6-2 win over No. 1 Arizona on March 20. Michigan hit 44 home runs, including 10 from Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS), as opposed to just three by its opponents. Michigan pitchers boasted a 0.56 ERA with three no-hitters, including two from Jennie Ritter, one of which was tossed at then-No. 15 Florida on March 1. Michigan hit .320 as team, led by Tiffany Haas, who hit .425. Lorilyn Wilson was the most dominant hurler, going 13-0 with an unheard of 0.18 ERA in nine starts and 15 appearances.
Michigan's Longest Win Streaks
32 games (2005)
22 games (1993)
19 games (1995, 2004)
Consecutive Games Unbeaten
33 games (32-0-1) 1999
Senior Steps Up
Down through the years of Michigan softball, several seniors have enjoyed their best seasons as a senior. Nicole Motycka is no exception at the plate where she is hitting .404 with a career bests in home runs (eight) and RBI (27). Her previous bests in those categories were five and 21, respectively, last season. The 2004 All-American pitcher has become more noted for her swing this season after she hit .647 this past week with five home runs and a 1.235 slugging percentage to gain Big Ten co-Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. She has come up big in the big games as well, hitting .457 and helping Michigan to a 9-2 record vs. ranked teams.
Still No. 1
Michigan remained No. 1 for the second straight week in both major polls last week (March 29-30). Michigan owned 22 of the 23 first-place votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll while holding 17 of the 20 first-place votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
Balance of Power
Although senior Jessica Merchant and freshman Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) are tied for the team lead in home runs at 11 and will continue their battle to break Merchant's single-season school of 15 for the rest of the season, its the balance of power throughout Michigan's lineup that makes it hard for opposing hurlers to pitch around these two. Eleven different Wolverines have at least one home run this season, nine of which have hit multiple bombs and five different Michigan players have at least six. The 2005 Wolverines broke the previous school record for home runs in a season when Nicole Motycka hit her eighth of the season vs. Illinois on Sunday. Michigan now has 55 home runs on the season and will eventually smash the previous mark of 50 that was just two seasons ago.
2005 (55)
2003 (50)
2004 (45)
2002 (37)
1998 (27)
Speaking of Balance
While Tiffany Haas is hitting .419 from her leadoff position and has been setting the table all season long, the bottom of the Michigan lineup continues to produce as well. Rightfielder Stephanie Bercaw (Wooster, Ohio/Hillsdale HS) has blossomed into one of the best surprises in the Big Ten this season and is riding a career-best seven-game hit streak after hitting a home run and a double in the sweep over Illinois on Sunday. Bercaw has started 19 games this season in the No. 8 spot in the lineup before moving up to the No. 7 spot for the doubleheader vs. Illinois. She is hitting a career-best .339 with two home runs and 10 RBI.
Nearing Milestone
Jennie Ritter rolled up 34 strikeouts in 21.1 innings of work this past weekend and is now just one strikeout from becoming only the third pitcher in Michigan history to reach 500 career strikeouts. Ritter has evolved into the ace of the staff with a 16-0 record and a 0.99 ERA to go with a team-best 162 strikeouts in 113.0 innings of work. Ritter has tossed a team-best eighth shutouts to lead a Michigan staff that has 19 shutouts on the season.
Michigan's Career Strikeout Leaders
| Strikeouts | Wolverine | Years |
| 927 | Marissa Young | 2000-03 |
| 602 | Sara Griffin | 1995-98 |
| 499 | Jennie Ritter | 2003-c |
Road Warriors
Michigan should be prepared for its 10 straight games coming up on the schedule after playing a difficult non-conference slate that included two trips to Florida, one to Georgia, one to Nevada and another to California. Michigan finished up its non-conference tournament tour at Louisville on March 26. The Wolverines head into this 10-game stretch on the road with an 11-0 road record this season, including a doubleheader sweep at then-No. 15 Florida back on March 1. Tiffany Haas is hitting .410 on the road and has connected for four of her six home runs in the opponents' park. Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Stevensville-Lakeshore HS) is hitting just .231 on the season, but is hitting .308 in road games. Jennie Ritter and Lorilyn Wilson are equally effective away from Alumni Field with Wilson owning a 6-0 mark to go with a 0.42 ERA. Ritter is 5-0 with 0.81 ERA and boasts an opponents' batting average against of .101.
Streak Snapped, Michigan Bounces Back
It was inevitable. The Wolverines school-record and nation's-best win streak would end eventually and it did on Friday (April 1) in a 5-2 loss to No. 24 Iowa. Michigan, however, bounced back with a 3-1 win over the Hawkeyes on Saturday thanks to a 10-strikeout effort from Jennie Ritter, who set the final 13 Iowa hitters down in order. Michigan then closed out week on a positive note, sweeping Illinois on Sunday with wins of 8-7 and 10-0. Nicole Motycka and Tiffany Haas delivered home runs in the 8-7 win and then Samantha Findlay put on a show in the nightcap with a three-run home run and her first career grand slam in a five-inning route.
Milestone Watch
Tiffany Haas has started 116 straight games for the Wolverines at second base. Haas last missed a start in game two of a doubleheader vs. Eastern Michigan on April 29, 2003.
Tiffany Haas has scored 126 career runs and is tied for seventh on the Michigan career list with Michelle Silver (1992-95).
Tiffany Haas is eight hits shy of reaching 200 for her career.
Grace Leutele (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Sabino HS) has 20 career home runs and is in a tie for fourth place with Stefanie Volpe (1999-2002) and Melinda Moulden (2000-03).
Jessica Merchant has 42 career doubles and is tied for fifth on the all-time Michigan list with Melinda Moulden (2000-03)
Jessica Merchant has 123 career RBI which is one shy of matching Patti Benedict (1990-93) for ninth on the career list.
Nicole Motycka's next victory in the circle will be the 66th of her career and move her into sole possession of fifth on the all-time list.
Season Highlights
Big Ten Honors
Sophomore hurler Lorilyn Wilson went 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 11.2 innings at the FAU Classic to earn tournament MVP honors. Those efforts bumped her Michigan career record to 10-0 and garnered the Oregon native her first-ever Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award. She won the award again on March 22 after shutting out No. 11 Texas and earning the save with two inning of scoreless relief vs. No. 1 Arizona.
Jennie Ritter earned Big Ten co-Pitcher of the Week honors after tossing two no-hitters vs. No. 15 Florida (March 1) and South Florida (March 4) and then matching a career-best with 15 strikeouts in another win over then-No. 16 Florida (March 5). It was the second such honor of the junior's career.
Home Run King
Senior shortstop Jessica Merchant is second on the team with six and recently became the Wolverines all-time home run leader when she hit the 29th of her career vs. in a 2-1 win over Chattanooga on March 4, breaking the former mark of 28 held by Melissa Gentile (1997-2000).
Michigan's Career Home Run Leaders
| Home Runs | Wolverine | Years |
| 36 | Jessica Merchant | 2002-c |
| 28 | Melissa Gentile | 1997-00 |
| 22 | Marissa Young | 2000-03 |
Three No-No's
Though the season is only about one-third complete, Michigan's pitching staff has already tossed three no-hitters, just one shy of the school record of four that was tossed during the 1996 campaign. Nicole Motycka started things with a five-inning no-hitter in an 8-0 win over Rutgers on Feb. 19. Jennie Ritter then got in the act with the second of her career in a 4-0 win over #15 Florida on March 1. Ritter made the total three for her career and three for the season for Michigan with a five-inning effort in a 9-0 win over South Florida on March 4. Ritter's three career no-hitters is second on the all-time list behind the four recorded by Vicki Morrow (1984-87).
Kia Klassic Champs
Expect anothe bump in the polls this week after Michigan went a perfect 6-0 this past weekend en route to the Kia Klassic title in Fullerton, Calif. The Wolverines beat No. 24 Fresno State (6-0) and No. 11 Texas (7-0) on the way to a championship game victory over No. 1 Arizona for the Maize and Blue's first-ever win over a top-ranked team. Tiffany Haas hit .400 over the weekend while Grace Leutele connected for three home runs. Jennie Ritter and Lorilyn Wilson each went 3-0 in the circle while combining for 49 strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed in 38.8 innings of work.
Wilson's Streak
Lorilyn Wilson was touched for an earned run in the bottom of the seventh of a 2-1 win over Louisville on March 26, ending her string of 61.0 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. It was the first time she allowed an earned since the fourth inning of a 9-1 win over Florida Atlantic on Feb. 20. She had allowed just two runs total during that 61.0-inning stretch and struck out 93 while walking only seven and surrendering just 23 hits. She went 10-0 with six complete games, five shutouts and one save over that 61-inning stretch.
