Michigan
41-13
Youngstown State
22-26
Ritter, Giampaolo Help U-M Ice YSU in Regional Opener
5/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The rains held off just long enough to see junior pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) pitch the University of Michigan softball team's first-ever NCAA Tournament no-hitter as the Wolverines rolled to a 4-0 win over Youngstown State, Friday (May 19) at Alumni Field.
Ritter continued her streak of shutout innings in the postseason, moving it to 34.
Following a walk to the second batter of the game, Ritter buckled down and did not allow another baserunner while striking out the next seven batters she faced in order. Ritter went on to strike out 15 Penguin batters on the day.
Sophomore Alessandra Giampaolo (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic) fueled the Wolverines offense, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three runs driven in. Michigan also got a boost from senior catcher Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore), who drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and drew a walk which eventually turned into a run.
The Wolverines opened the scoring in the bottom of the second on Giampaolo's solo shot. The sophomore ripped an 0-1 offering over the right-centerfield fence for her first homer of the season to give the Maize and Blue a 1-0 lead.
Michigan expanded its lead to 2-0 the next inning when Marx knocked in senior Tiffany Haas (North Tustin, Calif./Foothill) with a sacrifice fly. Haas reached base on a two-base error before being pushed to within 60 feet by a Rebekah Milian (Grand, Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) sacrifice bunt down the first base line. Marx then sent a towering fly ball into foul territory down the leftfield line, just deep enough to allow the Wolverine runner to tag up and score.
Giampaolo struck again in the home half of the fifth, driving in pinch runner Michelle Weatherdon (Marquette, Mich./Marquette) and Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) on a two-base shot to deep rightfield. Weatherdon pinch ran for Marx, who was joined by Findlay on the basepaths thanks to a pair of free passes. Giampaolo's second hit of the evening settled near the base of the fence, allowing the two runners to score and further widen the gap to 4-0.
Freshman shortstop Teddi Ewing (Olathe, Kan./Olathe East) put the final out of the game away on an easy ground ball just as the rain began to come down, clinching the no-hit bid and the Michigan victory.
Michigan will play in Game 3 of NCAA Regional 9 against Oklahoma at noon Saturday (May 20). The game will be aired live on ESPN2.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ritter, Jennie (27-6)
L: BURNELL (16-9)
Base Running:
CS: HIBNER 1
Batting:
2B: Giampaolo, Alessandra 1
HR: Giampaolo, Alessandra 1
RBI: Marx, Becky 1 ; Giampaolo, Alessandra 3
SH: Milian, Rebekah 1
SF: Marx, Becky 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Haas, Tiffany 1 ; Weatherdon, Michelle 1 ; Findlay, Samantha 1 ; Giampaolo, Alessandra 1
