Wilson Leads Michigan to NCAA Regional Championship

Sunday, May 20

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

46-11

Oregon State

41-23

Michigan

Oregon State

5/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman third baseman Maggie Viefhaus (Eureka, Mo./Eureka HS) went 2-for-4 at the plate, including a first-inning grand slam, with 5 RBI as the University of Michigan softball team clinched its fourth consecutive NCAA Regional crown with a dominant 7-0 performance against Oregon State on Sunday (May 20) in front of 1,057 fans at Alumni Field. Senior pitcher Lorilyn Wilson (Salem, Ore./Sprague HS) improved her record to 24-6 by permitting just two hits while striking out eight in the complete-game effort.

The Wolverines (46-11) will travel to Waco, Texas, to play No. 8 seed Baylor in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional on Friday and Saturday (May 25-26). Game times are 6:30 p.m. CDT on Friday and 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (if necessary) on Saturday, and all games will be televised by CSTV. The Bears were the 2007 Big XII regular-season champion.

Viefhaus' grand slam -- the Wolverines' third of the season -- highlighted an enormously successful opening frame for the Wolverines, who used four hits and an OSU error to build a sizable five-run edge before Wilson even stepped into the pitching circle. With one away, senior Rebekah Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) kicked off the offense with a lofted base hit up the middle. Junior Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) battled back from an 0-2 count to earn a walk, and her sister, freshman Angela Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS), loaded up the bases with a comebacker to the pitching circle that OSU ace Brianne McGowan turned and threw to a vacant second base. Senior Tiffany Worthy (Yorba Linda, Calif./Lutheran HS) accepted the inning's second walk to bring in Milian and leave the bases loaded for Viefhaus in the subsequent at-bat. The Wolverine rookie rocketed a 2-0 pitch high to deep centerfield and over the extended glove of Oregon State's Natalie Johnson, who had scrambled up the fence in an attempt to reach the ball.

Samantha Findlay initiated the Wolverines' scoring threat in the second frame, again taking a walk after trailing 0-2 in the count. Angela Findlay dribbled a grounder to second base, but Oregon State's second baseman Paige Lowe couldn't field the ball cleanly and both Findlays pulled in safe at their respective bases. The Beavers forced out Samantha at third for the second out, but, in the next at-bat, Viefhaus lifted a full-count pitch over Lowe's head into shallow rightfield to bring home Angela Findlay from second base.

The Wolverines had the opportunity to break open the game in the top of the third inning with the bases loaded and no outs, but the heart of the U-M lineup was unable to get the ball out of the infield after two ground balls and a pop up. Michigan did tack on another run in the next frame, however, as freshman Molly Bausher (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) blooped a two-out double to leftfield -- her third extra-base hit of the season -- to allow junior pinch runner Michelle Weatherdon (Marquette, Mich./Marquette HS) to score from second base.

With the seven-run advantage in place, Wilson breezed through the Beaver lineup. She posted four 1-2-3 innings, including both the sixth and seventh frames. Only twice did an OSU runner advance to second base during the afternoon.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 764-4423