Michigan
Wisconsin
Nemitz, Findlays Highlight U-M's Doubleheader Sweep at Wisconsin
4/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Site: Madison, Wis. (Goodman Diamond)
Scores: #6 Michigan 7, Wisconsin 2; #6 Michigan 12, Wisconsin 4
Records: Michigan (36-4, 9-1 Big Ten), Wisconsin (11-31, 1-9 Big Ten)
Next U-M Games: Sunday, April 13 -- DH at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), noon CDT
Game 1 Boxscore | Game 2 Boxscore
MADISON , Wis. -- After anticipated poor weather altered the two-game series to a twinbill, the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan softball team manufactured runs early, late and often against Wisconsin, claiming the doubleheader sweep 7-2, 12-4, on Friday (April 11) at the Badgers' Goodman Diamond.
The Wolverines' sister duo -- senior second baseman Samantha Findlay(Lockport, Ill./East HS) and sophomore rightfielder Angela Findlay(Lockport, Ill./East HS) -- headlined their team's potent offense, combining for 13 of Michigan's 17 runs batted in on the afternoon. Samantha hit 3-for-6 from the plate with a home run in each contest and nine total RBI, while Angela went 5-for-7 and knocked out a three-run shot -- her first of the season -- in the seventh inning of the night cap. Senior Alessandra Giampaolo(Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic HS) extended her hitting streak to a career-best 12 games, producing a 4-for-6 effort between the two slates with a pair of walks and an RBI.
Sophomore pitcher Nikki Nemitz(St. Clair Shores, Calif./Regina HS) rebounded from her worst outing of the season to claim both victories, allowing just one earned run through 10.0 innings pitched to improve to 17-2 on the season. Nemitz struck out a career-best 15 batters -- of 26 batters faced -- while giving up just three hits in game one, before fanning another four and allowing one hit through three innings of relief in the nightcap.
Michigan tallied its second double-digit hit total in three games with 10 in the second contest, including back-to-back base knocks from the Findlays in the opening frame to gain the initial advantage. With Giampaolo and her sister aboard after a leadoff walk and a single to leftfield, respectively, Samantha ripped an RBI double to the same location to bring home both baserunners.
Wisconsin kept pace in the home half of the inning, scoring a pair of runs on three hits and a U-M fielding error, and, after Michigan scored in the second on a Giampaolo RBI single to leftfield, the Badgers again evened the tally with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth.
The score remained deadlocked until the sixth stanza when the Wolverine offense exploded for six runs -- matching a single-inning high for the season -- to take their final lead of the contest. With one out and the bases loaded after a pair of walks and a hit batsman, freshman pinch hitter Marley Powers(Owosso, Mich./Owosso HS) got a piece of the first pitch she saw and drove it past the Badgers' second baseman into rightfield to score two runs. The base-hit single improved the U-M rookie's career stats to four hits and five RBI. The Findlay sisters wasted little time before clearing the bases in the following two at bats. Angela ripped an RBI double down the leftfield line, setting up Samantha, who launched her 15th home run of the season over the fence in right centerfield to tack three more tallies to U-M's run column and pad her team's lead to six.
Angela Findlay followed suit in the top half of the seventh frame. With two runners on base after a Wisconsin error and another Giampaolo base hit, Angela drove a towering shot beyond the left centerfield fence to claim her second extra-base hit of the contest and wrap up Michigan's scoring in the series.
The Wolverines took a different approach in the first game, scoring runs in each of the opening four frames to build an insurmountable lead. Michigan's first five runs of the contest, including two each in the first and two frames, came on Badger miscues as U-M claimed two on bases-loaded walks and two more on a bases-loaded hit batsman and a based-loaded passed ball.
Michigan's run in the third inning came as a result of a Wisconsin fielding error. Senior pinch runner Michelle Weatherdon(Marquette, Mich./Marquette HS) held third base after taking over for freshman first baseman Dorian Shaw(Burke, Va./Robinson SS), who reached via leadoff double to right centerfield, and a subsequent sacrifice hit. When the Badgers' centerfielder failed to make a routine catch on Giampaolo's high fly ball, Weatherdon trotted home to pick up her 10th run of the season, matching her career high in the category.
Samantha Findlay capitalized on a leadoff walk to her sister in the top of the fourth inning, rounding out Michigan's scoring with a two-run shot to leftfield. Findlay has hit home runs in each of the last three games and has already surpassed her home run total from her previous two seasons. As a freshman, she hit a program-record 21 homers.
Wisconsin broke up Nemitz's shutout bid in the sixth frame, manufacturing two runs -- each unearned -- on a pair of base hits and a U-M fielding error. The Wolverine pitcher responded by striking out the side in the subsequent, final inning.
The Wolverines (36-4, 7-1 Big Ten) will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to face Minnesota in a doubleheader on Sunday (April 13). The first game is slated for a noon CDT start at the Golden Gophers' Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
