Notes and Quotes: #6 Michigan vs. #12 Northwestern

N O T E S

• With today's series split vs. Northwestern, Michigan improved to 62-30 in the all-time series against the Wildcats. The two teams have split the regular-season series in each of the last three seasons.

• The Wolverines honored their five-member senior class -- Angie Danis, Samantha Findlay, Alessandra Giampaolo, Rachael Herrmann and Michelle Weatherdon -- during the break between games this afternoon.

• Michigan has won at least 44 games in each of the seven seasons.

• Senior captains Samantha Findlay and Alessandra Giampaolo both made their 240th consecutive start in the second of two games vs. Northwestern and moved to the eighth position among Michigan's all-time leaders in career starts. The pair needs just one more start to take the seventh spot, currently held by Kellyn Tate (241, 1995-98), and seven more to reach the sixth spot, currently held by Kelsey Kollen (247, 1999-2002).

• Giampaolo also took six at-bats in the doubleheader to move to fourth place among Michigan's career at-bats leaders with 762. She is tied with Kellyn Tate (1995-98) and needs 90 more to reach the third spot, currently held by Kelsey Kollen (852, 1999-2002).

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
On Samantha Findlay's game-winning hit... "We needed a timely hit. We really hadn't had one all day. Marley Powers hit one in the first game and Sam's was our second timely hit. It's amazing that we didn't compete nearly as well as we could, and we still had a chance to win all day. I told them, 'Just think if you guys start competing, you'll blow them away.' We just needed to have the enthusiasm that we had against Michigan State -- what we had at home on Friday night and what we've had for the last month. They wanted it too bad."

On the Wolverines' focus... "They just need to work on understanding a one-pitch focus. It doesn't matter if the bases are loaded or if there isn't anyone on base. See the ball, hit the ball. That's where the focus needs to be. I don't think we were as focused as we needed to be on competing. Did we think they were going to let us win I think you have to give a lot of credit to Teddi Ewing. Give her all the credit in the world. That hit was every bit as important as Samantha Findlay's one. It is one-pitch softball and all about staying composed. It took us until the seventh inning to compete. But that's all it took."

On what she said to the team between games... "I walked in there and said, 'You have to go out there and play the next game. This season is in your hands, and it has been right there all season. You want it in your hands. You don't want it in anybody else's hands. You don't want it in my hands. I don't do anything. I don't hit; I don't pitch. So, take it in your hands and trust it. You've done it all year.'"

On freshman Dorian Shaw... "She's just getting more comfortable playing softball here. I don't care if you're a freshman or a senior; you're here to help us win. She had a great at-bat in the sixth inning. Great at-bats don't always go your way, and I think that's the only thing she needs to realize. A great pitcher is often going to beat a great hitter. So, I was just very proud of her."

On Michigan's pitchers... "Our pitchers kept us in the game. They give us a chance to win every game. That's their job. That's all they can do. Well, Nikki [Nemitz] actually gets to do more. Our pitchers did their part today."

U-M Senior Second Baseman Samantha Findlay
On going to the plate with bases loaded in the seventh inning... "I had a ton of confidence. [Assistant coach Jennifer Brundage] pulled me over before Angela [Findlay] was even up to bat. She always does that when I need it. She's been doing it for four years. She did it before I went to bat in the World Series, and she did it today. It just gives that extra bit of confidence. She just told me that I'm a great hitter and to adjust it. I went up there, saw the ball and got a hit."

On the Wolverines' hitting today... "It seemed like, all day, we were just one hit away from the big hit, from getting runs. We loaded the bases plenty of times and didn't capitalize. We were just trying to get hits and relax, and it worked. We took pressure off ourselves and just made sure we were hitting strikes. She pitched a lot of balls. If we don't swing at them, we don't make her look that good. So, we started taking the balls and hitting the strikes, and we got a lot more base hits out of it."

U-M Junior Shortstop Teddi Ewing
On her leadoff hits... "It was important just to accept that I needed to have a good at-bat and just go up there and have one. Fortunately, I did get some hits out of it. As a No. 9 hitter, I know that sometimes I'm going to be in that position. It's something I've accepted and hopefully I can get a hit out of it."

On making continual adjustments at the plate... "I think I just told myself to keep seeing the ball better, avoid getting ahead of myself and just stay within myself and not get outside of what the game really is. Lauren Delaney is a great pitcher. We knew she was going to throw some great pitches, and we knew she was going strike some people out. So, it was just about going up there and trying to adjust to her speed as the game went along."

On contributing to the seventh-inning rally... "It was amazing. I had all the confidence in this team. I knew we could come back and do it, and to be a part of it was great. Anyone in that lineup could come through and do it. Today we just played real softball and got it done. It was a lot of fun to be a part of."

U-M Sophomore Centerfielder Molly Bausher
On her seventh-inning bunt... "I didn't see it. I actually just asked my teammates in the locker room if it had a chance of rolling foul. I just that no body was going to catch it, and I just ran as hard as I could to first base."

On coming home for the game-winning run... "I was on second base and saw that Sam roped the ball to field. There was no stopping me. I was going home all the way. I had a great path toward home, and, her throw wasn't great. Even if it was on target, I think I still would have been safe. It was an awesome win for us. Everybody that went up there put forth a great effort at the plate. Everybody battled. Nobody gave up. It was awesome."

On the home-field atmosphere and intensity... "Michigan always has great crowds come and watch the games. No matter what, we know we're going to have a big crowd. Today, with it being senior day, it was a huge crowd. We typically do a pretty good job of zoning it out; I think we're just used to it. We had some jitters today with it being Northwestern and the Big Ten title riding on it. But I think, overall, we handled it pretty well."

U-M Freshman First Baseman Dorian Shaw
On her extended at-bat in the sixth inning... "We just try to go down fighting. One thing the coaches tell us is don't get cheated. You're going to go out there, and you're going to take your cuts. Don't let the umpires take it from you; don't let the pitcher take it from you. That was the thing I was thinking of where she was pitching -- see it and just try to put it in play. They all went foul, but I definitely think that it did something for the team -- to kind of show them that there'[s no reason why we can't hit this pitcher. I think that they kind of took that going into the seventh. As unsuccessful as that at-bat ultimately was, I think it maybe played a part with our intensity level changing."

On today's doubleheader living up to the hype... "I think it did. I think people saw great softball today. There were some great plays, like Sam [Findlay]'s double play in the second game. Their team made some great plays, some great hustle plays, and I think that it definitely was great softball. We saw good pitching duels. Their pitchers were great; our pitchers were great, and I think that each team taking one really shows what this conference is about. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. You just have to do what you're going there to do."

On the Wolverines' no-quit attitude... "I think that's one thing Hutch definitely stressed in the huddle. As long as there's one pitch left in the game, you can still win it. There's no reason why we couldn't win this game. Even in that last huddle, I was like 'If we can load the bases eight times, we can score a run.' I don't understand why we would think we could put people on every single base and not plate one. I think that was something we were thinking about. We were right there. We were one hit away here and there, and we finally got that hit, and that was huge. So, I think that attitude was definitely important for us."