Notes & Quotes: #6 Michigan 13, Wright State 5
5/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
N O T E S
With today's victory, Michigan improves to 3-0 in the all-time series against Wright State. Two of the wins have come in NCAA Regional play, and all have been five-inning affairs.
The Wolverines' 13 runs is their greatest run total of the 2008 season, while their 10-run fifth frame marked the largest single-inning output in three seasons, dating back to U-M's 10-run first inning against Eastern Michigan on April 19, 2005.
Michigan owns a 4-3 record when trailing after two innings. Tonight's four-run deficit was the largest that U-M has recovered from this season.
Adding its two tonight, Michigan has knocked out eight grand slams in 2008, a single-season school record. U-M tallied seven grand slams in 2002.
While its two-grand slam fifth marked the program's first multi-grand slam inning, it was the second time that Michigan boasted a pair of grand slams in a game. Two-time All-American Stefanie Volpe (1999-2002) belted out two in the second game of a twinbill at Northwestern on April 20, 2002.
Sophomore Maggie Viefhaus has proven herself the Wolverines' premiere NCAA Tournament player over the past two seasons. Adding her performance today, Viefhaus boasts a .478 average (11-for-23) in NCAA Tournament play with three home runs -- two grand slams -- and 11 RBI.
Netting her 28th victory in three innings of relief vs. Wright State, freshman pitcher Jordan Taylor moved into the sixth position among Michigan's single-season win leaders. She needs three more to crack the top five. Two-time All-American Jennie Ritter (2003-06) owns the fifth spot with 31, which she recorded during her senior campaign.
Senior Samantha Findlay improved on her own U-M career records in walks and runs batted in with two of each tonight vs. Wright State. Findlay now boasts 219 career RBI and 153 career walks. She moved to 21st on the NCAA Division I career list in the former category and 13th in the latter.
Findlay crossed the plate three times against the Raiders to climb into the third spot among Michigan's all-time runs leaders with 188. Senior Alessandra Giampaolo ranks right behind her in the fourth position with 183 career runs scored.
Junior Teddi Ewing's 17 stolen bases this season are the most for a Wolverine player in four seasons. Meghan Doe registered 21 in 67 games during the 2004 campaign.
Giampaolo went 2-for-4 and netted her team-leading 18th multi-hit effort of the season. She also extended her current hitting streak to six games.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
Opening statement... "I'd like to compliment Wright State on having no fear or intimidation when facing the No. 4 team in the country. They came to play, and I was very impressed with them and their composure. I complimented my team after the game for what I thought was their most composed game of the year. Some things didn't go our way. We got behind, and we just needed to have good at-bats. I thought our kids were confident. In a couple innings, we put a run or two on the board. We left a couple in scoring position. But they stayed in their moment and stayed in their at-bat. That's all I wanted to see from them, so I'm very pleased with my team."
On the game... "It was a strange game. You don't know how the cards are going to fall in this tournament. We couldn't panic; that was very important. I wasn't too happy with a few things early, but I thought that the most important thing was not to panic. That's what the coaches said to each other. Whatever cards are dealt to us, we had to find a way. I was looking at the scoreboard, counting the runs. I wanted to get that game over."
On overcoming the four-run deficit... "You can't press at the plate. We knew that she wouldn't throw us a lot of hittable pitches. She would try to force us into groundouts. We needed to bring the ball up -- bring it into the zone -- and clearly, with the ones we hit, we had forced that a bit. We needed to have good at-bats, and we needed to chip away. I told them that we can't score four runs unless we have one run. We needed to have that chip-away mentality. Sometimes a team can feel like they need to get all those runs back at once, but we chipped away. That's a mentality I'd like to keep."
On what U-M will take from the game... "I hope they take away that they really had to battle, and I hope they come to play tomorrow just as hard and stay in their moment. Regardless of what happens in that game tomorrow, we're going to face a very hot Notre Dame team. They were on fire today, and we can't get caught up in anything other than our moment, which is pitch to pitch, at-bat to at-bat."
On Jordan Taylor's two-strikeout fifth inning... "We needed to stay in the game there. You don't want to continue falling behind as the game moves along further than we were. I thought she stayed within herself and made some good pitches."
On Marley Powers' prowess with bases loaded... "We just knew that Marley had a big-time bat. She's had some opportunities, and she's made good on them. I just want her to work hard and continue to improve."
U-M Sophomore Third Baseman Maggie Viefhaus
On staying focused throughout the game... "One thing that I noticed was that, in this game, we were probably the most composed we've been when we were behind this season. In some games that we've lost, I'd say we lost because we were too worried about losing; we were scared to lose. In this game, we knew we were going to win. It was just a matter of when. We kept telling each other we were going to win. We believed it."
On the difference between U-M's last game and today "Confidence. It wasn't that we didn't have confidence last weekend, but I don't think we were really ready to play. We lost and had to come home early, which really stunk. We don't ever want to do that again. So, right now, we have nothing to lose, so we're going to give it everything we've got."
On her grand slam... "Hutch had told me to move up (in the batter's box). I knew it was going out. It felt really good coming off the bat. So, it felt pretty great."
U-M Freshman Pinch Hitter Marley Powers
On her grand slam... "I was just looking for my pitch. Hutch told me to go out, make solid contact and take the count as deep as I needed to. The first pitch was there. It was exciting. It was a great feeling."
