Michigan
Alabama
Michigan Beats Bama in Opener, Moves on at WCWS
5/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Event: Women's College World Series (Game 1)
Score: #7 Michigan 6, #4 Alabama 1
Records: U-M (47-10), Alabama (52-10)
Next U-M Event: Friday, May 29 -- vs. Florida (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 8 p.m. CDT
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan softball team advanced to the second round of the Women's College World Series with a decisive 6-1 victory over No. 4 Alabama on Thursday evening (May 28) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Junior LHP Nikki Nemitz(St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina HS) was superb from the pitching circle, holding a potent Crimson Tide lineup to a season-low three hits while fanning five en route to her 16th consecutive victory. Alabama used a pair of hits and a walk to spoil Nemitz's shutout bid with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Wolverine hurler responded by striking out All-American Brittany Rogers on four pitches to end the game.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolverines hammered Alabama ace Kelsi Dunne, who entered the WCWS fresh off back-to-back no-hitters in NCAA Super Regional play, early and often with eight hits and six walks -- the most allowed by Dunne in either category in two months. Michigan's bottom of the order set the tone at the plate as senior shortstop Teddi Ewing(Olathe, Kan./East HS) and freshman second baseman Stephanie Kirkpatrick(Plainfield, Ill./Central HS) combined for five of Michigan's eight hits, while Ewing drove in runs in the second and fourth innings to earn her second multi-RBI effort of the season.
Patience at the plate paid off for the Wolverines in the top of the second as U-M used a pair of walks -- along with a hit batsman and bloop single -- to produce the lead for good. With Nemitz and sophomore first baseman Dorian Shaw(Burke, Va./Robinson SS) on with two outs, Kirkpatrick sailed a looper into shallow leftfield -- just her second hit of postseason play -- to load the bases. Ewing worked the count full, pulling four straight into foul territory before taking a full-count inside pitch to claim the RBI walk.
Alabama took advantage of a U-M error to put a runner on early in the home half of the second as a junior third baseman Maggie Viefhaus(Eureka, Mo./Eureka HS) was unable to cleanly field a first-pitch dribbler off the bat of Crimson Tide designated player Charlotte Morgan. The Wolverines responded, however,by turning their fourth double play in six NCAA Tournament games to get out of the jam. With Crimson Tide pinch runner Lisa Elizondo occupying first and the infield pulled in, rightfielder Reilly Boccia popped a bunt straight into the glove of Shaw, whoturned to double up Elizondo at first base. Nemitz forced a groundout in the next at bat, needing just eight pitches to complete the inning.
Freshman designated player Amanda Chidester(Allen Park, Mich./Cabrini HS) padded the Wolverines' advantage with one swing in the third, waiting on a third-pitch changeup and driving it deep over the fence in left centerfield, taking Rogers along as she flipped over the fence in a failed attempt at the catch. The home run was Chidester's seventh of the season and second in NCAA Tournament play.
The Wolverines manufactured another run in the fourth, extending their lead to 3-0, behind a walk, an Alabama error and a run-scoring single off the bat of Ewing. Shaw keyed the rally with one down, earning her second free base with a full-count walk before being replaced on base by junior pinch runner Kristin Larsen(Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS). After U-M put two in scoring position on an errant throw to first base, Ewing capped another extended at bat -- featuring four foul tips -- with a hard grounder through the left side, scoring Larsen from third base for her second RBI of the contest.
After getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fifth, in which Nemitz plunked three Crimson Tide batters before fielding a comebacker to end the frame, the Michigan bats exploded for three runs on four hits, a pair of walks and an error and extended its lead to 6-0. Nemitz, Kirkpatrick and Ewing initiated the big inning with hits in the frame's first four at bats; Ewing's base hit, a comebacker bunt, allowed senior pinch runner Megan Gregory(Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) to score when Alabama third baseman Kelley Montalvo misfired on the throw to first. Kirkpatrick came home in the next at bat on an RBI fielder's choice from freshman leftfielder Bree Evans(Bloomington, Calif./Rialto HS), and, after back-to-back walks reloaded the bases, junior catcher Roya St. Clair(Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) connected with a 0-2 pitch to sail a run-scoring single into leftfield and cap Michigan's scoring.
Alabama broke through in the bottom of the seventh, manufacturing its lone run off a pair of base knocks and a walk. Crimson Tide leftfielder Whitney Larsen picked up the RBI on the latter hit -- a standup double that sailed over the glove of junior centerfielder Molly Bausher(Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS). After a rare first-pitch ball, Nemitz fooled Rogers on three straight pitches to collect her fifth strikeout in the game's subsequent and final at bat. The inning's second out, however, proved the most notable as Kirkpatrick laid out to snare a popup to the gap behind the circle, earning the No. 6 spot among Sportscenter's Top-10 Plays for her effort. It was Michigan softball's second appearance among theprestigious countdownin less than a week's time.
The Wolverines will take on top-seeded Florida in Game 6 of the Women's College World Series tomorrow (Friday, May 29) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. CDT, and the game will be televised live on ESPN2 and a webcast is available on ESPN360.com.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
