Michigan to Open Big Ten Play with Home Set vs. Penn State

Friday, March 24

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:00 PM

Michigan

Penn State

Michigan to Open Big Ten Play with Home Set vs. Penn State

3/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball

By: Leah Howard

» Michigan hosts Penn State in its first Big Ten series of the 2017 season. U-M is seeking it 10th straight and 20th overall conference title.
» The Wolverines have won each of their last five home games, outscoring their opposition 31-6 over the stretch.
» RHP Megan Betsa was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after striking out 30 and allowing just one hit through 14 innings pitched last weekend.

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The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan softball team (19-7-1) will open Big Ten Conference play with a three-game home set this weekend against Penn State (12-14) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field. The series kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday (March 24) and continues with a 2 p.m. slate Saturday (March 25) and a 1 p.m. start for the finale on Sunday (March 26).

• The Wolverines are looking for their 20th Big Ten title in program history. U-M has won 19 of the last 25 B1G championships, including at least a share of last nine crowns. No other team has a stretch of more than two in a row (Northwestern, 1984-85).

• Michigan carries a five-game win streak into the weekend series against Penn State -- its longest win streak of the season. U-M has outscored its opposition 31-6 over the stretch.

• Senior RHP Megan Betsa earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after tossing a pair of complete-game shutouts over the Wolverines' home series against Kent State, including a 17-strikeout no-hitter in the series opener. It was her fourth career no-hitter and a career-best strikeout tally -- just two shy of the Michigan program single-game record. She followed it up with a 13-strikeout one-hitter in the series finale.

• Betsa ranks third nationally with 164 strikeouts on the season and fourth with 12.6 strikeouts per seven innings. She boasts nine double-digit strikeout performances this season, including three of her last four games. With 953 career strikeouts, Betsa recently moved into the third spot on Michigan's career leader board, passing three-time All-American Marissa Young (927, 2000-03).

• Junior Aidan Falk posted a .400 average over the Wolverines' Kent State series last weekend, shining with a 4-for-7, five-RBI effort in Sunday's doubleheader. She also posted three doubles on the day and leads Michigan with 10 doubles on the season, accounting for nearly half of her total hits (23).

• Senior centerfielder Kelly Christner continues to lead the Wolverines -- and rank fourth among the Big Ten leaders -- with a .452 batting average on the season. She tallied a pair of hits in the second KSU game -- her team-best 11th multi-hit game this season.

• Michigan owns an impressive 534-133-1 record Alumni Field since its opening in 1982 and is 147-19 since the Wilpon Complex renovations in 2008. The Wolverines went 20-1 at Alumni Field last season. Adding its series sweep against Kent State last weekend, U-M has won 21 straight home games.

• Head coach Carol Hutchins claimed her 1,500th career win in the Wolverines' 11-3, six-inning decision against Kent State last Sunday (March 19). Already the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, Hutchins is now 1,503-485-5 in her 34 seasons as a collegiate coach.