Wolverines Head to Kentucky for Final Preseason Tourney

THIS WEEK
JOHN CROPP CLASSIC (Host Site)
Saturday, March 11 -- vs. Evansville (Lexington, Ky.), 1 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Audio
Sunday, March 12 -- vs. Kent State (Lexington, Ky.), Noon
Live Stats | Live Audio
Sunday, March 12 -- at Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Audio | ESPN3

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

UPDATE: Due to anticipated cold weather on Saturday (March 11), the John Cropp Classic will schedule just two afternoon games. The Wolverines' game against Evansville was moved back to 1 p.m., while their first of two games against host Kentucky has been cancelled.

The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan softball team (12-6-1) will wrap up its preseason tournament slate at the John Cropp Classic this weekend at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. On Saturday (March 11), U-M will face Evansville (5-9) at 10 a.m. and No. 19 host Kentucky (13-4) at noon, before closing play on Sunday (March 12) against Kent State (7-7) at noon and, again, host Kentucky at 2 p.m.

• The Wolverines struggled at the plate at last weekend's Judi Garman Classic (March 2-4), hitting just .242 over the five-game stretch, but closed out the weekend with their best offensive performance, tallying 12 hits and a tying a season-best with 13 runs against Long Beach State.

• Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield batted .538 over the Wolverines' five-game Judi Garman Classic, with a .647 on-base percentage and .923 slugging percentage. Among her hits, she knocked out a two-run homer to provide the only runs in U-M's 2-0 win against host CSU Fullerton.

• Senior centerfielder Kelly Christner continues to lead the Wolverines -- and rank fifth among the Big Ten leaders -- with a .500 batting average on the season. She saw her hit streak halted at a career-long 13 games in the UCLA game last Thursday; she hit an impressive .658 (25-for-38) over the stretch, with a 1.079 slugging percentage and .735 on-base percentage.

• Senior RHP Megan Betsa ranks second nationally with 115 strikeouts on the season and fourth with 12.1 strikeouts per seven innings. Betsa fanned 37 through 20.1 innings pitched at the Judi Garman Classic last weekend and tied her single-game best with 16 strikeouts in the opener against Arizona State. Betsa had tallied 16 strikeouts on two previous occasions -- against Iowa in 2015 and at Penn State in 2016.

• Betsa owns a pair of saves on the season, most recently throwing 2.1 shutout innings against Cal State Fullerton, to up her career total to 11 and claim the second spot among U-M's all-time leaders in the category. With 904 career strikeouts, Betsa is also nearing the third spot on Michigan's career leader board, needing just 23 to match three-time All-American Marissa young (927, 2000-03).