Wolverines Head West for Annual Judi Garman Classic

» No. 25 Michigan will make its 14th straight appearance at the Judi Garman Classic this week in Fullerton, California, where it will face Loyola Marymount, Charlotte, Baylor, Louisiana Lafayette and Cal Poly.
» LHP Meghan Beaubien has claimed both Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors in each of the last two weeks; she ranks among the nation's leaders with a 0.53 ERA and just 2.92 hits allowed per game.
» U-M shook off a sluggish stretch at the plate to hit .354 over the last two games of last weekend's Texas Invitational; Katie Alexander batted .500 on the weekend.

THIS WEEK
JUDI GARMAN CLASSIC (Tournament Central)
Thursday, March 1 -- vs. Loyola Marymount (Fullerton, Calif.), 9:30 a.m. PST
Live Stats | FloSoftball
Thursday, March 1 -- vs. Charlotte (Fullerton, Calif.), noon PST
Live Stats | FloSoftball
Friday, March 2 -- vs. Baylor (Fullerton, Calif.), noon PST
Live Stats | FloSoftball
Friday, March 2 -- vs. Louisiana Lafayette (Fullerton, Calif.), 2:30 p.m. PST
Live Stats | FloSoftball
Saturday, March 3 -- vs. Cal Poly (Fullerton, Calif.), 9:30 a.m. PST
Live Stats | FloSoftball

The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan softball team (8-6) will head west to Fullerton, California, to wrap up its 10-day spring-break trip and take part in the annual Judi Garman Classic this week. The Wolverines will open up against Loyola Marymount (7-6-1) at 9:30 a.m. PST and Charlotte (6-7) at noon on Friday (March 1) then continue with games against No. 8 Baylor (9-0) at noon and Louisiana Lafayette (11-3) on Saturday (March 2) and wrap up with a 9:30 a.m. slate against Cal Poly (7-7) and Sunday (March 3). U-M will play all five games on Field 1 at Anderson Family Field.

• The Wolverines will make their 14th straight appearance at the Judi Garman Classic, formerly the Kia Classic. As a regular participant since 2005, Michigan has accumulated a 45-19 record over the stretch. U-M has only twice posted perfect records, going 6-0 in its 2005 appearance -- a feat that propelled the Wolverines to their first ever No. 1 ranking -- and 5-0 in 2016.

• Freshman left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien was named both Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week for the second straight week after posting a 3-1 record, 0.00 earned run average, 16 strikeouts and just eight hits allowed through 19 innings at the Texas Invitational (Feb. 23-25). She posted a pair of three-hit shutouts against Virginia Tech and host Texas, recording a weekend-best seven strikeouts in the latter. Her loss and only run allowed (unearned) over the weekend was off an eighth-inning suicide squeeze under the international tiebreaker vs. Virginia Tech.

• Beaubien leads the Big Ten and ranks among the nation's top-25 leaders in several pitching categories, including complete-game shutouts (four, 4th), ERA (0.53, 24th), hits allowed per seven innings (2.92, 13th) and wins (seven, 7th).

• Michigan's bats came alive against Wichita State in the fourth game of the Texas Invitational last weekend. After batting just .167 (12-for-72) in the first three slates, the Wolverines hit .354 (17-for-48) over the final two, including a season-best 11 runs off 12 hits -- four for extra bases -- against the Shockers.

• Junior catcher Katie Alexander paced the Wolverines from the plate last weekend, batting .500 (6-for-12) with a .600 on-base percentage as she moved from the sixth spot in the lineup to fifth to fourth for the final three games of the Texas Invitational.

• Sophomore shortstop Madison Uden boasted a career-best game against Wichita State, batting 3-for-3 with three runs batted in and three runs scored. She was just a home run shy of the cycle, tallying an RBI double in the first inning and a two-run triple -- the first three-bagger of her career -- in the second.

• Michigan currently leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd nationally with a strong .977 fielding percentage. Last season, Michigan ranked second in the nation with a .981 fielding percentage, while six Michigan starters boasted fielding percentages of .970 or better, most notably junior second baseman Faith Canfield who had just two errors in 143 touches for a .986 fielding percentage. Canfield remains at a 1.000 fielding percentage this season through 52 touches.