Wolverines to Host EMU, MSU in Midweek Contests

» No. 17 Michigan will kick off a five-game homestand with two midweek games, taking on Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (April 10) at 4 p.m. and Michigan State on Wednesday (April 11) at 6 p.m.
» Michigan has won 25 of its last 26 games, hitting .356 with 6.9 runs per game over the stretch, and is coming off a three-game weekend sweep at Penn State.
» Faith Canfield, Tera Blanco and Haley Hoogenraad have all batted .500 or better at Alumni Field this season.

• Complete Game Notes

The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan softball team (31-7, 7-1 Big Ten) will host a pair of midweek slates against in-state competition this weekend, facing Eastern Michigan in a rescheduled game at 4 p.m. on Tuesday (April 10) before squaring off against Michigan State at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (April 11) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field.

• Michigan has faced Eastern Michigan 67 times since 1980 -- every year but four (1992, '97, 2013, '14) over the last 47 seasons. But this year will likely be the last meeting, as EMU announced three weeks ago (March 20) the decision to eliminate softball, men's swimming, women's tennis and wrestling for financial reasons.

• U-M is 5-0 in home games this season after its weekend sweep of Purdue in its first Big Ten home series of the season. The Wolverines have outscored their home opposition, 41-1, including a 21-1 differential against the Boilermakers. Michigan posted a 17-0 record at Alumni Field during the regular season in 2017, but fell in their last appearance, a 5-4 upset loss to Michigan State in their Big Ten Tournament opener. U-M is 553-134-1 all-time at Alumni Field.

• The Wolverines own a sizable 88-28 advantage in the all-time series against in-state rival Michigan State, dating back to U-M's inaugural 1978 season, but MSU snapped Michigan's 19-game series winning streak with its 5-4 victory in last season's Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Michigan had claimed the regular-season meetings, 5-1 and 3-1.

• After going 6-6 through its first 12 games of the season, Michigan has since won 25 of its last 26 games and each of the last seven. U-M batted .225, averaged 2.9 runs per game and combined for a 1.24 ERA over the first 12 games. Over the last 26 games, the Wolverines have posted a .356 batting average, averaged 6.9 runs per game and posted a 1.04 team earned-run average.

• Freshman left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien leads the nation with 23 wins -- three more than Washington's Taran Alvelo, Arizona's Taylor McQuillin and Central Florida's Alea White in second place -- and became the sixth freshman pitcher in program history to hit the 20-win milestone, doing so in just 28 total appearances.

• Beaubien also ranks top-15 nationally in several other categories, including ERA (0.83, 13th), hits allowed per game (3.020, 5th), shutouts (seven, eighth) and strikeouts (169, 14th). She leads the Big Ten in every category.

• Freshman Lou Allan was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after batting .429 (3-for-7) with a double, two home runs and four RBI in Michigan's weekend sweep at Penn State (April 6-8). Allan registered her first collegiate home run in the series opener and followed with another in the second slate, knocking out a two-run homer with the game scoreless in the seventh inning. After missing the first 16 games of the season with injury, Allan has started each of the last 13 at designated player. She ranks fourth among U-M's current starters with a .341 batting average and 14 RBI.

• Junior catcher Katie Alexander headlined the Wolverines' offensive effort over the Penn State series, .667 (6-for-9) with two doubles and two RBI. She matched a career best with three hits in the series opener and posted two hits and two runs scored in the finale.

• Junior second baseman Faith Canfield saw her career-best 17-game hitting streak end in the second game of the Penn State series. Canfield batted .500 over the stretch with 10 multi-hit games, 10 extra-base hits and 15 RBI. She began anew with two hits and four RBI in the PSU series finale. Canfield is no stranger to lengthy hitting streaks; she ended last season on a 10-game tear.

• Senior RHP/first baseman Tera Blanco has also been hot of late and boasted a 16-game hit streak of her own from March 1-23, hitting .364 over the stretch with four home runs and 18 RBI. She has hit successfully in 21 of the last 23 games.

• Canfield and Blanco have been especially hot at home this season, hitting .667 and .538, respectively, over five games at Alumni Field. Sophomore outfielder Haley Hoogenraad also boasts a .500 batting average in home games with two doubles and a grand slam.

• The Wolverines have committed just one error over its last 21 games. Michigan ranks second nationally with a team .989 fielding percentage -- just .001 behind Oklahoma. Four U-M starters own 1.000 fielding percentages, including Canfield and Blanco, while its starting infield has fielding percentages of .972 or better. Last season, Michigan also ranked second in the nation with a .981 fielding percentage, while six Michigan starters boasted fielding percentages of .970 or better.