Wolverines Power Way to Doubleheader Sweep Against Rutgers

Friday, April 13

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:00 PM

Michigan

34-7, 9-1

Rutgers

17-20, 2-7

Rutgers

Michigan

Wolverines Power Way to Doubleheader Sweep Against Rutgers

4/13/2018 10:19:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

By: Leah Howard

» No. 17 Michigan took both sides of a home doubleheader against Rutgers, 11-1 in five innings and 9-2.
» U-M posted four home runs, including two in the nightcap off the bat of Aidan Falk; Madison Uden posted a grand slam in the opener, while Tera Blanco knocked out a game-ending three-run shot.
» Blanco (7-2) also earned the win in game two, while Beaubien (25-2) was victorious in the opener.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wilpon Complex)
Scores: #17 Michigan 11, Rutgers 1 (5 inn.); #17 Michigan 9, Rutgers 2
Records: U-M (35-7, 10-1 B1G), RU (17-21, 2-7 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 14 -- vs. Rutgers (Wilpon Complex), 2 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan softball team knocked out four home runs, including two off the bat of senior utility Aidan Falk, to take both sides of a doubleheader against Rutgers: 11-1 in five innings and 9-2, on Friday evening (April 13) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field.

Falk posted two homers in the nightcap, upping her season total to six, as part of a 5-for-7, five-RBI day to headline the Wolverine offense, which posted double-digit hits in both contests. Senior right-handed pitcher/first baseman Tera Blanco and sophomore third baseman Madison Uden both homered in the opener; Blanco posted five RBI and reached base in all but one plate appearance with two hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch, while Uden tallied three hits and five RBI -- the bulk off her first collegiate grand slam.

Blanco (8-2) also earned the victory in the nightcap with three strikeouts and two runs allowed on five hits and two walks over six innings. Freshman LHP Meghan Beaubien (25-2) shook off a sluggish first inning -- in which she allowed a run off two hits and a walk -- to strike out seven en route to the win in the opener. She did not allow another baserunner the rest of the game.

Michigan used home runs to open and close its turns at the plate in the first slate. After sacrificing the initial advantage in the first, Uden followed a base hit and back-to-back walks with a first-pitch grand slam deep over the left center-field wall -- her third long ball of the season. Blanco's home run ended the game early in the fifth inning, pushing the Wolverines' well into run-rule territory with a three-run shot -- on a 3-0 count -- to straightaway center field for her 10th homer of the season.

Blanco's game-ending shot capped a five-inning fifth for Michigan. Freshman shortstop Natalia Rodriguez and junior center fielder Natalie Peters also drove in runs on a pair of RBI singles. Falk, who plated multiple runs in both games, drove in U-M's other two runs on a roped double in the third.

Falk homered in the second and sixth innings of the nightcap, following junior catcher Katie Alexander's leadoff double in the former inning with a no-doubter into the trees beyond left-center before smacking the first pitch of the sixth to a similar spot beyond the left-center field wall.

With Rutgers scoring in the fourth and fifth to keep the score close, the Wolverines posted a four spot in the home half of the fifth to break the game open. Falk sent a first-pitch leadoff single through the right side to initiate the rally, while sophomore outfielder Haley Hoogenraad doubled down the left-field line and Rodriguez reached on a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Peters walked to push across a run, then Blanco roped a two-run single through the left side before Peters scored on a wild pitch.

Michigan (35-7, 10-1 Big Ten) will have two days to play the Rutgers series finale with poor weather forecasted all weekend in Ann Arbor. Weather permitting, the teams will play at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, April 14) at Alumni Field. Text GoBlueSoftball to 83200 to sign up for text alerts for the latest updates and schedule changes.