Michigan
3-2
Illinois State
0-5
Michigan Defeats Illinois State to Wrap Opening Weekend
2/10/2019 3:03:00 PM | Softball
» No. 19 Michigan earned an 11-4 win against Illinois in its final game of the USF Opening Weekend Invitational.
» The Wolverines posted a season-high 16 hits, with Lexie Blair going 4-for-5 with two runs and one RBI and Faith Canfield tallying three hits, two runs and an RBI.
» RHP Alex Storako earned win after allowing four hits and two walks through four innings. She and Meghan Beaubien combined for 10 strikeouts on the day.
Site: Tampa, Fla. (USF Softball Stadium)
Event: USF Opening Weekend Invitational (Day 3 of 3)
Scores: #19 Michigan 11, Illinois State 4
Records: U-M (3-2), ISU (0-5)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 15 -- vs. Louisville - ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 1:30 p.m.
TAMPA, Fla. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan softball team closed out its first weekend of the 2019 season with a decisive win, defeating Illinois State, 11-4, Sunday morning (Feb. 10) on the final day of USF Opening Weekend Invitational at USF Softball Stadium.
The Wolverines registered a season-high 11 runs and 16 hits, including multi-hit efforts from three players, most notably freshman leftfielder Lexie Blair, who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and one batted in, and senior second baseman Faith Canfield, who posted three hits and one RBI.
Freshman RHP Alex Storako (3-1) allowed four runs off four hits and two walks allowed to earn her third win of the season. Storako and sophomore LHP Meghan Beaubien, who entered in the fifth and retired all five batters faced, struck out five apiece across seven innings.
Michigan struck quickly with five runs in the first inning, including three off the bat of senior catcher Katie Alexander, who knocked out her second home run in as many games on a deep shot to centerfield. Freshman designated player Morgan Overaitis immediately preceded Alexander's home run with a hard-hit RBI infield single to second base.
Illinois State scored twice in the home half of the first, but the Wolverines responded with two more of their own to reestablish their five-run lead in the second. Overaitis and Alexander both drove in runs in their next plate appearances. Overaitis drilled an RBI single through the left side, while Alexander aired a sacrifice fly to deep center. Alexander posted eight RBI on the weekend.
After the Redbirds knocked out solo home runs in the fourth and fifth frames, Beaubien entered and promptly struck out the first two batters she faced. She struck out two more in the sixth inning and ended the contest with a four-pitch strikeout in the bottom of the seventh.
The Wolverines, for their part, blew the game back open with a four spot in the top of the seventh, highlighted by four doubles over the first five at-bats of the frame. Junior rightfielder Haley Hoogenraad, sophomore shortstop Natalia Rodriguez and Blair all drove in runs on their two-baggers, while Blair eventually came around to score on a passed ball.
Michigan (3-2) will return to the road next weekend, heading to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Wolverines will play two games apiece against Louisville and host North Carolina, kicking off the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. slate against the Cardinals on Friday (Feb. 15) at the Tar Heels' Anderson Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Storako, Alex (3-1)
L: Felde, Shannon (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Blair, Lexie 1 ; Bump, Taylor 1 ; Hoogenraad, Haley 1 ; Rodriguez, Natalia 1
HR: Alexander, Katie 1
RBI: Blair, Lexie 1 ; Canfield, Faith 1 ; Overaitis, Morgan 2 ; Alexander, Katie 4 ; Hoogenraad, Haley 1 ; Rodriguez, Natalia 1
SH: Canfield, Faith 1
SF: Alexander, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Blair, Lexie 3 ; Canfield, Faith 2 ; Uden, Madison 1 ; Overaitis, Morgan 1 ; Alexander, Katie 1 ; Bump, Taylor 1 ; Hoogenraad, Haley 1 ; Rodriguez, Natalia 1
SB: Uden, Madison 1
Batting:
HR: Olson, Emme 1 ; Vanderpool, Taylor 1
RBI: Olson, Emme 1 ; Vanderpool, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Felde, Shannon 1 ; Olson, Emme 2 ; Vanderpool, Taylor 1
HBP: Olson, Emme 1
