Wolverines Head to SEC Territory for LSU Invitational

» Michigan will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for this weekend's LSU Invitational; U-M will open play against Stanford at 2:30 p.m. CST on Friday (Feb. 22) and also will face No. 9 LSU, Memphis and Cal State Northridge.
» U-M's last two games against LSU came in back-to-back appearances at the 2015 and 2016 NCAA Women's College World Series; Michigan claimed those games, 6-3 and 2-0, respectively.
» Natalia Rodriguez leads the Wolverines with a .429 batting average -- a 179-point improvement on her 2018 average.

THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., Feb 22-24 -- LSU Invitational (Baton Rouge, La.) Tournament Central
Friday, Feb. 22 -- vs. Stanford, 2:30 p.m. CST
Live Stats
Friday, Feb. 22 -- at LSU, 7:30 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, Feb. 23 -- vs. Memphis, noon CST
Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 23 -- vs. CSUN, 2:30 p.m. CST
Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 24 -- at LSU, 11:30 a.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Video

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

The University of Michigan softball team (4-5) will head to SEC territory this weekend, traveling to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a five-game slate at the LSU Invitational. The Wolverines open play with two games on Friday (Feb. 22), taking on Stanford (6-2) at 2:30 p.m. CST, before facing No. 9-ranked host LSU (9-2) at 7:30 p.m. CST. Action continues with games against Memphis (5-4) at noon CST and Cal State Northridge (3-5) at 2 p.m. CST on Saturday (Feb. 23), before Michigan closes out the weekend with another slate against LSU, at 11:30 a.m. CST on Sunday (Feb. 24). All games will be held at Tiger Park.

• The Wolverines return to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the first time since 2012, when U-M opened season with a 4-0 showing at the Tiger Classic -- including a narrow 2-1 win against host LSU. Michigan also played in the Tiger Classic two years earlier, in 2010, with a 4-1 record.

• Michigan will square off against LSU for the first time in three seasons -- since back-to-back meetings at the NCAA Women's College World Series in 2015 and 2016. The Wolverines claimed both of those games, rallying to a 6-3 semifinal decision en route to the 2015 championship series before edging the Tigers, 2-0, in the first round in 2016. U-M also faced LSU in its first game of the 2004 WCWS, falling, 3-2, in 13 innings.

• Michigan also faced Stanford in the 2004 Women's College World Series, falling, 5-4, in an elimination game. It was the last meeting between the programs. U-M will square off against a familiar face in that contest; former All-America shortstop Jessica Merchant, the captain of the Wolverines' 2005 NCAA championship squad, is a Cardinal assistant coach.

• The Wolverines struggled at last weekend's ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Feb. 15-17), batting .264 as a team while posting a 3.50 earned-run average -- though just a .174 opposing average. Sophomore shortstop Natalia Rodriguez paced Michigan with a .455 batting average.

• Rodriguez leads the Wolverines with a .429 batting average -- a 179-point improvement on her 2018 average -- and has tallied at least one hit in seven of nine games this season.

• Senior catcher Katie Alexander knocked out her third home run of the season -- a two-run bomb in the third inning -- against North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge finale last Sunday (Feb. 17). She leads the Wolverines with 11 RBI -- the bulk of which has come off home runs, including a grand slam against USF (Feb. 9). Alexander owns 13 long balls and 58 RBI in her collegiate career.

• Sophomore left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien was just four outs shy of a no-hitter in U-M's win against Louisville last Friday (Feb. 15), when the Cardinals reached on a two-out bunt single in the sixth. She responded by retiring the next four Louisville batters in order, including two swinging strikeouts in the seventh. She finished with eight strikeouts in the game. Beaubien posted three complete-game no-hitters and combined for a fourth last season.