Wolverines Return to the Road for Three-Game Set at Rutgers

» Michigan will travel to Piscatway, New Jersey, for a three-game weekend series at Rutgers; U-M will face the Scarlet Knights at 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (March 29-30) and noon on Sunday (March 31).
» The Wolverines have won each of their last eight games -- the longest win streak of the season -- with a 72-4 scoring margin.
» LHP Meghan Beaubien is the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week; she has not allowed a run in 30 straight innings pitched.

UPDATE (3/29/2019): Due to expected inclement weather in Piscataway on Sunday, Michigan's series finale at Rutgers has been rescheduled as part of a Saturday (March 30) doubleheader. Game one will start at 1 p.m., followed by game two at 3 p.m.

THIS WEEK
Friday, March 29 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 3 p.m.
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Saturday, March 30 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 1 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, March 30 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 3 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan softball team (20-10, 3-0 Big Ten) will return to the road for continued Big Ten Conference play this weekend, heading to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a three-game set against Rutgers (15-14, 0-3 Big Ten). The teams will take the field at 3 p.m. on both Friday (March 29) and Saturday (March 30) before wrapping the series noon on Sunday (March 31) at the Rutgers Softball Complex.

• Michigan has won each of its last eight games -- its longest win streak of the season -- by a combined 72-4 margin. The Wolverines have boasted a .388 team batting average over the eight-game stretch with a 0.60 combined earned-run average and .140 opposing average.

• Sophomore left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Monday (March 25) after posting a 3-0 record with a save in U-M's wins against Western Michigan and Nebraska last week. She posted a 0.00 ERA with 31 strikeouts, including a season-high 13 against WMU, and allowed just eight hits and one walk, holding the opposition to a .114 batting average.

• Beaubien has not allowed a run in 30 straight innings, stretching back the Wolverines' home opener against Kent State on March 14. Over that eight-game stretch, Beaubien has posted a 5-0 record with two saves and allowed just 12 hits and one walk while striking out 41.

• Michigan has belted out 14 home runs over its last eight games, including three apiece off the bats of senior second baseman Faith Canfield and senior designated player Mackenzie Nemitz. U-M posted back-to-back-to-back homers in the third inning of the Nebraska series finale -- the first time the Wolverines posted home runs in three straight at-bats since the 2001 season. U-M also recorded three homers in the sixth inning of the KSU series finale.

• Nemitz has broken through in a big way during her senior campaign. After only earning one hit and seven total plate appearances over her first three seasons -- she missed all of 2017 with injury -- Nemitz boasts a .311 batting average with 14 hits, three homers and 14 RBI. She has recorded 10 hits over the last 10 games, including her first ever multi-hit game in the series finale against Nebraska, and nine RBI over the last three games.

• Michigan's coaching trio of Carol Hutchins, Bonnie Tholl and Jennifer Brundage surpassed 1,000 wins as a staff in U-M's sweep of Nebraska last weekend. They now boast a 1,003-251-4 record in their 21 seasons together in Ann Arbor. Hutchins, the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, is approaching another milestone of her own with a 1,591-514-5 record over 36 seasons as a head coach.

• Michigan is the reigning conference regular-season champion. U-M, which reclaimed the league's top spot last year after a one-year hiatus, has captured 20 of the last 27 Big Ten regular-season crowns, including 10 of the last 11. The Wolverines posted an 18-3 league record in 2018, finishing one game ahead of second-place Minnesota, and outscored their Big Ten opponents, 134-31.