Wolverines Strike Early in Series-Opening Win at Maryland

Friday, May 3

College Park, Md.

6:00 PM

Michigan

38-11, 20-1

Maryland

20-29, 4-17

Michigan

Maryland

Faith Canfield

Wolverines Strike Early in Series-Opening Win at Maryland

5/3/2019 9:18:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Leah Howard

» Michigan scored two runs apiece in the first and second innings en route to a 6-1 win in the series opener at Maryland.
» Alex Sobczak and Natalie Peters posted three RBI apiece; Peters paced the Wolverine offense with three hits, including a sixth-inning, two-run triple.
» Meghan Beaubien allowed one run on seven hits and a walk through 6.1 innings; she and Alex Storako combined for nine total strikeouts.

Site: College Park, Md. (Maryland Softball Stadium)
Scores: #22 Michigan 6, Maryland 1
Records: U-M (38-11, 20-1 Big Ten), Maryland (20-29, 4-17 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 4 -- at Maryland (College Park, Md.), 1 p.m.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 22-ranked University of Michigan softball team scored in spurts, including two runs apiece in the first and second innings, to earn a 6-1 decision in its series opener at Maryland on Friday night (May 5) at Maryland Softball Stadium. The Wolverines extended their win streak to nine games.

Senior first baseman Alex Sobczak and senior center fielder Natalie Peters posted three RBI apiece, with Sobczak driving in three of the Wolverines' first four runs early in the contest and Peters, who went 3-for-4 at the plate, pushing across a pair of insurance runs in the sixth. Peters has registered five multi-hit efforts in the last eight games.

The Wolverines posted four hits in the first inning -- half their game total -- with three consecutive one-out singles from Peters, freshman left fielder Lexie Blair and Sobczak, who bounced a two-run single up the middle to plate the game-winning runs. Peters and Blair took advantage of a wild pitch in the dirt to advance just before Sobczak's RBI hit.

Michigan capitalized on a pair of errors to double its lead in the second. Senior catcher Katie Alexander reached second on an overthrow into the first-base dugout, advanced on a groundout and scored when Peters punched in RBI single through the left side. Another error moved senior second baseman Faith Canfield, who reached on two walks in the contest, to third base, and she scored on a Sobczak sac fly in foul territory down the right-field line.

Canfield scored again, as did junior right fielder Haley Hoogenraad, when Peters laced a two-out, two-run triple to the left-center field wall in the sixth inning. It was her second two-bagger of the season and third of her career.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien (24-4) allowed one run on seven hits and one walk and struck out six Terrapin batters through 6.1 innings to earn the victory.

Maryland scored its run with a bases-loaded single in the sixth that hit Beaubien in the circle. Freshman right-handed pitcher Alex Storako replaced her after the play, getting a strikeout and an inning-ending fielder's choice to leave the bases loaded. After allowing a leadoff single in the seventh, Storako retired the next three batters -- with two more swinging strikeouts -- to close out the game.

Michigan (38-11, 20-1 Big Ten) will continue its series at Maryland with a 1 p.m. slate Saturday (May 4) at Maryland Softball Stadium. The game time was moved forward an hour when added to the Big Ten Network schedule.