Michigan to Face Louisville, No. 25 UNC at ACC/Big Ten Challenge

» No. 11 Michigan will participate in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for the fifth straight season, traveling to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for two games apiece against Louisville and host UNC.
» With a 5-0 record, the Wolverines are off to the program's best start since 2011.
» Alex Storako and Meghan Beaubien combined for a 1.32 ERA, 59 strikeouts and a .171 opposing average over the opening weekend; Storako currently shares the national lead with 38 strikeouts.

THIS WEEK (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
Friday, Feb. 14 -- vs. Louisville (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 11 a.m.
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Friday, Feb. 14 -- at No. 25 North Carolina (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 1:30 p.m.
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Saturday, Feb. 15 -- at No. 25 North Carolina (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 11 a.m.
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Sunday, Feb. 16 -- vs. Louisville (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 10 a.m.
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• Tournament Central | Complete Game Notes (PDF)

The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan softball team (5-0) will return to the road for the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge this weekend in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Wolverines will kick off the tournament with two games on Friday (Feb. 14), taking on Louisville at 11 a.m. before facing host No. 25-ranked North Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Michigan will play the Tar Heels again at 11 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 15) before wrapping the weekend with a 10 a.m. slate against Louisville on Sunday (Feb. 16). All games will be held at UNC's Anderson Stadium.

• Michigan will play in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for the fifth straight season and carries a 10-6 record through its last four appearances. The Wolverines traveled to Chapel Hill to face Louisville and North Carolina in last year's edition of the event and posted a 1-3 record -- 1-1 against the Cardinals and 0-2 against the Tar Heels.

• The Wolverines' 5-0 start is the program's best since winning each of its first 24 games during the 2011 season. Michigan surged in the national rankings -- to No. 11 in the NFCA poll and No. 8 in the USA Softball poll -- after the perfect weekend and 11-2, six-inning rout against then-No. 7 Florida. It was U-M's first win over the Gators since the 2015 NCAA Women's College World Series championship series.

• Sophomore RHP Alex Storako and junior LHP Meghan Beaubien were stellar from the circle at the USF-Rawlings Invitational (Feb. 7-9), combining for a 5-0 record, 1.32 earned run average, 59 strikeouts and .171 opposing batting average. They closed out the weekend with a 1-0 two-hit combined shutout through nine innings against Fresno State.

• Storako posted a career-best 16 strikeouts in the season opener against Georgia State -- her previous best was 15 at Michigan State last season -- and added six more over two relief innings later that day against Illinois State. She boasted 38 total strikeouts on the weekend and leads the nation in the category -- tied with Minnesota's Amber Fiser.

• Michigan combined for a .290 batting average over the opening weekend, with three players hitting .333 or better. Sophomore second baseman Morgan Overaitis tallied at least one hit per game, including four multi-hit efforts, en route to a big .556 weekend. She matched her career best with three base hits against Florida.

• Senior center fielder Haley Hoogenraad also had a big weekend at the plate, hitting .429 with four doubles and three RBI, including the walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning against Fresno State. She also posted two hits, three runs and two RBI in the Florida win and made a grand-slam-saving catch against the center field wall with two outs in the fourth inning.

• Junior first baseman Lou Allan knocked out a pair of home runs and led the Wolverines with four RBI over the first weekend. She hit a two-run shot in the sixth inning to break open U-M's season opener against Georgia State and used a leadoff shot to kick off a four-run sixth against Florida the next day. Allan owns six homers and 29 RBI in her career. Junior third baseman Taylor Bump also homered in the sixth inning against Florida -- the first long ball of her collegiate career.

• Freshman second baseman Julia Jimenez registered her first collegiate hit, run and RBI over the Wolverines' opening-day games against Georgia State and Illinois State, driving in the game-winning run in the fifth inning in the latter slate. She was one of three U-M rookies to earn weekend playing time; freshmen Audrey LeClair and Lauren Esman scored runs as pinch runners -- Esman accounted for the game-winning tally in the ninth inning against Fresno State.

• The Wolverines closed out the USF-Rawlings Invitational with back-to-back wins in extra innings. Michigan went 2-2 in extras last season, with both of its wins being 1-0 walk-off decisions -- in eight inning against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament opener and against James Madison in the NCAA Regional semifinal in 12 innings.