Michigan
Rutgers
Beaubien Twirls Two-Hit Shutout to Open Series Against Scarlet Knights
5/14/2021 6:30:00 PM | Softball
» Meghan Beaubien threw a two-hit shutout, striking out seven without a walk in a 3-0 win over Rutgers.
» With her solo blast in the third inning, Taylor Bump has homered in six of 10 home games this year.
» Lexie Blair and Natalia Rodriguez led off with back-to-back doubles in Michigan's two-run first inning.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wipon Complex)
Scores: #18 Michigan 3, Rutgers 0
Records: U-M (33-6, 33-6 B1G), RU (8-33, 8-33 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 15 -- DH vs. Rutgers (Wilpon Complex), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Two first-inning runs were all the offensive support Meghan Beaubien needed as the senior left-hander twirled a two-hit shutout in the University of Michigan softball team's 3-0 win over Rutgers on Friday afternoon (May 14) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field.
Beaubien (14-3) struck out seven without a walk in logging her fourth shutout of the season. The two singles she allowed were carbon-copy bloopers that fell in front of the center fielder, in the third and seventh innings.
The 18th-ranked Wolverines (33-6, 33-6 Big Ten) scored their runs early, plating two in the first inning before adding another in the third. Junior outfielder Lexie Blair and senior shortstop Natalia Rodriguez led off the game with back-to-back doubles, the latter a rope to the left-center gap to score Michigan's first and game-winning run. Junior catcher Hannah Carson pushed across U-M's second run with two outs, scoring Rodriguez from second base with an RBI single to center.
Senior third baseman Taylor Bump knocked out a line-drive solo home run to left-center in the third, tying the team lead with her ninth long ball of the season. She has homered in six of 10 home games this season.
The Scarlet Knights (8-33, 8-33 Big Ten) took advantage of a series of miscues to stage their biggest threat of the game in the fourth, loading the bases on a pair of hit-by-pitches and a Beaubien fielding error, but the U-M southpaw forced a groundout to third to get out of the jam unscathed.
Blair and Carson had two hits apiece to lead the Wolverines , who will resume their weekend series against Rutgers on Saturday (May 15) with a noon doubleheader at Alumni Field. Both games will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
