Michigan
36-16
Nebraska
40-14
Wolverines Drop B1G Tournament Final to Nebraska in Extras
5/14/2022 2:52:00 PM | Softball
» Michigan fell to Nebraska, 3-1, in the Big Ten Tournament final; NU drove in the winning runs on back-to-back two-out RBI hits in the eighth inning.
» U-M evened the score on an Audrey LeClair RBI double in the fifth; Kristina Burkhardt paced the offense with two hits and two walks.
» RHP Alex Storako allowed just four hits and two walks with five strikeouts through 7.2 innings.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan softball team rallied to even the score in the fifth but couldn't complete the comeback, falling to Nebraska, 3-1, in eight innings in the Big Ten Tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon (May 14) at Michigan State's Secchia Stadium.
Nebraska plated two with two outs in the top of the eighth, drawing a walk and then scoring the go-ahead run with second baseman Cam Ybarra's double to the wall in right-center on the next pitch. NU added another on an RBI single to left field in the next at-bat. The tournament title is the first for the Cornhuskers since joining the Big Ten in 2011.
The Huskers led for much of the game after a first-inning solo homer from Ybarra, the tournament MVP, but Michigan evened it up with a run in the fifth. Freshman designated player Annabelle Widra took a pitch off the helmet, swiped second and scored when junior outfielder Audrey LeClair looped a two-out RBI double to left-center.
Michigan had the winning run on third base in the bottom of the seventh for an opportunity to walk-off, but couldn't capitalize -- aided, in part, to a tough call on the base paths. The Wolverines used a pair of free passes to put two on with no outs before Nebraska turned two on a 4-3 double play. Michigan insisted it dodged the tag between first and second, while the out call from the first base umpire came late and with an immediate review, which was inconclusive with no good camera angles. A pop-out ended the threat in the next at-bat.
Graduate student outfielder Kristina Burkhardt went 2-for-2 with two walks and her team-best 20th double to pace the Wolverine offense. Michigan posted just three hits but earned seven free passes to leave eight stranded on base in the contest.
Senior RHP Alex Storako (23-8) was strong despite the loss, allowing just four hits and a pair of walks through 7.2 innings with four strikeouts.
Storako, Widra and fifth-year senior Taylor Bump were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Michigan will receive its NCAA Regional selection during the annual NCAA Selection Show, slated to air at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday, May 15) on ESPN2.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wallace, Courtney (17-6)
L: Storako, Alex (23-8)
Batting:
2B: Ybarra, Cam 1
HR: Ybarra, Cam 1
RBI: Ybarra, Cam 2 ; Gray, Sydney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Andrews, Billie 1 ; Ybarra, Cam 2
SB: Andrews, Billie 1 ; Squier, Abbie 1 ; Kinney, Kaylin 1
Batting:
2B: Burkhardt, Kristina 1 ; LeClair, Audrey 1
RBI: LeClair, Audrey 1
SH: LeClair, Audrey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Widra, Annabelle 1
SB: Burkhardt, Kristina 1 ; Blair, Lexie 1 ; Widra, Annabelle 1
HBP: Livingston, Melina 1 ; Widra, Annabelle 1 ; McVey, Ella 1
