Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines to Kick Off Busy Week with In-State Midweek Games
4/8/2024 2:41:00 PM | Softball
Promotions
• Winter Glove Giveaway (Sunday)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team (24-14, 6-3 Big Ten) will kick off a five-game week with a pair of in-state midweek slates, traveling to East Lansing, Mich., to face Michigan State (13-22, 1-8 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (April 9) at Secchia Stadium before returning home to host Central Michigan (7-23) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (April 10) at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field at Carol Hutchins Stadium.
Notes
• Michigan lists fifth in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 6-3 record. The Wolverines opened conference play with six straight wins, the program's best Big Ten start since going 11-0 to kick off the 2019 Big Ten schedule.
• U-M's 10-game winning streak was halted this past weekend at Northwestern, which earned the three-game series sweep. Over the win streak, the Wolverines posted a .353 team batting average, .673 slugging percentage and .433 on-base percentage and outscored their opposition 78-19 over the stretch. Six Wolverines have batted .360 or better, while sophomore Maddie Erickson (.444), junior Ellie Sieler (.438) and junior Ella McVey (.404) have all batted .400 or better over the 10 games.
• Erickson continues to lead the Wolverines offensively, boasting a career-best .364 batting average -- a 129-point improvement on her average last season -- with a .636 slugging percentage off nine doubles and eight home runs and similarly leads the team with 26 RBI.
• Sieler and McVey also currently carry career-high batting averages. With her .355 batting average, Sieler has improved her 2023 average by 68 points, owns a career-best 29 runs and is just five hits shy of her best. McVey has improved her average by 19 points -- up to .303.
• The Wolverines have belted 23 home runs over their last 12 games, including five apiece from Erickson and senior Keke Tholl, who both tallied homers in the same four consecutive games. Seven different Wolverines have tallied homers over the stretch, including an inside-the-park home run from sophomore Indiana Langford. Erickson and Conway share the overall team lead with eight homers on the season.
• Michigan State is 13-22 on the season and 1-8 in Big Ten play after dropping three home games against Indiana, 6-2 (8 inn.), 12-4, 7-2, last weekend (April 5-7). The Spartans carry a .245 team batting average with a .414 slugging percentage and .330 on-base percentage, while the pitching staff has a combined 4.07 earned-run average. Michigan owns a 98-29 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State, dating back to 1978, and has won each of the last eight games, including wins of 5-2 and 8-0 (5 inn.) last season.
• Central Michigan carries a 7-23 record this season and claimed one of three games at Western Michigan last weekend, winning 5-2 in the finale after falling 3-1 and 4-1 in the opening two series games. CMU owns a team .224 batting average with a .305 slugging percentage and .341 on-base percentage. The Chippewa pitching staff has a 4.25 earned-run average. Michigan carries a 50-34 advantage in the all-time series against CMU and has won 12 straight games, including a 5-1 decision in the last meeting in 2022 in Ann Arbor.
