Michigan
New Mexico State
Michigan to Head West for Five Games at Sun Devil Classic
2/17/2026 4:40:00 PM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan softball team (8-2) will head west this weekend for a five-game slate at the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe, Ariz. U-M will open against New Mexico State (5-7) at 10 a.m. MT on Friday (Feb. 20) before taking on No. 21-ranked host Arizona State (10-1) and Southern Utah (5-6) two times apiece. Michigan will face ASU at 3:30 p.m. MT on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 23) and SUU at 10 a.m. MT on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 24). All games will be held at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium.
Notes
• Michigan has played in several early-season tournaments at Arizona State, beginning in 1992 and most recently in 2019, as well as road series in both 1994 and 1995. The Wolverines are 18-12 in the all-time series against the Sun Devils and 8-5 in games in Tempe.
• Michigan has two Arizona natives on its roster -- junior third baseman Lexi Dellamonica from Queen Creek and sophomore outfielder Lauren Putz from Phoenix. Putz's father J.J. spent the last four years of his MLB career with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
• Michigan belted a program-record eight home runs in its game against Incarnate Word from six players, including two apiece from Putz and junior outfielder Ella Stephenson. The Wolverines' previous record was seven, which they set in a 20-5 win against Toledo in 2015. The single-game mark ranks tied for the 10th in NCAA Division I history.
• The Wolverines rank among the nation's leaders in several power categories, listing fourth with 24 home runs, fifth with a 2.40 home runs per game average and eighth with their .694 team slugging percentage. This time last year, Michigan had five home runs through 10 games.
• Putz, who boasted five homers over the last three games, owns nine homers already this season, while junior outfielder Jenissa Conway owns five on the season after homering in each of the last three games. The duo led Michigan's home-run hitters last season, and through 10 games, are nearly halfway (14) to their 2025 combined total (32).
• Putz leads the nation with nine home runs, ranks second with .90 homers per game, a 1.571 slugging percentage and 21 RBI, and is sixth with 2.10 RBI per game. Conway also ranks eighth nationally with her 1.310 slugging percentage, 13th with 15 runs scored and 16th with five homers.
• Four Wolverine pitchers earned a win last weekend at the Houston-HCU Invitational. The staff combined for a 3.20 earned-run average, 35 strikeouts and a .216 opposing average. Omitting a rocky seventh inning against host Houston, those numbers drop to a 1.86 ERA and a .194 average against.
• Junior Erin Hoehn tossed a one-hit shutout against Lafayette, with two walks and 10 strikeouts. It was her second complete-game shutout this season and her second double-digit strikeout game -- one shy of her career best (11). Hoehn entered the season with just two previous games in double digits. She ranks ninth nationally with an average of 11.2 strikeouts per seven innings.
• Michigan also ranks sixth nationally with a .988 fielding percentage, recording just three errors over the first 10 games of the season. U-M has fielded a veteran defense with only Putz -- now in the outfield after playing at first base and designated player last season -- and freshman second baseman Kiley Carr new to the starting lineup at their respective positions.
