Bowling Green State University
MICHIGAN
Top-Ranked Michigan Blanks BG, 6-0
March 30, 2005 | Softball
March 30, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The nation's #1-ranked team, the University of Michigan, got three homeruns and a combined one-hitter from three pitchers in a 6-0 shutout of the Bowling Green State University softball team Wednesday afternoon (March 30). The non-conference game was held at the BGSU Softball Field.
With the win, the Wolverines improve to 32-1 on the season, and U-M has won 32 consecutive games after a season-opening loss. The Falcons drop to 10-17 on the season, and BG saw a three-game win streak snapped.
Nicole Motycka, the starting pitcher for the Maize and Blue, was 3-for-4 at the plate, while three teammates had two hits apiece. Jessica Merchant was 2-for-3, while Tiffany Haas and Samantha Findlay each had two hits in four at-bats. Merchant, Haas and Findlay all homered for the visitors.
Meanwhile, Motycka and fellow pitchers Lorilyn Wilson and Jennie Ritter combined on a one-hit shutout. BG's only hit came off the bat of Gina Rango, a two-out first-inning single.
The Wolverines got on the board quickly, with a first-inning run. Falcon starter Liz Vrabel got a pair of ground-ball outs to start the game, before Merchant connected on a 3-0 pitch for her 11th homer of the season.
In the second, Vrabel struck out a pair of hitters, allowing only a bunt single by Stephanie Bercaw. Bercaw stole second, but with two outs, Vrabel got Michelle Teschler looking to end the inning.
But, the Wolverines got another run in the third. Haas led off the inning with a single, and Alessandra Giampaolo followed with a sacrifice bunt. On the play, however, Haas advanced an extra base, taking third as no one had called time. That lapse proved costly as the next batter, Merchant, lifted a fly ball to rightfield. Senior Kristen Anderson made the catch for the second out, but Haas trotted home with Michigan's second run.
From there, Vrabel held the Wolverines scoreless until the sixth. In that inning, Motycka singled with one out, and came all the way around to score when Becky Marx hit a ball that landed just inside the right-field line and caromed all the way to the wall for a two-out triple.
U-M broke the game open in the seventh. Haas hit a one-out homer to left for the Wolverines' fourth run of the day. One out later, Merchant hit a grounder to the right of second base, and that ball went all the way to the wall in right-center for a double. The next hitter, Findlay, hit a long homer to left to give the visitors a six-run lead.
The Wolverines would get two more singles in the inning, but Vrabel struck out Lauren Holland to end the inning.
The six runs were more than enough for the Wolverine pitchers. Motycka got the win to improve to 6-1 on the year. She allowed the lone BG hit and had one strikeout. Wilson, who entered the game with an earned-run average of just 0.27, pitched two hitless innings, walking one and whiffing one.
Ritter, the third hurler of the day for the Wolverines, was nothing short of dominant, striking out all six hitters she faced to pick up the save.
Vrabel threw a complete game for the Brown and Orange, striking out five batters without issuing a walk. She saw her record fall to 6-8 on the season.
Vrabel threw a complete game against the nation's number-one team for the second time in less than three weeks. The junior faced Arizona on March 12 in the Eller Media Stadium Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Falcons hit the road for the next four games, beginning with a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Northern Illinois. The teams will play a Saturday (April 2) doubleheader and a Sunday (April 3) single game, with starting time scheduled for 1:00 p.m. locally (2:00 p.m. Eastern) in DeKalb. On the way home, BGSU will play a Monday (April 4) game at Valparaiso.
