Kentucky walks off Michigan, sets up matchup with OSU in Stillwater Regional
May 17—The Cowgirls took care of business in their opening game of the regional with a 6-0 win over Northern Colorado. The stage is now set for Saturday's winner's bracket matchup, and the opponent for No. 5 Oklahoma State will be the Kentucky Wildcats.
Michigan and Kentucky were tied in the bottom of the seventh, and the Wildcats found themselves with the bases loaded and two outs. Wildcat designated player Ally Hutchins flared one off the bat into shallow right field and it deflected off the outstretched glove of the backpedaling Indiana Langford for a walk-off RBI single, resulting in a 4-3 Kentucky win.
Both teams pitched their ace, with Michigan's Lauren Derkowski pitching all 6.2 innings and surrendering four earned runs on seven hits. Stephanis Schoonover picked up the win in a complete game effort, striking out four batters and keeping the Wolverines to just two-for-10 with runners in scoring position and eight runners left on base.
The Wildcats faced an early deficit, but right fielder Peyton Plotts tied the game with a solo home run in the second and third baseman Grace Lorsung powered a solo shot in the fourth inning to put them ahead. Michigan recaptured the lead in the top of the fifth, but Kentucky quickly tied it back up then walked it off in the seventh.
Kentucky and Oklahoma State will face off at noon today from Cowgirl Stadium. The winner secures a spot in the regional finals on Sunday.
