Michigan softball drops NCAA tournament opener vs. Kentucky, faces elimination Saturday
After Michigan softball’s weekend of rallies in the Big Ten tournament, Kentucky discovered the secret to taking down the Wolverines in the NCAA tournament: Don’t give them the chance.
Ally Hutchins singled in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Wildcats a walk-off 4-3 victory over the Wolverines in the opening game of the Stillwater (Oklahoma) regional on Friday afternoon.
The Wolverines will face Northern Colorado — which lost, 6-0, to fifth-seeded Oklahoma State on Friday night — at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game. The winner of that game will face the loser of Saturday’s 1 p.m. game between OSU and Kentucky in another elimination game at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Wildcats, meanwhile, will face the host Cowgirls in Saturday's first game in Stillwater, with the winner of that game advancing to Sunday’s regional final and needing only one win in two tries to advance to the super regionals.
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Michigan, playing in its 28th NCAA tournament over 29 seasons, rallied from an early 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning, but couldn’t hold onto it, surrendering runs in the fifth and seventh innings.
With one out in the seventh, Rylea Smith started Kentucky’s winning surge with a ball chopped into the dirt in front of home plate, reaching first as pitcher Lauren Derkowski had no play after getting to the ball. Erin Coffel then poked a single over the shortstop’s outstretched glove to put runners on first and second. After a fielder’s choice at third got Derkowski to two outs, the Wolverines opted to walk Grace Lorsung, who had homered earlier, to load the bases. The decision proved costly, as Hutchins hit a soft pop to second baseman Indiana Langford, who gloved it, then lost control as she fell backward, with the ball popping out to allow Smith to score.
An early lead
Michigan had its chances early against Kentucky starter Stephanie Schoonover, with runners reaching third in each of the first two innings after taking advantage of some wildness. But after getting out of the first-inning jam with a strikeout of Ella Stephenson, Schoonover was unable to repeat the feat in the second; Ava Costales singled to left to bring home Jenissa Conway, who walked and advanced on a pair of passed balls, for a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Kentucky’s Lorsung jumped on Derkowski’s second pitch of the at-bat, down in the zone from Derkowski and launched it over the left-center wall to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
The Wolverines came right back, putting Maddie Erickson on with a one-out single. After a popout from Bonnie Tholl, Stephenson came up with a big hit. The freshman connected with a high two-out fastball from Schoonover, sending it over the fence in left for a 3-2 Wolverines lead.
Again, Kentucky answered: After a leadoff single by Margaret Tobias and a sac bunt, the Wolverines opted to work around Coffel with an intentional walk. But Vanessa Nesby made the Wolverines pay, lining the third pitch of the at-bat into center, where Conway attempted to make a sliding catch, only to have it bounce in front of her glove and past, scoring Tobias to tie it up and putting runners on second and third. After another intentional walk, to Lorsung, Derkowski took over, striking out Hutchins on a 2-2 pitch that rose out of the strike zone to end the inning.
Late struggles
The Wolverines threatened to reclaim the lead in the top of the sixth, pairing two singles with two sac bunts to get runners on second and third with two outs. But Schoonover worked out of it in an epic battle with Maddie Erickson; on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, with a full count, Erickson popped it up to left to end the threat.
Stephenson reached on an error by Schoonover with one out in the seventh, but the Wolverines couldn’t bring her around, as Conway and Lilly Vallimont struck out to give Kentucky the chance at the walk-off victory.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan softball facing NCA elimination after 4-3 loss to Kentucky
