from MGoBlue.comU-M Sweeps Midweek Doubleheader Against Seminoles
April 30, 2008
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wilpon Softball Complex) Scores: #6 Michigan 6, Florida State 2; #6 Michigan 8, Florida State 4
Records: Michigan (46-5), Florida State (36-25)
Next U-M Game: Saturday, May 3 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6 University of Michigan softball team used a balanced offensive attack and solid hitting from top and bottom halves of the lineup to sweep Florida State, 6-2 and 8-4, on Wednesday (April 30) in front of 1,212 fans at the Wilpon Softball Complex, home of Alumni Field.
U-M senior captains Alessandra Giampaolo (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic HS) and Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) each matched their season-high hit count with 3-for-4 efforts from the plate -- Giampaolo in the first game and Findlay in the nightcap -- and tallied four RBI apiece to pace the Wolverines at the plate. Junior shortstop Teddi Ewing (Olathe, Kan./East HS) went 3-for-6 in the doubleheader with three runs scored and an RBI, while sophomore third baseman Maggie Viefhaus (Eureka, Mo./Eureka HS) drove in three total runs and scored two in each game.
Freshman Jordan Taylor (Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS) extended her winning streak from the pitching circle in the first game, tossing 11 strikeouts -- her 12th double-digit strikeout performance of the season -- while allowing five hits to claim her 13th straight win and improve her season record to 25-2. Sophomore Nikki Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina HS) improved her mark to 21-3 with a five-strikeout, seven-hit performance in the second game.
Michigan matched the Seminoles early runs in the nightcap, responding to scores in the top of the first and the third with the equivalent in the home half of the frame. When FSU put one across on a pair of hits in the opening inning, Samantha Findlay ripped a two-out RBI single up the middle, allowing Giampaolo to race home from second base. When FSU added two more runs in the third on three hits, Samantha Findlay -- with sophomore centerfielder Molly Bausher (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) on base after a well-placed bunt -- took the second pitch she saw and sailed it over the bleachers beyond the rightfield fence, marling her 19th homer of the season.
After a quick groundout to lead off the fourth inning, the Wolverines registered six consecutive base hits, including three two-baggers, to manufacture five runs and put the game out of reach. Ewing and Giampaolo hit back-to-back scorchers down the leftfield line -- each earning doubles -- to initiate the rally before Bausher and sophomore rightfielder Angela Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) hit two more to the same side. The latter used a high hopper over the Seminole third baseman's head to bring in the eventual game-winning tally. Samantha Findlay -- in the subsequent at-bat -- launched a full-count RBI single to centerfield, and Viefhaus brought in both sisters with a double to deep centerfield.
The Seminoles cut the lead with one in the fifth inning, taking advantage of an early walk to put the baserunner across off their only hit of the frame -- a two-out RBI double to left centerfield. Nemitz shut FSU down in the remaining two innings, however, posting a 1-2-3 sixth before getting herself out of a two-runner jam in the seventh by striking out the side to close the game.
Taylor took the opposite approach in the first game, starting strong with a 1-2-3 inning before striking out the side in the second. The U-M rookie tossed five shutout innings before giving up a pair of runs late.
The Wolverines took advantage of a series of FSU miscues to take the game's initial advantage in the bottom of the second inning. U-M loaded the bases with two outs via a hit batsman, a four-pitch walk and a third-strike passed ball before Giampaolo knocked a hard grounder through the rightside gap to put her team on the board.
U-M added runs in the final three frames to pad its lead to an insurmountable margin. With Ewing in scoring position in the fourth after a fielder's choice and subsequent stolen base, Giampaolo got ahold of the 2-2 pitch and smacked it back up the middle, sending a sinking liner to centerfield to score Ewing from second base.
Viefhaus drove an RBI double off the fence in right centerfield to drive home the eventual game-winner in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Angela Findlay, who had reached from the leadoff spot on a fielding error, from first base. The U-M third baseman raced home herself in the subsequent at-bat when Nemitz smacked an RBI single through the hole on the right side.
The Seminoles put their runs on the board in the top of the sixth as a result of back-to-back base hits and wild-pitch, throwing error combination. Carly Wynn and Whitney Buckmon hit singles to the right side to lead off the inning and quickly advanced into scoring position on a ground out in the next at-bat. Wynn came home on a wild pitch, and, when sophomore catcher Roya St. Clair (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) tried to relay a throw to the plate -- and no one was there -- Buckmon trotted home as well. The runs became earned on a double down the leftfield line later in the frame.
The Wolverines followed suit in the home half of the inning, however, as Giampaolo picked up her third RBI of the contest with a base knock to centerfield, bringing Ewing home from second base. The U-M shortstop had moved herself into scoring position with her 15th stolen bag of the season -- the most by a Wolverine player in four years. Angela Findlay hammered a deep shot to right center two batters later, and the ball appeared high and long enough to go over but was caught on the track as Findlay had to settle for a sacrifice fly -- her third of the season.
The Wolverines (46-5, 16-2 Big Ten) will wrap up league play this Saturday and Sunday (May 3-4) with a two-game series against Penn State in State College, Pa. Each game is slated for a noon start at Nittany Lion Field and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
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