from MGoBlue.comhttp://www.mgoblue.com/softball/article.aspx?id=138078
Powers, Taylor Pace U-M Past Notre Dame in NCAA Regional
May 17, 2008
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Wilpon Softball Complex) Score: #6 Michigan 8, Notre Dame 0 (5 innings)
Records: U-M (50-6), Notre Dame (38-21-1)
Next U-M Game: Sunday, May 18 -- vs. TBA at NCAA Regional (Wilpon Softball Complex), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan softball team claimed its second run-rule victory of the weekend, posting back-to-back four-run innings en route to an 8-0, five-frame decision over Notre Dame in day-two NCAA Regional play on Saturday (May 17) at the Wilpon Softball Complex, home of Alumni Field.
The Wolverines (50-6) will await the consolation of today's two loser-bracket contests to learn their opponent for Sunday's (May 18) NCAA Regional championship final. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start at the Wilpon Complex.
Freshman pinch hitter Marley Powers (Owosso, Mich./Owosso HS) stole the show for the second time in as many games, knocking out a game-winning three-run shot in the fourth -- her second pinch-hit jack of regional play and fourth home run of the season. Junior shortstop Teddi Ewing (Olathe, Kan./East HS) and sophomore designated player Nikki Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina HS) bolstered the Wolverines' offense with multi-hit efforts from the plate, combining for five of Michigan's 10 hits and registering a run and RBI apiece.
Freshman hurler Jordan Taylor (Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS) earned her second win of the weekend, fanning three batters while allowing a walk and one hit -- a bloop single with two out in the fourth -- to improve her season record to 29-3. It marked Taylor's 13th complete-game shutout victory of the season, moving her to fifth among Michigan's all-time single-season shutout leaders.
Coming off the bench with two down and two on in the top of the fourth, Powers worked the count to 2-2, fouling off a few to both sides of the field, before making Irish ace Brittney Bargar pay for a hanging pitch in the zone. The U-M rookie, who owns 21 RBI in 20 at-bats this season, sailed the ball deep over the bleachers in right centerfield, providing her team the only advantage it would need. The Wolverines added one more tally before the inning was done as senior leftfielder Alessandra Giampaolo (Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic HS) punched an RBI triple to the wall in left centerfield, scoring Ewing, who had reached via a infield single to shortstop, from first base.
Michigan earned its necessary run-rule margin in the fifth, manufacturing four runs on four hits and an error. With two aboard after a leadoff walk to sophomore rightfielder Angela Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) and a base hit from her sister, senior Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS), Nemitz made contact with the second pitch she saw and lined it to rightfield, scoring the former Findlay before pulling into second base for her fifth double of the season.
Freshman first baseman Dorian Shaw (Burke, Va./Robinson SS) blooped a fielder's choice to third base in the subsequent at-bat, but Notre Dame failed to make the play on both U-M baserunners within reach. With the bases loaded, sophomore catcher Roya St. Clair (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) sent a dribbling grounder through the leftside gap to score Samantha Findlay from third base, and, after an Irish pitching change, Ewing sent a first-pitch liner to shallow leftfield. The hit scored Nemitz, and when Notre Dame's leftfielder sailed the throw home wide of the plate, Shaw scored unearned.
The Wolverine defense stifled Notre Dame at the plate through five innings, allowing baserunners in just the first and fourth frames. Taylor held a no-hitter through 3.2 innings, fanning two in the first while forcing a combination of soft grounders, pop ups and fly outs. Taylor closed the game with a 1-2-3 fifth inning, retiring the Irish in order on just six pitches. Sophomore centerfielder Molly Bausher (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) earned the second putout of the frame in dramatic fashion and added another spectacular defensive play to her résumé with a diving catch on a shallow poke to centerfield.
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