There's no tying in softball ... is there?

Two hours and 20 minutes into the game, it was time to leave. There was no finale, no tournament winner, just a plane to catch.

The Michigan softball team (21-5-1) won their second straight tournament yesterday. Well, sort of.

After the eighth inning of the Capitol Classic in Sacramento, the tenth-ranked Wolverines and their final-game opponents, No. 21 Iowa, decided to call it quits and claim a co-championship with a, 2-2, tie.

Michigan started off the scoring with a run in the first inning. Senior Catherine Davie - who was named to the all-tournament team - walked with two out and then stole second. She was driven home on a double by freshman Stefanie Volpe.

The Hawkeyes tied it up in the third and took the lead in the top of the seventh. But the Wolverines tied it up at 2-2 when senior Tracy Conrad hit a sacrifice fly with one out to score sophomore Kim Bugel.

That score held up for one more inning sending the two teams home co-champions.

But Michigan already had a chance to show their Big Ten foe who the top team in the conference was.

The Wolverines played Iowa Saturday night in the semifinals of the Classic and junior Jamie Gillies recorded a shutout with the 2-0 victory.

Gillies only gave up four hits against the Hawkeyes, who had to work their way back through the losers bracket to get the chance for the second meeting with the Wolverines.

"We showed a lot of improvement over the weekend," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "Our defense was shaky the first day, but we made adjustments and played good softball the rest of the way."

Michigan started their run through the championship bracket with an 8-0 victory over Indiana State on Friday night. Marie Barda improved her record to 7-1 by pitching her second career one-hitter.

The Wolverines then went on to defeat No. 16 Oregon, 7-3, in the quarterfinals. Led by Pam Kosanke, Davie and Melissa Taylor, Michigan recorded double digits in the hit column for the third straight game.

The tournament poll pitted the Wolverines against Baylor, Southern Illinois and Portland State in the first rounds.

Davie's solo homerun provided the only score in the Wolverines' 1-0 victory over Baylor. Davie was also the force behind the 5-4, extra inning win over Portland State.

Next weekend the Wolverines head to the Boilermaker Invitational.

03-22-99