1999 Michigan Softball

March 31, 1999

Site: Ypsilanti, Mich. (Varsity Field)
Results: #7 Michigan 12-11, Eastern Michigan 1-2
Records: U-M (27-5-1), EMU (10-11)
Next U-M Games: Saturday, April 3 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 1 p.m. DH

U-M Sweeps Twinbill at EMU, Completes Unbeaten Month

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan softball team put an exclamation point on a highly successful month of March with a doubleheader sweep of host Eastern Michigan University Wednesday (March 31). The Wolverines posted a 12-1 win in the opener and won 11-2 in five innings in the second game.

The pair of non-conference wins extended Michigan's unbeaten streak to a school-record 23 games (22-0-1) and kept U-M (27-5-1) unbeaten over its 23-game stretch in the month of March.

Michigan began the day hot at the plate and didn't let up. The Wolverines scored two runs in both the first and second innings of the opener, capping the game with a five-run explosion in the seventh. EMU (10-11) averted the shutout when Kelly Ivie scored in the fifth.

Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS) and Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Mater Dei HS) led the 15-hit Wolverine offense with four hits apiece, including two doubles by Conrad and one from Kollen. Sophomore Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) earned the win (9-1), allowing three hits and three walks while striking out two. Aimee Hamilton (4-3) was the loser for Eastern Michigan.

In the nightcap, Michigan scattered a season-high 16 hits in the five-inning run-rule victory. Conrad led the hit parade with a perfect 3-for-3 game while Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) totaled four RBIs on a walk, single and groundout. After U-M opened with five first-inning runs, EMU came back to score what would be its only two runs in the bottom of the first. The Wolverines added three runs in the second, two in the third and one in the fifth, then allowed the Eagles to reach third base just twice over the last four innings.

Kate Eiland (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS), who threw two innings of relief in the opener, won the second game to improve to 11-2. Eiland allowed four hits and struck out two. Eastern Michigan pitcher Corey Repicky dropped to 2-3 with the loss.

Maize 'n Blue Diamond Gems

Catherine Davie and Traci Conrad continue the race to the Michigan career doubles record. Davie, who doubled in the opener for her team-leading 15th of the season, moved her career total to 54, while Conrad's two first-game doubles gave her 48 for her career. The two seniors stand second and third on the U-M all-time doubles list behind Sara Griffin (58, 1995-98).

Catherine Davie recorded her 150th career RBI on her run-scoring single to center field in the second inning of the first game. Davie totaled four RBIs for the day to give her 153 as a Wolverine, second-most in school history. . . . Traci Conrad finished the day with seven hits (7-for-8), taking the Michigan all-time hits leader to 299 for her career. . . . Kelsey Kollen scored three runs in each Eastern Michigan game, moving into second place behind Davie in the Wolverines' season runs statistics.

Michigan hit a blazing .500 (16-for-32) in the second game of its doubleheader win at Eastern Michigan, finishing the day with a .463 team batting average (31-for-67). . . . The Wolverines extended their lead in the Eastern Michigan series to 31-8 with the sixth and seventh straight victories over the Eagles. . . . Michigan's three pitchers combined to hold top EMU hitter Randi Wolfe to just one single in five plate appearances. . . . The two lopsided wins allowed the Wolverine coaching staff a chance to get all 17 active players into one or both games.

Contact: Amy Carlton (734) 763-4423

Last updated: Wednesday, 31-Mar-1999 21:14:20 EST