Big Ten Tournament A Lock
With a spot in the five-team May 14-15 Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament already clinched, defending champion Michigan will be looking to win a fifth straight title in the postseason league tournament. Seeding for the expanded tournament field -- from four to five teams -- will be announced May 10, with the regular-season champion serving as the host site for the event. Michigan will be making its 10th postseason appearance, including one in each of the past five seasons, with the Big Ten Tournament.

Big Ten Conference Standings (April 26)

 Place, Team         W-L   Pct.
 1. MICHIGAN        17-1   .944
 2. Minnesota        9-5   .643
 3. Michigan State   8-6   .571
 4. Penn State       9-7   .563
 5. Wisconsin        7-6   .538
 6. Iowa             7-7   .500
 7. Purdue           8-9   .471
 8. Northwestern     6-8   .429
 9. Indiana          3-13  .188
10. Ohio State       2-14  .125

 April 28 Games
 Minnesota at Northwestern (2)
 Wisconsin at Iowa (2)
 Indiana at Michigan State (2)
 Ohio State at Penn State (2)

 May 1-2 Series
 Iowa at Purdue (3)
 Northwestern at Ohio State (3)
 Wisconsin at Michigan (3)
 Minnesota at Michigan State (3)
 Penn State at Indiana (3)

Big Ten Win Streak to Record 26 Games
A doubleheader sweep of Michigan State (April 21) and a win in the series opener at Iowa (April 24) pushed Michigan's regular-season Big Ten Conference win streak to a school-record 26 games. Iowa put a stop to the streak with a 2-1 win over the Wolverines in the April 24 doubleheader nightcap. Michigan's previous Big Ten regular-season win streak was 25 games over the 1997 to 1998 seasons.

Wolverines Take Two Conference Series
Michigan closed in on its second straight Big Ten season championship by winning league series vs. Michigan State (April 21) and No. 23 Iowa (April 24-25). Sparked by the one-hit performance of pitcher Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) in the first game, Michigan swept the Spartans, 4-0 and 11-2, in a mid-week doubleheader. The Wolverines then took two of three games in their weekend series vs. Iowa, winning game one 5-3 in 12 innings. The Hawkeyes posted a 2-1 win in the middle game while the Wolverines scored a 7-0 shutout in the final game.

Barda Tosses Third Career One-Hitter
Marie Barda put together her best Big Ten career pitching performance in a 4-0 win over rival Michigan State April 21. Barda saw her bid for a collegiate-first no-hitter halted by the first batter in the seventh inning but retired the next three Spartan hitters to tally her third career one-hitter and first against a conference opponent. The sophomore, who also one-hit Central Michigan this season (March 28), picked up a second complete-game shutout over the April 19-25 week, stopping No. 23 Iowa 7-0 behind a three-hit effort. Barda leads the Michigan pitching staff with a 19-1 season record (9-0 vs. Big Ten).

Conrad Moves Among NCAA's Best
The softball accomplishments by Michigan first baseman Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS) continue to add up. Holder of both Michigan and Big Ten career hits and runs records, Conrad enters the final month of her last U-M season ranked among the NCAA's top 12 in three career statistical categories. Conrad list sixth in hits (330), seventh in runs scored (215) and 11th in at-bats (844). Conrad and classmate Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) are tied at 16th in the NCAA all-time doubles list with 56 each.

Volpe Producing Top RBI Numbers
The move of Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) from designated player to catcher in the Michigan lineup has benefited the Wolverine offense. While starting behind the plate in the last 12 games, Volpe has hit a solid .368 with two doubles and a triple in the cleanup spot. More importantly, she has produced 16 RBIs -- half of her season total 32 -- during the stretch. Her four RBIs in the second game of the Michigan State twinbill (April 21) was a career high. Opposing coaches are taking notice of Volpe's hitting ability, with the first-year player drawing five walks, including an intentional pass in game two of the series vs. No. 23 Iowa (April 24). . . . Volpe has driven in 23 runs against Big Ten competition, putting her seventh on the conference season RBI record list.

Davie Continues Career-Best Season
Catherine Davie moves into the month of May poised to complete a career-best season in strong fashion. Hitting a hot .391, Davie is tied for the team batting lead with Traci Conrad and shares the stolen base lead (14) with Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Mater Dei HS). The senior leftfielder is first in U-M home run (7) and RBI (47) totals and packs a strong .644 slugging percentage. Davie is 10 hits shy of posting her 250th collegiate hit and ranks second among all-time Wolverine home run hitters with 18. . . . Davie heads into the Wisconsin series hitting safely in nine of her last 10 games (13-for-35, .371).

Taylor Hitting the Big Ten
Melissa Taylor (Deerfield, Mich./Summerfield HS) has been on fire against Big Ten pitchers. Batting in the No. 9 slot, Taylor has a .405 batting average vs. the league, good enough to rank her sixth among all conference hitters. She is one of two Wolverines hitting over .400 in league play and has three doubles, including a two-run shot vs. No. 23 Iowa on April 25. The sophomore hit .279 over the 1998 Big Ten season while playing second base. . . . Taylor has hit safely in seven of her last 10 games.

Gentile Adds to Career Home Run Total
One week after returning to the Michigan lineup, Melissa Gentile (O'Fallon, Mo./Wentzville HS) powered a three-run home run against No. 23 Iowa (April 25) to improve her school-record home run total to 20. The junior also leaped into seventh place on the U-M all-time RBIs chart with 98. Gentile has played in seven Michigan games (April 17-25), starting as designated player in the last six.

Kollen Shines in "Southern California" Series
Michigan's April 21 doubleheader vs. cross-state rival Michigan State could have easily been mistaken for a southern California all-star game. Four players -- Michigan's Kelsey Kollen and a trio of Spartans -- either played on the same high school team or against each other. Kollen put on a strong performance against the MSU crew, going 4-for-8 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored over the two games. The southern California Wolverine tallied three of her hits and all of her season game-high three RBIs in Michigan's 11-2 nightcap win. . . . Kollen heads into the Wisconsin series with a .376 batting average, third-best among the Wolverines. She is hitting .380 against the Big Ten, ranking as the No. 10 hitter in league competition.

Gillies Moves onto All-Time Wins List
A 5-3 relief win in a 12-inning game at No. 23 Iowa (April 24) gave pitcher Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS) her 39th career victory and moved the junior to seventh place on the school's all-time wins list. Gillies, who threw seven and one-third innings of the extra-inning Iowa game, is 39-11 in her 50 collegiate decisions. Her .780 winning percentage is fourth-best among all U-M pitchers.

GTE Academic All-District Nominees
Three Wolverines have been nominated for 1999 GTE Academic All-District IV honors. Seniors Traci Conrad and Tammy Mika (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS), both 1998 GTE Academic All-America honorees, and junior Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) were each selected to GTE Academic All-District IV teams last season. Conrad is majoring in sports management and communications while Mika is a biology/pre-medicine major. Kosanke is a business administration major in the School of Business. All three are Academic All-Big Ten Conference and Michigan Athletic Academic Achievement award winners and carry better than 3.30 cumulative grade point averages.

NCAA Regional Rankings
Michigan has been the top-ranked team in the NCAA Mideast Region in the first two bi-weekly rankings, March 31 and April 14. The third season rankings is Wednesday (April 28), with the last listing May 12. The 48-team NCAA National Tournament field will be announced May 16 by the NCAA Division I Softball Committee.

Maize & Blue Diamond Gems

• Pam Kosanke scored her 75th career run April 21 in Michigan's 4-0 win vs. Michigan State. The junior, fifth among the Wolverines with a .325 batting average, has recorded a career season-high 39 RBIs.

• Rebecca Tune (Aloha, Ore./Jesuit HS) collected three RBIs over the April 21 Michigan State doubleheader to push her season total to 20. She is three RBIs shy of tying her 1998 season total (23).

• Melissa Gentile's single in the April 24 opener vs. No. 23 Iowa was her 50th career Big Ten hit, while her three-run home run in the April 25 game vs. Iowa was her 10th league home run.

• Michigan's offense continues to be a powerful one, averaging 9.06 hits and 5.47 runs a game. By contrast, the opposition averages 5.72 hits and 2.02 runs. The Wolverines carry a .320 team batting average.

• The 12-inning, 5-3 April 24 win vs. Iowa ties for the seventh-longest game in Michigan softball history and is the longest game played in the 1999 season.

 330* TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
 275  Sara Griffin, 1995-98
 272  Kellyn Tate, 1995-98
 244  Patti Benedict, 1990-93
 240  Alicia Seegert, 184-87
 240  CATHERINE DAVIE, 1996-present

* also Big Ten Career Record

 184  Sara Griffin, 1995-98
 163  CATHERINE DAVIE, 1996-present
 133  Tracy Carr, 1993-96
 131  TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
 124  Patti Benedict, 1990-93

  20  MELISSA GENTILE, 1997-present
  18  CATHERINE DAVIE, 1996-present
  14  Sara Griffin, 1995-98
  11  Alicia Seegert, 1984-87
   7  Jessica Lang, 1994-97

  58  Sara Griffin, 1995-98
  56  CATHERINE DAVIE, 1996-present
  56  TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
  40  Traci Carr, 1993-96
  37  Jenny Allard, 1987-90

 215* TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
 160  Kellyn Tate, 1995-98
 148  Sara Griffin, 1995-98
 139  CATHERINE DAVIE, 1996-present
 126  Michelle Silver, 1992-95

*Also Big Ten career record

.391  TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
.384  Sara Griffin, 1995-98
.360  Alicia Seegert, 1984-87
.357  Kellyn Tate, 1995-98
.345  MELISSA GENTILE, 1997-present

  63  Diane Hatch, 1979-82
  60  TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
  50  Patti Benedict, 1990-93
  45  Kellyn Tate, 1995-98
  44  Michelle Silver, 1992-95

 Poll  Date         Rank   Pts.
 Pre   Jan. 27       5th   498
  1    March 3      14th   280
  2    March 10     T9th   383
  3    March 17     10th   393
  4    March 24      8th   433
  5    March 31      7th   438
  6    April 7       6th   478
  7    April 14      6th   501
  8    April 21      6th   497

Last updated: Tuesday, 27-Apr-1999 18:55:04 EDT