The weekend features a three-game series in Evanston, Ill., against second-place Northwestern University (April 17-18, 1 p.m. CDT). Michigan plays its last home games of the month with an April 21 doubleheader vs. cross-state rival Michigan State University (2 p.m.).

Hutchins Reaches Pair of Coaching Milestones
One of the winningest coaches in NCAA softball history, Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins reached a pair of victory milestones over the last five games. Hutchins started the milestone week with her 250th Big Ten win in the first game of the April 7 Purdue doubleheader and ended it posting her 600th Michigan win April 11 vs. Minnesota. On March 6, Hutchins became the 26th coach at any NCAA level to win 600 career games when the Wolverines posted a 3-0 shutout of Hofstra. The 15th-year Wolverine coach carries a 623-268-2 (.699) coaching record, including 600 wins at Michigan and 254 wins in the Big Ten. . . . Hutchins begins the April 12 week seven games shy of coaching her 900th collegiate game (893).

Conrad Tops Big Ten Hits List, Among NCAA Best
A fifth-inning single up the middle in the April 10 nightcap vs. No. 22 Minnesota not only put Wolverine Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS) on base, but it also gave the two-time All-American the Big Ten career hits record. Conrad tied and passed former Minnesota standout Rachel Nelson (313 hits, 1994-97) during the game with a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Conrad also moved past Nelson into the top 10 on the NCAA Division I all-time hits list. Conrad heads into the April 12 week with 314 hits as a Wolverine. . . . In the first game of the April 10 twinbill, Conrad scored her 200th career run.

Michigan vs. the Week's Competition

Penn State (21-13, 4-2 Big Ten) -- The third-place team in the league standings, Penn State started conference play with a three-game sweep of Iowa April 3-4. . . . Gina Bianchini (.400), Terra Pracht (.386) and Jodie Ricciardi (.373) lead PSU hitting stats while Tanis Ambelang carries an 11-6 record and 1.64 ERA. . . . Michigan holds a 21-1 lead in the series vs. Penn State, including a current 11-game win streak. . . . Two Wolverine All-Americans are on the Nittany Lion coaching staff: Kelly Kovach (1992-95), also a three-year assistant coach with U-M, and Kellyn Tate (1995-98). . . . U-M head coach Carol Hutchins is 21-1 vs. Penn State. . . . U-M pitchers vs. PSU: Marie Brada 0-0, Kate Eiland 0-0, Jamie Gillies 0-0. . . . Website: www.psu.edu/sports/.

Central Michigan (22-7) -- Central Michigan plays a single game at Michigan State Tuesday (April 13) before its Wednesday doubleheader at Michigan. . . . Michigan and Central Michigan meet for the second time this season. U-M posted a 8-0 (6 inn.) win in the Purdue Boilermaker Classic (March 28) to go ahead 28-26 in the all-time series. . . . Eli Barnes (.395) and Jenny Bouck (.353) are the leading Chippewa hitters. Anne Foster is 10-3 in the circle with a 1.43 ERA. . . . The Wolverines have a four-game win streak alive against the Chippewas. . . . U-M head coach Carol Hutchins is 21-16 vs. Central Michigan. . . . U-M pitchers vs. the Chippewas: Marie Barda 2-0 (2 SHO), Kate Eiland 0-0, Jamie Gillies 1-1. . . . Marie Barda has tossed back-to-back one-hitters against CMU (April 7, 1998; March 28, 1999). . . . Website: www.cmich.edu.

Northwestern (24-19, 5-1 Big Ten) -- Northwestern is second in the Big Ten standings after a 2-1 weekend at Penn State (April 10-11). . . . The Wildcats have no games listed before the weekend series vs. Michigan. . . . Brooke Siebel, 1998 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, leads NU in the RBIs, averaging just under one a game and is the Wildcats' seaon wins leader in the pitching circle. . . . . U-M takes a 47-20 all-time record against Northwestern into the three-game weekend series. The Wolverines have won three straight and eight of their last nine games vs. the Wildcats. . . . Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins is 37-15 vs. NU. . . . U-M pitchers vs. Northwestern: Marie Barda 0-0, Kate Eiland 0-0, Jamie Gillies 0-1. . . . Website: www.nusports.com.

Michigan State (26-13, 2-2 Big Ten) -- The battle for Big Ten bragging rights in the state of Michigan will be waged for the 70th and 71st times when Michigan and Michigan State meet in Ann Arbor April 21. . . . The Spartans have five game dates scheduled before coming to Ann Arbor. . . . U-M holds a 50-19 advantage in the series, winning eight of the last 10 meetings. The teams split their 1998 conference doubleheader. . . . Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins, a 1979 MSU graduate and member of the Spartans' 1976 AIAW national champion softball team, is 43-9 vs. her alma mater. . . . U-M pitchers vs. the Spartans: Marie Barda 0-0, Kate Eiland 0-0, Jamie Gillies 0-0. . . . Website: www.msuspartans.com.

Big Ten Conference Standings (April 12)

 Place, Team         W-L   Pct.
 1. MICHIGAN         8-0  1.000
 2. Northwestern     5-1   .833
 3. Penn State       4-2   .667
 4. Michigan State   2-2   .500
 5. Purdue           3-4   .429
 6. Wisconsin        2-3   .400
 7. Indiana          3-5   .375
 8. Iowa             2-4   .333
    Minnesota        2-4   .333
10. Ohio State       1-7   .125

Big Home Crowd Cheers Victory
Michigan enjoyed one of its largest regular-season Alumni Field crowds when 856 fans, including the boisterous Alumni Pep Band, came out for the April 10 home-opening doubleheader vs. No. 22 Minnesota. The partisan Maize and Blue crowd was not disappointed as the Wolverines picked up a pair of wins against the Golden Gophers. Michigan boasts an impressive 73.8 winning percentage (237-84) on its home field over 17 seasons of use. . . . The Wolverines have seven more regular-season home dates scheduled in 1999.

Game-Winning Volpe Magic
Freshman Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) came through with game-winning magic in back-to-back Michigan wins. The Wolverines' clean-up hitter, Volpe sent an 11th-inning single to left field in the April 7 Purdue nightcap to give U-M a 3-2 victory against the Boilermakers. Three days later, Volpe's three-run centerfield double in the sixth inning of the opener vs. No. 22 Minnesota put the Wolverines ahead for good, 5-2. The designated player in the Wolverine lineup, Volpe is hitting .306 with five extra-base hits and 16 RBIs. . . . Volpe's three RBIs in the Minnesota series-opener is a career high.

Barda Win Total Moves Upward
April has been a good month for Wolverine pitcher Marie Barda. The sophomore has recorded five wins over the first 11 days of the month, including two against No. 22 Minnesota (April 10-11), to take her season record to 14-1 with a 0.96 ERA. Barda's 5-2 win vs. Minnesota (April 10) was her 11th victory in as many starts, a streak dating back to a 4-1 win vs. Providence March 2. Barda goes for her 20th career win (19-3) and 100th strikeout (93) during the April 12 week.

Big Bat, Big Respect
Leading hitter Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) didn't get much of an opportunity to show her batting prowess before the home crowd in the Alumni Field opening series. No. 22 Minnesota allowed Davie just eight official at-bats over the three games, choosing instead to intentionally walk the hot-hitting senior twice in crucial scoring situations. Davie finished the five-game week with four hits and five walks, and goes into the second full week of April with a .410 batting average. . . . Two runs in last week's games moved Davie into fourth place on the Michigan career runs scored list with 127.

Saving the Game
Experience in tough pitching situations paid off for Michigan and Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS) in the third game of the Minnesota series (April 11). The junior, who beat Iowa in the 1998 Big Ten Tournament to send the Wolverines to the NCAA National Tournament, entered in the sixth inning with one out and two runners on and proceeded to retire the first two batters faced to escape the jam. With Minnesota again threatening in the seventh, Gillies forced the tying run into a game-ending groundout and earned her second save of both the season and her career. Gillies recorded her 100th career strikeout among her five Ks in the 8-3 complete-game win vs. No. 22 Minnesota (April 10).

Kosanke Working on Career-Best Season
The third year is becoming the charm for Michigan third baseman Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS). The junior singled in the go-ahead run and collected a career game-best-tying four RBIs in Michigan's 6-3 win vs. No. 22 Minnesota (April 11). Kosanke is hitting a career season-best .361, improving her collegiate batting average 26 points. She enters the April 12 week six hits shy of bettering her single-year best 49 hits recorded as a freshman (1997). The 33 RBIs are the most she has tallied in a season. The improved hitting numbers and concentration have also cut down on Kosanke's strikeouts, with only 11 over the 41-game season. . . . Kosanke played in her 175th Michigan game April 11 vs. No. 22 Minnesota. She has missed one start in the 175 games.

Consistent Offense from Kollen
Freshman Kelsey Kollen has provided some of the most consistent offense in the Michigan game, hitting safely in 13 of the last 14 games and leading the Wolverines with six hits vs. No. 22 Minnesota (April 10-11). A .373 hitter for the season, Kollen carries a .375 batting average vs. Big Ten opponents. Once she gets on base, Kollen has worked her way to home plate, stealing a team-high 13 bases and scoring 36 runs (third-highest on the team).

Wolverines Also Successful in the Classroom
Michigan's success on the softball diamond can be traced to the team's success in the classroom. Seven members of the 1999 Wolverine team were presented with Michigan Athletic Academic Achievement awards April 6. Included among this season's MAAA recipients were four 1998 Academic All-Big Ten Conference honorees and two 1998 GTE Academic All-America players, Traci Conrad and Tammy Mika (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS). Joining Conrad and Mika on the softball MAAA list are Kate Eiland (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS), Kristen Hunter (Sterling Hgts., Mich./Warren Cousino HS), Pam Kosanke, Karmen Lappo (Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon HS) and Courtney Murdock (Barrington, Ill./Barrington HS).

Maize & Blue Diamond Gems

• Shortstop Rebecca Tune (Aloha, Ore./Jesuit HS) played in her 100th game and made her 100th start in the opening game of the April 7 doubleheader at Purdue. Tune currently has 104 starts and games played as a Wolverine.

• Kate Eiland made two appearances in the circle for the Wolverines over the Purdue-Minnesota week (April 7-11). Eiland threw 10 innings in the stretch, including the first six and two-thirds innings of the 11-inning Purdue nightcap (April 7). The freshman carries a 1.23 ERA and an 11-2 record.

• Karmen Lappo tallied an RBI double in the first game of the Wolverines' April 10-11 series vs. No. 22 Minnesota. Lappo, the starting catcher in 21 games, now has five doubles among her 18 season hits.

• Melissa Taylor (Deerfield, Mich./Summerfield HS) has hit safely in 10 of the last 12 games, including a seven-game hit streak. The sophomore rightfielder tied her season and career-best hit total with three singles in the April 7 nightcap at Purdue. . . . Taylor is scheduled to play her 100th Michigan game with the second game of the April 13 Penn State doubleheader.

• Senior centerfielder Tammy Mika is six games away from her 200th career appearance. She has played in 194 games, making 143 starts.

• Kim Bugel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) played in her 50th career game April 4 at Ohio State.

 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

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

* also Big Ten Career Record

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

  19  Melissa Gentile, 1997-98
  16  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
  50  TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
  40  Traci Carr, 1993-96
  37  Jenny Allard, 1987-90

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

.392  TRACI CONRAD, 1996-present
.384  Sara Griffin, 1995-98
.360  Alicia Seegert, 1984-87
.357  Kellyn Tate, 1995-98
.351  Melissa Gentile, 1997-98

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

At home                           3-0
On road                           8-0
Neutral                          24-5-1
Tournament                       23-5-1
Vs. Ranked (season)              11-3-1
On Monday                         0-0
On Tuesday                        2-0
On Wednesday                      4-0
On Thursday                       3-0
On Friday                         6-3
On Saturday                      13-1
On Sunday                         7-1-1
Scoring first                    21-4-1
Opponent scores first            14-1
U-M scores in 1st inning         16-3
Opponent scores in 1st inning     7-1
U-M leading after 3 innings      23-2
U-M tied/trail after 3 innings   12-3-1
U-M leading after 6 innings      27-1-1
U-M tied/trail after 6 innings    6-4
Extra-inning games                5-1-1
Shutouts                         12-1
One-run games                     7-2
Two-run games                     4-0
Five+-run games                  16-1
Scoring less than 3 runs          4-2-1
Scoring 3 or more runs           31-3
Getting less than 6 hits          4-2-1
Getting 6 or more hits           31-3
Team steals 2 or more bases       9-3

Inning      1   2   3   4   5   6   7  Ex  Total
Michigan   49  28  34  18  29  31  20  14   223
Opponent   12   7   9  15  15   5  13   7    83

Last updated: Monday, 12-Apr-1999 18:27:37 EDT