Oklahoma Bound! Lane's Heroics Clinch U-M a Spot in WCWS
ANN
ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior Ashley Lane (Escondido, Calif./Escondido) roped
a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving the
No. 7-ranked University of Michigan softball team the only two runs it
needed to defeat No. 21 Louisiana Lafayette, 2-1, today (Saturday, May
25) in the deciding game three of the NCAA Super Regional and clinch a
spot in the Women's College World Series. Louisiana forced game three
with a 5-0 win in the game two of the best-of-three series held at the
Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field.
Michigan will make its 10th appearance in the WCWS and first since 2009.
This
marked the second game in the three-game set that Lane drove in the
winning runs. She hit a two-run walkoff homer in game one on Friday
(May 24).
Michigan put runners on in every inning but did not
plate its runs until the fifth. With two outs, freshman Sierra Romero
(Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta) was hit by a pitch -- the sixth
straight time she reached base in today's doubleheader. Junior Caitlin
Blanchard (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield) bounced a single into
rightfield that moved Romero into scoring position. Lane followed with
a go-ahead double.
Sophomore right-hander Sara Driesenga
(Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) made the two runs stand up over the
final two innings. She got notice that she was starting just minutes
before the game. Head coach Carol Hutchins was forced to scratch
sophomore Haylie Wagner (Orange, Calif./El Modeno) due to an injury
after the lineup was turned into the umpires. Driesenga pitched a
complete game and only allowed one unearned run. The Ragin' Cajuns
scored their run in the fourth inning on a hit, walk and U-M error.
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loaded the bases in the fifth, the only time Dreisenga found herself in
trouble other than the fourth; but Romero caught a liner to end the
threat. Driesenga needed just 10 pitches to get through the sixth and
set down seven Ragin' Cajuns consecutively to end the game.
Driesenga
earned her 30th win of the season by striking out seven and yielding
four hits. Lane knocked in Michigan's only runs, while Blanchard and
senior Amy Knapp (St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore) each had two hits in the
final game. softball
The Wolverines were held scoreless in
game two behind seven innings from Louisiana's Jordan Wallace. The
sophomore hurler threw every pitch for the Ragin' Cajuns in the
three-game series.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Haylie Wagner
(Orange, Calif./El Modeno) started game one for the Wolverines and kept
the Ragin' Cajuns off the board through three innings. With two on in
the first, she caught a shot right back to her and doubled off the
Louisiana runner at first to end the inning. That was the first of two
double plays the defense turned.
Wagner was relieved in the
fourth inning by Driesenga. The Ragin' Cajuns scored three times in
their half of the inning on a two-run homer and a solo shot. In the
sixth inning, Blanchard snagged a liner and doubled off a Louisiana
runner for an unassisted double play.
Michigan was hitless until
the fifth when junior Nicole Sappingfield (Norco, Calif./Norco) and
Romero registered back-to-back singles.
Louisiana added two more runs in the sixth inning on Sarah Draheim's second home run of the game and a U-M error.
The
Wolverines will open WCWS play Thursday (May 30) against No. 1 Oklahoma
in Oklahoma City. The game time has not been announced yet.
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