The Michigan softball team scored 18 runs in two wins on Saturday to avoid elimination and will now face top seed Oklahoma needing two wins to advance to the NCAA Tournament Super Regional.
Michigan, which lost its first-round game of the double-elimination regional hosted by Oklahoma, 1-0, to Kansas on Friday, would have headed home with another loss on Saturday. But the Wolverines blasted their way to victory and remain alive in the tournament.
In the opening game Saturday, they had home runs from Lauren Putz and Erin Hoehn to beat Binghamton, 6-0. They then had a quick turnaround and faced Kansas, which lost 9-0 to Oklahoma early Saturday, again.
Jenissa Conway came through for Michigan in a big way with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning that that scored Putz and Ella Stephenson to lead the Wolverines to a 12-10 victory at Oklahoma’s Love Field.
Michigan had an 8-3 lead after two innings and by the end of the third was leading 9-5. It was a wild sixth inning as Kansas scored four runs and took a 10-9 lead. Michigan and Kansas combined for 30 hits, including the Wolverines’ 14. Conway was 3-for-4, including the home run, Putz was 2-for-3, and Lilly Vallimont also has a home run.
The Wolverines will face Oklahoma, one of the nation’s top teams, Sunday at 3 p.m. If Michigan wins, the teams will play again at approximately 5:30 p.m. to determine the Super Regional team.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan softball wins twice to remain alive in NCAA Tournament
Reporting by Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
