If Michigan softball wasn’t in the NCAA Tournament already, it sure seems to be now.
The Wolverines, firmly on the 64-team field’s bubble with an RPI of No. 43 entering the Big Ten Tournament followed up an opening round victory by blanking No. 1 seed Oregon, 5-0, on May 8 in West Lafayette, Indiana, to advance to the semifinals. U-M will face the winner betwen 12-seed Purdue and 4-seed Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. May 9 with a spot in May 10’s championship game on the line.
Bonnie Tholl’s group entered the league tournament as 8-seed and topped Wisconsin 3-2 on May 7, then got their revenge for an April sweep by the Ducks.
Maddie Erickson got the scoring started in the second with an RBI double to right center before Jenny Conway doubled the lead in the third with a single — the team’s third consecutive hit of the inning. Ella Stephenson made it 3-0 with a hit up the box in the fifth, with Ellie Sieler making it a more comfortable lead with a sac fly and Erickson adding RBI single later in the frame to make it 5-0.
The pitching staff did the rest. Lauren Derkowski threw three scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out one, before Erin Hoehn came in and finished the final four, striking out three batters and surrendering only two hits.
The Wolverines win was just the second shutout of the Ducks this season in 53 games. Michigan, meanwhile, which won last season’s Big Ten Tournament, now has likely secured its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, even if the Wolverines fall in the Big Ten semis or final.
Two more wins, of course, would give U-M another automatic berth; it would be the 12th Big Ten Tournament title in program history and the first back-to-back title for the Wolverines sine 2005-06.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan softball: Big Ten tourney upset paves way to NCAA Tournament