February 19, 1999
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- The fourth-ranked UW softball team outscored No. 5 Michigan 14-3 in a twinbill sweep of the Wolverines on Friday on the first day of the Louisville Slugger Classic, hosted by the University of Florida, but the day was not without drama. UW run-ruled Michigan, 8-0 in six innings, in the opener but needed a four-run seventh inning to clinch the second game.
Junior pitcher Jennifer Spediacci picked up both wins to improve to 4-0 on the season, and freshman Jenny Topping was 5-for-8 with three RBI. UW will face host Florida on Saturday in another doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
Washington handled the Wolverines easily in the opener, with six different Huskies crossing home plate as the team hit .467 collectively. UW converted three first-inning hits into runs. Junior Rosie Leutzinger walked to lead off the inning, stole second and was sacrificed to third by sophomore Kelly Hauxhurst. Senior Becky Newbry singled in Leutzinger, and Topping, who was 4-for-4 on the game, drove in Newbry after she stole second and reached third on an error. A double by sophomore Kim DePaul to center field brought Topping home.
The Huskies collected three more runs in the fourth frame. Singles by sophomores Christie Rosenblad and Kelly Hauxhurst, Newbry and Topping, along with a wild pitch and passed ball, helped Rosenblad, Hauxhurst and Newbry cross the plate.
Two more runs came in the sixth to end the game. Newbry walked and advanced to third on a single to center by Topping. Junior Erin Helgelands single to left field brought Newbry home, and pinch runner Becky Simpson scored the tying run off a single by freshman Bridget Wilcox.
Spediacci went five innings, striking out eight batters, before being relieved by Wilcox.
The momentum of the second game belonged to Michigan, however, until the top of the fifth inning. The Wolverines scored twice in the first inning and held UW to just three hits in the first four frames. Then junior Jeanine Giordano singled in the fifth to start the Husky rally. Leutzinger walked, and Hauxhurst sacrificed her to second and pinch runner Becky Simpson to third before Newbrys single knocked both in to tie the game.
Michigan went back up in the bottom of the fifth off three hits and a walk before Spediacci recorded two strikeouts to end the inning. It was three-up, three-down for the Huskies in the sixth before a seventh-inning, one-out, four-run rally assured a UW win. Freshman Shannon Walsh reached first on an error, with pinch runner Jenn Sumsky reaching second on another clutch single by Giordano. The pair advanced on a wild pitch before Leutzinger drove them in with a double. Junior Melissa Downs third hit of the day came with an RBI while pinch hitting to score Leutzinger. Hauxhurst, who then pinch ran for Downs, was knocked in by a Newbry single.
Junior Jamie Graves started the game and went 4.1 innings, recording four strikeouts. Game One Michigan 000 000 0 3 3 Washington 300 302 8 14 1Marie Barda, Jamie Gillies (4) and Kim Bugel; Jennifer Spediacci, Bridget Wilcox (6) and Jenny Topping. WP-Spediacci (3-0). LP-Barda (0-1). LOB-UM 7, UW 11. 2B-UM: Conrad; UW: Kim DePaul.
Game Two Washington 000 020 4 6 9 1 Michigan 200 010 0 3 8 1Jamie Graves, Jennifer Spediacci (5) and Jeanine Giordano; Kate Eiland, Marie Barda (6) and Kim Bugel. WP-Spediacci (4-0). LP-Eiland (0-1). LOB-UW 4, UM 9. 2B-UW: Rosie Leutzinger. |
