The No. 8 Michigan softball team traveled to Iowa City last weekend with one thing on its mind - revenge.
By defeating Iowa twice to win the Big Ten tournament, the Wolverines (52-13-1) avenged their worst weekend of their season. On April 5 and 6 in Iowa, the Hawkeyes swept Michigan, 8-2 and 15-4.
"We didn't win the Big Ten outright, but we went out there and won the tournament on Iowa's field," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "It's a great accomplishment for our team."
By winning the Big Ten title for the third consecutive year, the Wolverines earned an automatic bid to the NCAA softball tournament. Michigan will host an NCAA regional this weekend.
"We're just thrilled to host," Hutchins said. "That's always a goal of ours."
The Wolverines headed into last weekend's tournament having won their last 15 Big Ten games. Despite its 18-4 Big Ten record, Michigan was not favored. The top seed went to No. 3 Iowa, the Big Ten regular season champion.
"We definitely went in as an underdog and acted like an underdog and I think we out-fought them," Hutchins said.
Before they could think about Iowa, however, the Wolverines faced Michigan State on Friday. Michigan pitcher Kelly Holmes beat the Spartans for the third time this season, 4-0, allowing just two hits. Lisa Kelley picked up the game-winning RBI for Michigan.
In Friday's late game, the Wolverines faced Iowa pitcher Debbie Bilbao, the Big Ten player of the year. Michigan scored first with a run in the first and pushed its lead to 2-0 with an unearned run in the second.
Iowa knotted the score with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth. Michigan then scored the winning run in its half of the fifth with new Iowa pitcher Leticia Castellon on the mound. Melissa Gentile knocked in Kellyn Tate for the winning run on a sacrifice fly. After Michigan regained the lead, Holmes was perfect, retiring the final six Iowa batters.
The Wolverines were spectators Saturday morning as they awaited their next opponent. Michigan State defeated Purdue, 4-2, then lost to Iowa, 4-3, forcing a Michigan - Iowa rematch.
Iowa struck first in the contest, picking up two runs on two hits in the bottom of the first. Holmes escaped without further damage, striking out Castellon with the bases loaded. Holmes allowed only two more hits the rest of the way.
Michigan tied the score with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Traci Conrad, who batted .700 in the tournament, began the rally with a single. Gentile and Kosanke also singled in the inning, and Tammy Mika picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly. The Wolverines clinched the tournament with two more runs in the sixth inning. Gentile led off with a double to left field. Davie tripled to left to score the winning run. Castellon came in to pitch, replacing Iowa starter Jenny McMahon, but the damage was done. Mika knocked in the insurance run with a bunt down the first base line. The four runs were all that Michigan would need.
"There was never a feeling that we weren't going to come back," Holmes said. "Once we tied it, I knew we were going to win."
Holmes had every right to be confident on the mound. The second Iowa win was her 29th of the season and 21st in a row. Ironically, her last loss came in the second game against Iowa that fateful weekend of April 5.
"We had something to prove to ourselves and to everyone else," Holmes said. "To show that we have the courage to go back there and win was great for the team."
Cleaning up: Michigan might not have been the best team in the Big Ten during the regular season, but it made up for it in Big Ten hardware.
Kelly Holmes garnered the Big Ten's pitcher of the year award.
The senior starter was nearly perfect after staff ace Sara Griffin was hurt in the first weekend of April. Over the last month, Holmes went 21-0 to finish at 29-9 with a 1.07 ERA.
Also honored was Melissa Gentile, who was named freshman of the year.
After a rocky start, Gentile gained confidence and finished with a .314 batting average and four home runs.
Four Wolverines were also named to the All-Big Ten first team - Conrad, Holmes, Kellyn Tate and Tammy Mika.
Regional Action in Ann Arbor: Michigan will host regional action this weekend at Alumni Field. Michigan State, Central Michigan and Cleveland State come to town for a double-elimination tournament.
The winner earns a spot in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, May 22-26.
Michigan faces Cleveland State at 3 p.m. on Friday. In their last meeting, March 23, 1996, Michigan won, 3-1. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins warned that the Wolverines cannot look past anyone in the regional.
"We're just going to take it a game at a time," Hutchins said. "All those teams got into the tournament for a reason."
Should the Wolverines escape the regional, they would head to the championship round for the third straight year. In each of the last two seasons, Michigan was knocked out of the tournament by Iowa.
If the Wolverines win Region 6, they face the winner of Region 3 in the first round in Oklahoma City. The No. 1 seed in Region 3 is none other than Iowa.
ROB GILMORE/Daily
Michigan pitcher Kelly Holmes' three wins this weekend at Iowa City propelled
the Wolverines to their third consecutive Big Ten tournament title, defeating Iowa.
ROB GILMORE/Daily
Michigan shortstop Pam Kosanke extended for this liner, just as the team
extended its season by defeating Iowa and winning the Big Ten tournament.