Michigan basketball coach Dusty May swings for the fences
Michigan basketball coach Dusty May swings for the fences in U-M softball’s charity fundraiser
- Michigan softball beat UCF, 4-3, in its first game of the 2025 NCAA tournament.
- The Wolverines trailed 3-2 in the sixth before freshman Lauren Putz hit a two-run homer to take the lead.
- U-M will play the winner of Texas and Eastern Illinois on May 17 in Austin, Texas.
Star freshman Lauren Putz has come up big all year for Michigan softball, but no hit may be bigger than the one she delivered in May 16’s 2025 NCAA Tournament opener in Austin, Texas.
With a runner on and the Wolverines down 3-2 with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, Putz launched a 3-2 pitch over the center-field wall to vault U-M into the lead. The Wolverines held on to take down UCF, 4-3, and advance to the winner’s half of the double-elimination regional.
The Wolverines (39-19) next play the winner of May 16’s late game between Eastern Illinois and regional host Texas, with the winner of the May 17 game advancing to the regional final on May 18.
Putz’s home run followed a two-out RBI double from sophomore center fielder Jenissa Conway, which cut the UCF lead to one. Conway’s double was the first sign of life from a Michigan lineup virtually shut down all game by UCF starter Isabelle Vega, who at one point retired seven straight batters.
Sophomore right fielder Ella Stephenson broke the scoring for the Wolverines with a leadoff home run in the top of the second inning, tying the game at 1-1. Stephenson’s home run was one of only two hits the Wolverines mustered through the first five innings, however.
U-M starting pitcher Lauren Derkowski gave up a first-inning run off a sacrifice fly from UCF right fielder Stormy Kotzelnick that gave the Knights a 1-0 lead. Derkowski settled down after, however, allowing six hits and two runs over 4⅓ innings while striking out three and walking zero; she exited with two on and no outs in the fifth inning, but re-entered with two down in the seventh to get the final out.
Erin Hoehn relieved Derkowski in the fifth and walked in a run, after getting two outs, to give UCF a 2-1 lead. That was followed by a two-out single from Izzy Mertes for a third run for the Knights. UCF got two runners on with one out in the sixth, but a double play from center fielder Madison Simon got the Wolverines out of trouble.
Michigan is looking for its first trip to the NCAA super regional round since 2016 (which was also the Wolverines’ most recent trip to the Women’s College World Series). The Wolverines are in their second straight NCAA Tournament under third-year head coach Bonnie Stoll thanks to an upset win over UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. The eighth-seeded Wolverines were the lowest seed in Big Ten tourney history (dating back to 1992) to take the championship.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
