Tuesday
May 30, 2006
sports.michigandaily.com
sports@michigandaily.com
SPORTS
131
Rocky toppled
Wolverines' repeat title
bid halted in Tennessee
By Amber Colvin
Daily Sports Writer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Rebekah Milian swung.
But spectators at Tyson Park never heard the sound of
the ball hitting the catcher's glove - the eruption of cel-
ebration from the Tennessee dugout drowned it out. And
as the Volunteers clung to each other and jumped with
delight, to their right stood a group of sweaty, dirty and
worn Wolverines, silently consoling each other with tears.
Facing a 1-0 deficit, Michigan had fought through the
bottom of the seventh to stay alive. With the NCAA Super
Regional crown, a berth to the Women's College World
Series and the Wolverines' season on the line, each batter
took their turn facing All-American ace Monica Abbott.
The 6'3" pitcher kicked off the bottom of the seventh
by striking out senior third baseman Grace Leutele. As
an upset Leutele left the plate, junior designated player
Tiffany Worthy stepped up and dinged an infield hit to
short. Senior rightfielder Stephanie Bercaw followed by
drawing a walk on five pitches.
A groundout for freshman shortstop Teddi Ewing and
an intentional walk for senior second baseman Tiffany
Haas left Milian with the bases juiced and one very large
weight on her shoulders.
"That's what you live for," Abbott said of the two-out,
bases loaded, bottom-seventh situation.
And just like that, the Goliath in the circle ended
Michigan's hopes to return to the WCWS and to repeat
as national champs.
The 13th-ranked Wolverines entered the best-of-three
series with No. 5 Tennessee expecting a battle. And with
three games in blistering heat, that's what they got.
"When you have Michigan and Tennessee playing in a
best-of-three series, that might as well be achampionship
series right there," senior catcher Becky Marx said. "It's
two World Series-caliber teams that are going at it
in the Super Regionals. This whole weekend had
championship quality all over it."
Tennessee drew first blood on Saturday with a 5-3
victory. Home runs from Worthy and sophomore first
baseman Samantha Findlay couldn't compete with the
offensive prowess of the speedy Volunteers.
But after almost 24 hours to simmer, the Michigan
bats exploded in the first inning of game two. Haas set
the tone first by slamming a perfectly placed single deep
into rightfield. Home run leader Marx then brought in the
first two scores of the game with a blast over the leftfield
fence, her 13th this season. When Findlay followed with a
single, Abbott was replaced after just 1/3 of an inning.
"We saw early in the game that Monica wasn't going
to have her stuff that moment," Tennessee coach Ralph
Weekly said. "So we elected to rest her and go with
(Megan) Rhodes, knowing we'd have Monica if there
were another game."
As Abbott sat in the dugout with a cold towel over
her head, the Wolverines kept firing - including
another Worthy home run - for an eventual 5-1
victory to force a decisive game three.
The winner-take-all game brought out the inevita-
ble All-American pitchers' duel the crowd had been
waiting to see all weekend: Abbott versus Michigan
ace Jennie Ritter.
As spectators fanned themselves under the blis-
tering Tennessee sun, Ritter and the well-rested
Abbott fanned batters to keep the score locked at
zero for five innings. The Volunteers finally broke
through in the top of the sixth with the only run of
the game coming off a bloop single from Tennessee
rightfielder Katherine Card.
"It's a tough game to lose because both teams
played like champions today," Michigan coach
Carol Hutchins said.
Out of the hundreds of pitches Ritter threw over
the weekend, she managed 22 total strikeouts.
"By the sixth inning when I was passing Ritter
coming off the mound, she was gasping for air,"
Weekly said. "But that kid's got more heart than
anyone I've ever seen."
Said Ritter: "My focus in the postseason is just
whatever it takes. If it takes a thousand pitches, I'll
throw a thousand pitches."
The senior hurler ends her career with a slew
of records, making her one of the most decorated
pitchers in Michigan softball history. Also graduat-
ing are Haas, Marx, Bercaw and Leutele.
When asked about the five departing seniors, the
typically stoic Hutchins had tears in her eyes.
"They won my heart," Hutchins said. "They won a
national championship. I'll always be their coach."
Junior Rebekah Milian walks away after making the final out in Michigan's super regional loss.
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