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Michigan softball hangs on for tight win over South Dakota St. in NCAA Tournament opener

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Michigan softball is off and running in the NCAA Tournament, though it took a bit of drama late in the game to get the win.

Facing South Dakota State, the Wolverines were never able to mount much offensively. The lone inning that Michigan had a real rally going came in the bottom of the 5th inning.

With the bases loaded, Lexie Blair laced a clean RBI single down the leftfield line to break a scoreless tie. That hit scored Ella McVey and Kristina Burkhardt and was all the offense Michigan could muster on the afternoon.

Alex Storako had the start on the mound for the Wolverines and was fantastic. She gave up a solo home run in the 6th inning but was sharp otherwise. In fact, the drama in the 7th began with a strikeout of all things.

With 2 outs, Storako initially recorded what should have been a game-ending strikeout. Unfortunately, the batter made it on base after a dropped third strike and errant throw.

Meghan Beaubien was brought on in relief but walked the first batter she faced. Then, with the tying run on 2nd and the go-ahead run on 1st, Beaubien struck out Emma Osmundson looking to end the game.

With the 2-1 win, Michigan will move to Saturday and face the winner of the Villanova vs. UCF matchup. First pitch on Saturday is currently set for 11 am ET.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.