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Michigan softball delivers improbable Big Ten Tournament title with win over UCLA
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Michigan softball knows how to turn things up in the postseason. After finishing the regular season as a potential NCAA Tournament bubble team, the Wolverines eliminated all doubt across this week’s Big Ten Tournament.
Heading into the tournament, which was hosted by Purdue, Michigan was the No. 8 seed in the B1G. The Wolverines never blinked, rattling off 4 straight wins against some of the toughest teams in the country to get there.
On Saturday, it was UCLA, the No. 2 team in the conference and No. 9 team in the country. A pair of Michigan pitchers in Lauren Derkowski and Erin Hoehn combined to shut out the Bruins while the Wolverines scored the only 2 runs of the game in the 6th inning.
Here’s how the final out went down:
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The week was all about Michigan’s pitching as the Wolverines allowed just 4 runs combined at the B1G Tournament. In fact, the Wolverines shut out the two top teams in the conference with wins of 5-0 and 2-0 against No. 1 seed Oregon and UCLA, respectively.
The combination of Derkowski and Hoehn did it all from the circle for Michigan this weekend. Hoehn was credited with 2 wins and a save while covering 9 innings of relief at the tournament. Derkowski threw a complete game in a 3-2 win over Wisconsin and covered 19 innings as the starter for Michigan with 2 wins.
Now, Michigan can rest easy ahead of Selection Sunday as the Wolverines punch their automatic ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The program is seeking its first Super Regional appearance since 2016, and Michigan has not been back to the Women’s College World Series since 2015.
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.