Tournament Central
Box Score
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Kat Lee’s RBI in the top of the seventh inning snapped a 2-2 tie and Amber Logemannwas masterful in the circle as the Miami softball team topped No. 20 Notre Dame, 3-2, on day one of the NCAA Regional Friday.
The RedHawks (35-21) picked up their eighth-straight victory and their third NCAA regional win in program history to advance to Saturday in the winner’s bracket.
Miami put a runner aboard in each of its first two innings. Taylor Shuey drew a two-out walk in the first, but moved no further. The Red and White hit the ball hard twice in the second as Hailey Reed drilled a single through the box, but the next batter hit a line drive off the pitcher’s glove that turned into an inning-ending double play.
On the other side, Amber Logemann was sharp early, fanning three batters while retiring five straight to start the game and yielding just one single in two scoreless innings to start things off. The Fighting Irish did plate a couple in the bottom of the third, however, as Ali Wester pulled a two-run single to right field to make it 2-0 after three full innings.
That score held until the fifth inning when Kaitlyn Gliha battled Notre Dame starter Allie Rhodes to an 11-pitch walk, fouling off five-straight 3-2 pitches at one point. After a UND error on a sacrifice bunt put two aboard, a successful sacrifice bunt moved the tying runs into scoring position with one away. Rylee Whispelwalked on five pitches to load the bases. That set the stage for pinch hitter Hannah Girlie, who split the right center field gap with a two-run double to even the score at 2-2. The Irish then made a pitching change and ended the threat with a shallow fly out and a groundout to leave the score tied after four and a half.
Both teams put a runner into scoring position with two outs in the sixth inning. Shuey opened the Miami half with a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt two batters later, but a pop out ended the MU threat. After Logemann dispatched the first two ND batters with little trouble in the home half, Morgan Reed cracked a two-out double to provide a scoring threat. However, Logemann followed with a big strikeout of Casey Africano to end the frame.
Going into the final regulation inning, Lauren Anderson provided a spark by cranking a double down the left field line to pout the go ahead run in scoring position. Rylee Whispel then got the job done by dropping down a sacrifice bunt to move pinch runner Jenna Jones to third. That gave Lee the opportunity to be the hero and she came through with a solid line drive to right field. Although she was gunned out at first by Megan Sorlie, Jones came around to score to give Miami its first lead.
Pitching with a lead for the first time, Logemann retired Megan Sorlie on a pop out and fanned Bailey Bigler on three pitches to record two quick outs. That brought it back to the top of the Notre Dame lineup and its leading hitter Karley Wester, whose speed caused a Miami miscue that allowed her to reach first. Wester then stole second base to move into scoring position. Undeterred, Logemann forced Ali Wester to hit a ground ball to second, where Eryn McCarver flipped a throw to first and Wester was ruled out on a close play at the bag to give the RedHawks the victory.
The RedHawks outhit the Fighting Irish, 7-5, as a team with McCarver chipping in two hits. Logemann improved to 24-12 by going the distance, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while fanning six batters in seven innings of work.
Miami will play Michigan at noon on Saturday. A victory will advance the team to Sunday’s regional championship day.
Courtesy of Miami Sports Information Department
