ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan softball team scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to earn a wild 5-4 comeback win against No. 17 Missouri and claim an NCAA Super Regional sweep on Sunday afternoon (May 29) in front of 2,523 fans at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field. With the victory, the Wolverines advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the 12th time in program history and third time in four seasons.
Michigan’s seventh-inning rally came just a half inning after it surrendered a 4-1 lead on a three-run homer from first baseman Rylee Pierce. The Wolverines recorded their four runs on five hits and scored in four successive at-bats, with junior leftfielder Kelly Christner taking advantage of a wild pitch to the backstop to slide in for the game-winner.
The Wolverines took advantage of another Mizzou miscue to get the rally started when junior third baseman Lindsay Montemarano, who homered to give U-M an early lead in the second, reached on a dropped popup that Tiger shortstop Sami Fagan appeared to lose in the sun. After back-to-back singles to load the bases, senior second baseman Sierra Romero drove in one on a sac fly to centerfield, Christner yanked an RBI single just fair down the rightfield line and senior rightfielder Kelsey Susalla, who had been slumping of late, evened the score with an RBI double to left centerfield. Just four pitches later, on a 1-2 count in the next at-bat, Mizzou ace Paige Lowary missed high to allow Christner to race home from third.
Senior RHP Sara Driesenga (22-1) earned the victory in relief, but it was junior RHP Megan Betsa who pitched the bulk of the game and closed out the seventh inning. Betsa reentered after a hit-by-pitch put Mizzou’s leadoff on base and retired three of the next four batters faced — save a two-out walk — against the top of the Tiger lineup on a fielder’s choice, strikeout and groundout down the first-base line. Betsa scattered eight total hits and two walks and struck out three through 6.1 innings and her fifth save of the season.
The Wolverines led for the majority of the game after Montemarano’s solo homer — her 10th this season and second of the weekend — deep to centerfield with two outs in the second inning.
Missouri evened up the score on an RBI double in the fifth and surged ahead on Fagan’s three-run homer in the sixth — all with two outs. It was the Tigers’ first of the weekend and did not hold.
