Baylor
Michigan
OKC Bound! Softball Heading to World Series
5/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 26, 2007
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WACO, Texas --- After falling to No. 10 Michigan, 3-0, in game two of the NCAA Waco Super Regional, No. 7 Baylor responded as Lisa Ferguson tossed a five-hit shutout to send the Lady Bears to their first-ever Women's College World Series with a 4-0 victory over the Wolverines in the deciding game of the best-of-three series. The victory gives the Lady Bears their 50th of the season as Baylor moved to 50-14 with the split while Michigan finishes its season with a 47-13 record.
"Wow. What a great regional. I expected nothing less from Michigan than to be right back in it after us. After yesterday I think we made them mad. I couldn't be more proud of the girls on this team right now with the way they responded after game two," head coach Glenn Moore said. "The first inning was important for us to bring our team and crowd back into it. The second inning was the most important. It let them know that we were there and mean business. Putting those two runs up in the second was a big mountain for us to overcome."
Playing as the visiting team after losing a coin flip before game three, Baylor jumped on Michigan early to grab the early advantage. After Ashley Monceaux doubled to lead-off the game, Kirsten Shortridge laced a line-drive home run, her third of the season, over the right-field wall to give Baylor a 2-0 lead.
With Michigan unable to score in the bottom of the inning, Baylor extended the lead as Alex Colyer hit a towering solo blast over the left-field wall in the top of the second inning to give the Lady Bears a three-run cushion.
Brette Regan followed by plating what would be the final run of the contest as she singled up the middle to score Monceaux from second to make the score 4-0.
The rest of the game was all Ferguson as the senior right-hander shut down the Wolverines throughout as Allison Kidman's pop-out to Monceaux sent the Lady Bears into a celebration in the circle as Baylor earned its first-ever berth into the Women's College World Series.
In the win, Ferguson limited Michigan to only five hits while tossing her 29th career shutout and her second of the NCAA Waco Super Regional. With the victory, the senior picked up her 81st career win while improving to 25-7 on the season.
Nikki Nemitz took the loss for the Wolverines and fell to 22-6 on the season after allowing three runs on four hits in one inning of work.
Nemitz was the deciding factor in the day's first game as she led the Wolverines to a shutout win after allowing only two hits to Baylor's Tiffany Wesley.
Angela Findlay, Tiffany Worth and Teddi Ewing each record RBI in the win as Michigan forced a deciding game three.
Shortridge took the loss in game two, falling to 17-5 on the season after allowing two earned runs in 4.1 innings of work.
The Lady Bears would not be denied in game three; however, as Baylor responded in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,455 to improve to finish out the home schedule with an impressive 30-3 record.
Baylor will open play at the Women's College World Series on Thursday, May 31, as the Lady Bears will face either Arizona or Cal State Fullerton at a time yet to be determined.
