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WEST LAFAYETTE \u2014 In the top of the sixth inning of the Big Ten Tournament semifinals against No. 12 seed Purdue, the No. 8 seed Michigan softball team was in a tough situation. The Boilermakers had just loaded the bases and the Wolverines were up just two runs. With one wrong move, Purdue could quickly tie up the game or take the lead, preventing Michigan from advancing to the last round of the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, the ball was hit to junior third baseman Maddie Erickson \u2014 for the Boilermakers\u2019 second out \u2014 and quickly thrown to junior first baseman Madi Ramey to ground out the batter in a double play. That play was crucial in ending the inning scoreless, keeping the run deficit to two runs and eventually helping the Wolverines punch their ticket to the championship game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michigan\u2019s fielding in the semifinals matchup had to be at its highest level, as Purdue had demolished<\/a> No. 4 seed Ohio State in its quarterfinal game by capitalizing on the Buckeyes\u2019 fielding errors. It helped that the Boilermakers had to first push through the Wolverines\u2019 first line of defense<\/a> in senior right-hander Lauren Derkowski and sophomore right-hander Erin Hoehn, whose strategic pitching combined for five strikeouts. But when balls made it to Michigan\u2019s fielders, they needed to be ready.\u00a0<\/p>\n There were times when fielding was rocky, like in the top of the second inning when a ball hit to junior second baseman Indiana Langford fell just out of reach as she dove for the ball. Or in the top of the fourth inning, when a ball was hit to Derkowski and the ball went just past her glove. Langford came in to save the play, but when she threw the ball to Ramey, Ramey fumbled the ball as well and Purdue made it on base.<\/p>\n