BTN.com staff, May 22, 2016
NCAA Regional Champs! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/uphzBFU3Hn
— Michigan Softball (@umichsoftball) May 22, 2016
The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan softball team registered a pair of early solo homers and broke out with four-run fifth inning to defeat No. 23 Notre Dame, 6-2, in the NCAA Regional championship game on Sunday afternoon in front of 2,523 fans at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field.
[ MORE: Interactive NCAA.com bracket ]
The Wolverines will host Missouri, the winner of the Columbia Regional, in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional next weekend at Alumni Field. Specific dates and times will be announced after the completion of all NCAA Regional contests.
Michigan's "Sierra Club" — senior second baseman Sierra Romero and senior centerfielder Sierra Lawrence — knocked out solo home runs in the first and third inning, respectively; both driving no-doubters into a sharp wind coming in from leftfield. Romero tallied her 19th long ball of the season in the game's second at-bat, giving U-M a lead it did not relinquish, while Lawrence tallied her 12th to lead off the third frame.
Junior RHP Megan Betsa (26-3) battled to claim her third win of the weekend, striking nine Irish batters — six over the final four frames — while scattering eight hits. She allowed no walks for the second game in a row. In all, Betsa struck out 24 while giving up just two runs off of 10 hits and one walk over 17 innings pitched in the NCAA Regional.
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