No. 2 Michigan Pulls Away from No. 12 OU

^2/2Michigan

^12/11 Oklahoma

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
MICH	2	0	2	0	3	7	2	16	13	0
OU	0	0	5	1	1	2	0	9	11	1

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Driesenga (6-0)	4.0	4	3	3	6	3
L - Stevens (4-2)	5.2	9	12	11	2	5
S - N/A	-	-	-	-	-	-

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - Knighten	3	2	2	4	1	2
MICH - Blanco	3	1	3	4	1	1

Game Notes
Oklahoma now trails the all-time series against Michigan, 13-7 ... the loss snapped a two-game winning streak in the series for OU ... the Sooners set season highs in home runs (3) and stolen bases (4) and tied a season high with eight walks ... the nine runs were the most scored against Michigan since Minnesota had nine against the Wolverines on April 3, 2015 ... the Sooners' five-run third inning was the most scored against the Wolverines since Florida State scored five in the fifth inning of game two of the 2014 Super Regionals ... Shay Knighten had the first multi-homer game of her career; it was the second by a Sooner this year (Lea Wodach) ... Knighten was 2-3 with a three-run homer and a solo shot and a walk ... sophomore Nicole Pendley hit her first home run of the season ... both OU head coach Patty Gasso and Michigan's Carol Hutchins are in the NFCA Hall of Fame

Game Notes

Oklahoma now trails the all-time series against Michigan, 13-7 ... the loss snapped a two-game winning streak in the series for OU ... the Sooners set season highs in home runs (3) and stolen bases (4) and tied a season high with eight walks ... the nine runs were the most scored against Michigan since Minnesota had nine against the Wolverines on April 3, 2015 ... the Sooners' five-run third inning was the most scored against the Wolverines since Florida State scored five in the fifth inning of game two of the 2014 Super Regionals ... Shay Knighten had the first multi-homer game of her career; it was the second by a Sooner this year (Lea Wodach) ... Knighten was 2-3 with a three-run homer and a solo shot and a walk ... sophomore Nicole Pendley hit her first home run of the season ... both OU head coach Patty Gasso and Michigan's Carol Hutchins are in the NFCA Hall of Fame

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – No. 12/11 Oklahoma (8-4) battled No. 2 Michigan (9-1) tight for five innings, but the Wolverines' offense proved too much in a 16-9 setback for OU Friday morning at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.

A back-and-forth contest was tied at 7-7 heading to the sixth inning, but Michigan hit two home runs and sent 11 batters to the plate in a seven-run sixth inning to put the game out of reach.

The Sooners chipped away for two runs in the bottom of the sixth but couldn't overcome the deficit.

Senior Erin Miller led off with a walk and sophomore Lea Wodach singled. Two batters later, freshman Shay Knighten walked to fill the bases. Senior Kady Self pulled a single through the left side to bring in Miller and trim the lead to 14-8 before senior Whitney Montgomery brought in another run on a fielder's choice.

Before Michigan pulled away it was a close game amongst two of college softball's finest programs. Both teams have won national titles and both head coaches are in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso entered the weekend ranked ninth all-time in career winning percentage (.771), while Michigan's Carol Hutchins was 11th at .753. Hutchins began the weekend second all-time in wins (1440), while Gasso began 16th with 1,035.

In addition, the game featured the only scheduled matchup between the Romero sisters. Sydney is a highly-touted freshman at Oklahoma, while Sierra is a three-time All-American at Michigan. Sydney finished 1-3 with a double, run scored and two walks, while Sierra was 1-3 with four runs scored, three runs batted in and a walk.

The game marked the second time in as many days that OU had a player hit two home runs in a losing effort. After sophomore Lea Wodach accomplished the feat in Thursday's one-run loss to Oregon State, freshman Shay Knighten was the offensive key Friday. She had the first multi-homer game of her career with a three-run shot in the third and a solo blast in the fifth.

Oklahoma spotted Michigan a pair of runs in the first, including an unearned run, while Michigan added two more in the third behind a home run and RBI single to lead 4-0.

But OU had an answer in the bottom of the third.

Sydney Romero led off with a double down the right field line, and sophomore Kelsey Arnold added a single to center to put runners on the corners with no outs. After a steal of second by Arnold, her second swipe of the day, Miller atoned for an earlier error with a two-run single through the right side to cut the Michigan lead in half at 4-2.

Miller then stole second before Wodach drew a walk. Two batters later, Knighten put the Sooners ahead when she launched a three-run homer to right center. Michigan right fielder Kelsey Susalla made a diving grab for the ball but it hit off her glove and landed on the other side of the fence.

The five runs were the most scored against Michigan in single inning since Florida State scored the amount in the fifth inning of game two of the 2014 Super Regionals.

OU added to its lead in the fourth when sophomore Nicole Pendley hit her first home run of the season on a 0-1 pitch to lead off the inning. It was the eighth of her career, and it gave Oklahoma a 6-4 advantage.

Michigan used a three-run homer from Tera Blanco that just stayed fair down the left field line to move back ahead 7-6 in the top of the fifth, but Oklahoma countered again thanks to Knighten.

After giving OU a lead earlier in the game with a three-run homer, Knighten knotted the game at 7-7 with a solo homer to left center. It was the first multi-homer game of her career and her team-leading fourth home run of the season.

Oklahoma had a chance to do further damage in the fifth as Self followed Knighten's homer with a walk. After a strikeout, Pendley doubled down the left field line putting runners in scoring position. Romero was intentionally walked to fill the bases, but the move paid off as a groundout ended the inning.