ANN ARBOR — Considering how infrequently Super Regional underdogs have been able to pull upsets in the NCAA softball tournament, historically speaking, most considered it just a matter of time before No. 2 seed Michigan sent 15th-seeded Tennessee packing.

The Wolverines did send the Volunteers packing, indeed — packing for an unexpected trip to the Women’s College World Series, after the Vols pulled off a stunning, two-game sweep of host U-M, clinching it with Friday’s 4-3 win.

After the game, the young Volunteers even joked about buying a new set of footwear for co-coach Ralph Weekly to pack: a pair of slippers.

“People were saying when we came up here, we were a Cinderella team, you know, and I told our kids today, if we’re a Cinderella team, let’s put on that gold slipper, or silver slipper, and let’s go to the dance,” said Weekly, whose team put Michigan on the edge of elimination with a 5-0 win in Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Thursday.

Now, the Volunteers (47-13) are the first of eight teams to punch their tickets for Oklahoma City, while the Wolverines (49-8) are just packing for home.



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ANN ARBOR — A 35-game home winning streak came to a crashing end for the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan softball team, as Tennessee freshman Ivy Renfroe nearly no-hit the Wolverines in Thursday’s NCAA Super Regional opener.

The Wolverines (49-7) didn’t crack the hit column until the seventh inning, and were shut out for the first time all year, falling 5-0 to the Volunteers (45-13), who now control the best-of-three series.
Tennessee can get a knockout in Game 2 today at 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU), while Michigan would have to win two straight today to make its 10th appearance in the Women’s College World Series.

The Vols got three unearned runs in the top of the third, as an error on a grounder to Maggie Viefhaus at third opened the floodgates. U-M junior Jordan Taylor allowed just four hits and struck out 10, but was stuck with four unearned runs.

Dorian Shaw’s single down the left-field line broke up the no-hitter in the seventh. Amanda Chidester beat out an infield hit to put a pair of runners on, but Renfroe got a foul fly and a groundout to wrap up the shutout.

Michigan’s last loss at Wilpon Softball Complex was to Virginia Tech on the second day of the 2008 Super Regional.