Michigan scores 10 runs in wild fifth inning to walk off Maryland in Big Ten Tournament
Scoreless through four and a half innings, 10-seed Maryland giving 2-seed Michigan a run for its money with pitcher Courtney Wyche commanding the mound.
That was until the bottom of the fifth, however. With the bases loaded, Wyche walked three-straight Wolverines batters to home plate to break the tie. A single, hit batter and sac-fly later Michigan led the Terrapins by six runs.
With Michigan threatening a mercy rule with so much as a single, Avery Fantucci stepped up to the plate and clobbered a grand slam over the fence to complete a 10-0 win in five innings to advance to the semifinal.
“I was just going up to bat — I was trying to stay calm,” Fantucci said of her big moment to the Big Ten Network broadcast postgame. “And I told myself if it’s there I’m swinging. So that’s what I did. I went up there, I saw two pitches and I was swinging. … I just followed the lead of my teammates. I see them composed out on the field and that’s how I’m staying in the dugout. That’s how I have to approach it.
“I have to be prepared like I’m in each pitch, but I’m sitting on the bench and I’m coming off the bench, I’m locked in each pitch thinking about what I would do in that situation. So when I’m up there, I’m ready.”
The inning turned Wyche’s quality performance on the mound into a nightmare. In 4.1 innings of work, she let up six of the 10 runs, including six walks but only allowed three hits. Before the fifth, Wyche was mowing through the Wolverines.
“She’s an amazing pitcher. She was throwing both speeds,” Fantucci continued. “So we were just trying to stay through it and see our pitch and take it off.”
While Wyche gave up the first six runs, Fantucci’s grand slam came off relief pitcher Julia Shearer, who relieved Wyche in the fifth. Shearer couldn’t fend off the Wolverines for the final two outs, and Michigan is now semifinal-bound thanks to a big-time fifth inning from the Wolverines’ bats.
They advance to play the winner between Rutgers and Wisconsin on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT, or 35 minutes following the conclusion of the first semifinal game of the day, Indiana vs. Nebraska.
All games will air live on the Big Ten Network through the championship game.