Wolverines Battle Past Louisiana to Earn Day-One Split at Clearwater Invitational

Friday, February 17

Clearwater, Fla.

3:00 PM

Michigan

4-2

UCF

4-2

UCF

Michigan

Melina Livingston (Michigan Photography)

Wolverines Battle Past Louisiana to Earn Day-One Split at Clearwater Invitational

2/17/2023 11:38:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

By: Leah Howard

» Michigan split its opening games of the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational, falling to No. 20 UCF 8-2 before bouncing back with a gritty 7-6 win over Louisiana.
» Keke Tholl posted two homers against Louisiana and tallied three hits and four RBI on the day.
» Jessica LeBeau earned the game-two win to improve to 3-0, while Lauren Derkowski secured the save with five strikeouts over the final three innings.

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Junior catcher Keke Tholl belted two homers to propel the No. 25-ranked University of Michigan softball team to a gritty 7-6 win over Louisiana to earn a first-day split at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational on Friday (Feb. 17) at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. U-M fell to No. 20 UCF 8-2 in its tournament opener.

Tholl posted three RBI hits against Louisiana, including the Wolverines' first two home runs of the 2023 season, and four total RBI on the day to headline the offensive efforts. Graduate student outfielder Lexie Blair also tallied three hits on the day, while graduate student outfielder Ellie Mataya posted two RBI and two runs scored.

Junior right-handed pitcher Jessica LeBeau (3-0) earned the win in the nightcap, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out one through four innings, while sophomore RHP Lauren Derkowski entered after a brief rain delay and pitched the final three innings to earn the save, fanning five Ragin' Cajun batters while allowing two runs on one hit and three walks. Derkowski (2-2) took the loss against UCF with seven runs allowed on seven hits and eight strikeouts through 4.1 innings.

Tholl homered three batters in against Louisiana (5-1), driving a 3-2 pitch deep over the left-field fence for a two-out solo shot -- the sixth of her collegiate career and the first for Michigan (5-2) this season.

Louisiana evened the score in the top of the second, but Michigan responded and then some with five runs in the home half, including four off infield balls. Sophomore outfielder Ellie Sieler and junior catcher Ryleigh Carricaburu reached on back-to-back Louisiana fielding errors -- the latter scoring a run -- before Mataya drove them both in with a two-run infield single to the right side, aided by some confusion between the Ragin' Cajun first and second basemen.

Mataya's single keyed a stretch for four straight for the Wolverines. Tholl and graduate-student second baseman Melina Livingston also drove in runs on a single to second base and another up the middle, respectively.

Louisiana earned a three-run homer of its own in the fourth, but Tholl got one back with her second solo shot to lead off the bottom half of the inning -- the last play before rain paused the game. The Ragin' Cajuns plated two more runs in the fifth after the 40-minute delay, helped by the wet conditions and free bases, to pull within one run.

However, Derkowski settled in, earning a big punchout to end Louisiana's fifth-inning rally and retiring seven of the final eight batters faced. She earned two more strikeouts for the final two outs of the game and stranded the tying run on first base.

Home runs doomed the Wolverines in their tournament opener against the Knights (4-2), who knocked four over the fence, including a two-run shot in the first and three over the first three innings, to account for seven of their eight runs.

Michigan got on the board with some third-inning small ball. Mataya led off with a walk -- her second of the game -- and advanced on a groundout and a wild pitch before scoring on Tholl's sac fly to center. The Wolverines threatened again in the fourth but stranded two in scoring position on a diving UCF catch in right field on a flare down the line.

The Knights extended their lead with a three-run homer in the fifth and added another on a Michigan error at first base in the sixth. U-M closed out scoring with a run in the bottom half of the sixth, stringing a pair of hits together, including a double from senior third baseman Audrey LeClair, before freshman Madi Ramey earned a pinch-hit RBI groundout back to the circle.

The Wolverines (5-2) will resume action at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational with two more games Saturday (Feb. 18) at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. Michigan faces No. 5 Oklahoma State at 1:30 p.m. and Mississippi State at 5 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.