Michigan
Michigan softball downs Northwestern for shot at Big Ten title
East Lansing – The Michigan softball staff, its bats quiet many of the recreation, got here from behind because of a two-run house run by Taylor Bump and can play for the Massive Ten softball match title.
Michigan defeated regular-season Massive Ten champion Northwestern, the top-seed and No. 10 nationally, 2-1, on Friday within the afternoon semifinal at Secchia Stadium on the Michigan State campus. The No. 23 Wolverines (36-15) have gained seven straight.
“These children have taken punches, they usually’re unfazed,” Michigan coach Carol Hutchins mentioned. “What we wanted to have greater than something was to get Bump up in that inning. If I may write the plan, that is what I might write.”
The Wolverines, the defending Massive Ten Event champions from 2019, the final time it was contested earlier than taking a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will face No. 2 seed Nebraska within the title recreation Saturday. The sport has been moved up two hours to 11 a.m. due to the potential for inclement climate.
Michigan took the lead within the high of the seventh on Bump’s two-run house run to left scoring Hannah Carson who had a two-out single to proper. Bump had a two-run homer Friday night time within the quarterfinals and now has six this season.
“I wasn’t attempting to hit a house run, in order that’s my reply to that one,” Bump, a fifth-year senior, mentioned. “I used to be attempting to see an excellent pitch and hit it exhausting someplace. I knew it was going over as quickly as I used to be hitting, however I wasn’t attempting, that is for certain.
“I really feel like I have been in these moments. Being a fifth yr kinda helps in these moments a bit bit attempting to information our youthful children in that, too, simply give them some expertise. I felt very assured in that at-bat, I felt very assured in that field all day lengthy, so I used to be ready for an excellent pitch to hit.”
The Wolverines emptied the dugout to have fun with Bump.
“That one I used to be fired up for,” Bump mentioned. “I used to be leaping up and down screaming, my head began to pound a bit bit. That was a giant one for me.”
Hutchins mentioned the one factor she informed Bump was to hit it exhausting.
“You possibly can go up there and attempt to hit it far and you may get disconnected,” Hutchins mentioned. “I mentioned we simply have to hit it exhausting, and he or she did. Bump hits it exhausting, good issues occur.”
Heading into the inning, the Wolverines had just one hit.
The groups went 4 scoreless innings earlier than Northwestern capitalized on a miscue by Michigan within the backside of the fifth giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Michigan’s left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien began the sport however after strolling the primary batter within the fifth after which hitting the subsequent, she was relieved by Annabelle Widra.
Beaubien, 8-5 coming into the sport with a 2.79 ERA, pitched 4 innings and gave up three hits whereas hanging out three.
“I assumed she did an excellent job, and we felt it was time to perhaps make a change,” Hutchins mentioned. “That is the toughest resolution to make.”
Ball 4 of an intentional stroll from Widra to Massive Ten Participant of the 12 months Rachel Lewis received away from catcher Hannah Carson. Ayana Lindsey, pinch working, scored from third for the primary run of the sport..
“I imply, you already know, (stuff) occurs I assume,” Widra mentioned of the wild pitch. “It was a detailed ball recreation the entire time and simply attempting to remain within the second all through the remainder of the ball recreation although the one run scored we have been nonetheless in all of it the way in which.”
“Deliberately strolling somebody isn’t enjoyable. It simply occurs.”
Widra retired the subsequent sev batters to finish the sport.
“There’s not sufficient phrases to explain how enjoyable that’s,” Widra mentioned. “We did not win the (regular-season) sequence towards Northwestern and we got here out and have been canine right now, and I am so pleased with us.”
Northwestern had three hits however left 5 on base.
“The important thing to the entire recreation is us holding them to at least one run as a result of that is a robust offensive staff,” Hutchins mentioned. “We saved them within the park, we saved them to at least one run, and that is the secret. That was the important thing for us.”
Michigan, which began the Massive Ten season 0-4, has gained 10 of its final 12 video games. Per week in the past, the Wolverines have been fifth within the Massive Ten standings however ran into the No. 4 seed, guaranteeing a bye within the match first spherical, with a sweep at Wisconsin final weekend.
Hutchins mentioned she has appreciated the way in which the staff has performed these final a number of weeks. Whereas Bump disputed the suggestion the Wolverines are peaking — that will, she mentioned, imply they’d be prepared for a fall — the Wolverines actually have gotten sizzling on the proper time.
“It means we’re not executed, we’re hungry, and we’re not glad,” Bump mentioned of the late-season surge. “We did not begin off the perfect and all we are able to play proper now could be the sport we’re taking part in and may’t fear about something prior to now, cannot even fear in regards to the future.”
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achengelis@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @chengelis
Michigan
Ex-Michigan running back fractures forearm in Rams’ regular-season finale
Sunday was supposed to be rookie Blake Corum’s chance to step into a featured role in the Los Angeles Rams backfield.
But the former Michigan running back didn’t get much of an opportunity, suffering a fractured forearm in the second quarter of a 30-25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Rams head coach Sean McVay confirmed the injury after the game.
“He’s a tough, resilient guy,” McVay said. “He’s going to be a really good player for us for a long time, but he will miss the postseason.”
With the Rams having already clinched the NFC West crown entering Sunday, they rested No. 1 running back Kyren Williams, paving the way for Corum to handle a larger workload in the team’s regular-season finale.
Michigan’s all-time rushing touchdowns leader received just two carries for 10 yards and one catch for 12 yards before exiting. The 2024 third-round pick was on the sideline in the second half wearing a sling, finishing the year with 58 carries for 207 yards and seven receptions for 58 yards.
The Rams will host the loser of the Lions and Vikings’ Sunday night matchup in next week’s Wild Card round.
- BETTING: Check out our guide to the best Michigan sportsbooks, where our team of sports betting experts has reviewed the experience, payout speed, parlay options and quality of odds for multiple sportsbooks.
Michigan
Five Key Plays: Michigan 85, USC 74 | UM Hoops.com
Michigan knocked off USC in Los Angeles on Saturday night to move to 3-0 in the Big Ten. It was a game of runs, with Michigan stringing together three different 10-0 kill shots, but USC never went away. The Trojans consistently battled back into the game all night, forcing Michigan to execute down the stretch.
Here are Five Key Plays from the win featuring Danny Wolf, Vlad Goldin, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., and more.
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1. First half 3-point barrage
Michigan was on fire from 3-point range in its final two home games of the year and carried that momentum into the Galen Center. On Saturday night, the Wolverines got off to a terrific shooting start, knocking down their first five 3-pointers and finishing with ten made threes in the opening half.
The Wolverines have been a volatile 3-point shooting team all year. They’ve hit double-digit threes in eight of 14 games but shot worse than 30% from three in five games. They shoot 36.6% from three (54th nationally) as a team but have shot better than 40% or worse than 30% in 12 of 14 contests.
In 28 halves of basketball, Michigan has hit seven or more threes nine times (32%). They’ve also hit two or fewer threes in 10 of those 28 halves (36%) — including last night’s 0-of-8 second-half performance.
Michigan’s half-by-half perimeter shooting splits are becoming a trend to watch closely. The Wolverines shoot 40.8% from three in first halves (5.9 for 14.4 attempts) compared to 31.2% in second halves (3.5 of 11.2 attempts).
Michigan survived 0-of-8 3-point shooting to win last night, but it is 5-of-36 (14%) from 3-point range in the second halves of its three losses — a particularly painful stat given that those defeats came by five points total.
Michigan
Michigan WR Peyton O'Leary will return for 2025 season: 'Last year incoming'
Michigan Wolverines football senior wide receiver Peyton O’Leary will return for his fifth season at U-M, he announced on social media Saturday. O’Leary has one year of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-3, 203-pounder joined senior quarterback Davis Warren in announcing his return for the 2025 season on the same day. Warren and O’Leary are housemates and close friends.
O’Leary and Warren are both former walk-ons who earned scholarships.
“It was a dream come true. It was so great,” O’Leary said in 2023 of being put on scholarship.
The Byfield, Mass., native played a key role on the Michigan offense this season, logging the second-most offensive snaps among wide receivers (376), behind only Tyler Morris (464), who has transferred to Indiana.
O’Leary caught 10 passes for 102 yards and 1 touchdown in 13 games this season. He was targeted 14 times.
The highlights of his season were a touchdown catch on third down in a loss to Oregon Nov. 2 and an impressive third-down grab in a 13-10 win over Ohio State in Columbus Nov. 30.
Tied 10-10, Michigan drove all the way to the Ohio State 3-yard line, before Warren threw an interception in the end zone.
Devastating, but not a deathblow. Michigan’s drive that Warren and O’Leary kept alive still chewed a whopping 9:10 off the clock. The Wolverines dominated time of possession, keeping the football for 13:03 of the 15 minutes in the fourth quarter, sealing the 13-10 win with a game-winning field goal by junior kicker Dominic Zvada.
Weeks later, Warren and O’Leary can laugh about all of it.
“We’ve watched it a couple times — a handful,” Warren said of he and his housemates, including O’Leary. “It always shows up on the YouTube and stuff, so it’s there.
“But can’t pump his tires up too much. Gotta keep him grounded. He’s kinda a pain to be around if he gets too confident.”
Warren and O’Leary have a special connection. Both came in as walk-ons and developed incredible chemistry while on scout team. That became apparent as the two worked their way up the depth chart, starting with the 2023 spring game, when Warren found O’Leary for the game-winning two-point conversion.
“Love him to death, and that was a huge catch when we needed it,” Warren said of the play against Ohio State, in a more serious tone. “I remember the first time me and him were throwing together on the field out there the summer my freshman year, and [tight ends] Coach [Steve] Casula, who recruited us, was kinda watching off to the side.
“To think that it would progress to us being in The ‘Shoe trying to get a win like that, it was a special thing and a testament to him to all the work he’s put in to get better.
“Hitting the celebration after was a nice touch.”
O’Leary was a deep reserve before the 2024 season. He had appeared in 14 games at wide receiver from 2022-23, hauling in 3 catches for 17 yards and a touchdown. His score in the 2023 campaign came in a win at Nebraska and was thrown by Jayden Denegal, who transferred to San Diego State this offseason.
O’Leary was originally signed to play lacrosse at UMass
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