Michigan
Michigan softball dumps Maryland, 7-0, in first Big Ten tourney appearance
East Lansing – Michigan coach Carol Hutchins likes the way in which her workforce has performed the final a number of weeks and mentioned she believes the Wolverines can do some harm within the postseason.
They definitely made some noise of their first Massive Ten Event look, walloping Maryland, 7-0 Thursday evening in a quarterfinal recreation at Secchia Stadium on the Michigan State campus. A five-run third inning that includes a two-run residence run by Taylor Bump and two triples gave the Wolverines an insurmountable lead. Michigan had six hits.
Beginning pitcher Alex Storako pitched 5 innings, had sixth strikeouts and held Maryland to 3 hits, two of which got here within the first inning. Storako entered the sport ranked seventh nationally in complete strikeouts and now has 280. She is 23-7 this season and got here into the sport ranked thirteenth nationally in complete wins. Annabelle Widra relieved Storako within the sixth and retired the six batters she confronted over two innings — she struck out the facet within the seventh.
“We have been enjoying good ball for weeks,” Hutchins mentioned. “We have been swinging properly, and our pitching was implausible tonight. It was all collectively a whole recreation for us, aggressive base working, good protection, pitching, hitting. They’re having enjoyable, they’re actually having fun with it. It is match time, it is what we do all yr for.”
Michigan is ranked No. 23 nationally and the No. 4 seed within the match, which meant a bye within the first spherical. The Wolverines (35-15, 15-8) will face top-seed Northwestern, the Massive Ten regular-season champions, in a semifinal at 5 p.m. on Friday (all video games are televised on Massive Ten Community). The Wildcats superior with a 5-2 win over Wisconsin.
Northwestern took an April sequence from Michigan 2-1.
“We’re a greater ball membership than we had been again then,” Hutchins mentioned. “Although we misplaced two of three, we performed them very properly. It is all the time an thrilling time to play Northwestern. They’re an thrilling workforce to play. I’ve no downside considering our children are going to be prepared, however we’re gonna need to play good ball as a result of they are a good ball workforce.”
Extra: Kristina Burkhardt’s candy swing, maturity assist preserve Michigan softball regular
Within the different facet of the bracket, No. 2-seed Nebraska defeated Penn State and can face Ohio State within the early semifinal Friday. The sixth-seeded Buckeyes defeated No. 3 Illinois, 5-1. The championship recreation is Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Wolverines took a 2-0 lead within the first inning when Kristina Burkardt beat an errant throw on the plate. Lexie Blair additionally scored on the throwing error, whereas Hannah Carson superior to second on the fielder’s alternative.
Within the backside of the third, Michigan had its breakout with 5 runs. Burkhardt led issues off with a triple to left middle, her seventh of the season. She entered the sport ranked No. 8 nationally in triples. Hannah Carson singled to proper and reached second on a discipline error. Bump slammed a house run to left middle, her fifth of the season, scoring two runs to offer Michigan a 5-0 lead. A triple by Widra swelled the result in 7-0 on a two-run triple down the correct discipline line.
“I went down 0-2 so I simply centered on seeing good pitches and making an attempt to place collectively a great at-bat for my workforce assist the on-deck batter see some extra pitches,” Bump mentioned. “Ultimately simply fouling them off and obtained the one I wished and made certain I did not miss it.”
Michigan seemingly picked up the place it ended the common season, coming off a three-game sweep at Wisconsin final weekend scoring 29 runs. The Wolverines entered the match on a five-game profitable streak and eight wins in its remaining 10 video games.
Storako mentioned the workforce has been having enjoyable late within the season and believes the Wolverines could make a postseason run.
“This workforce has simply jelled amazingly and we do all the correct issues and assist one another,” Storako mentioned. “That is an important a part of a giant run.”
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.
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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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