The Ann Arbor Regional in the 2011 NCAA softball tournament began on Friday. Kentucky beat Notre Dame, 8-0, in the opening game to send the Wildcats on in the winner's bracket and the Fighting Irish to the loser's bracket. There they are playing Western Michigan Saturday afternoon. The winner will meet Michigan later this evening because the Wolverines were upset by Kentucky earlier in the day.
Michigan went down 7-1 to Kentucky and trailed by that score going into the top of the seventh. A rally that included a grand slam got Michigan within one run with no outs, but the Wolverines couldn't complete the comeback. Kentucky managed to hold on for the 7-6 victory, meaning the Wildcats are through to Sunday with a 2-0 record.
If Michigan loses its game later on Saturday, it will be eliminated. The Wolverines need a win against Notre Dame/Western Michigan and then two wins over Kentucky on Sunday to move on to the Super Regional portion of the tournament.