After beating Louisville on Saturday, Michigan needed only one more victory over the Cardinals on Sunday to advance to the Super Regional round of the 2012 NCAA softball tournament. The Wolverines got that victory in one try on Sunday afternoon, defeating Louisville by a score 4-0. Michigan is now headed to Tuscaloosa next week to take on Alabama in a best-of-three series with a trip to the College World Series on the line.
Unlike on Saturday, Sunday's win over Louisville wasn't too dramatic. There was no late rally by Louisville, and there wasn't a walk-off win by Michigan. Instead, the Wolverines took an early 3-0 lead after two innings and then added another run in the fourth to make it 4-0. While Louisville did put a couple runners on in the bottom of the seventh, none were able to score. Michigan won 4-0 and can now set its sights on Alabama.
The Crimson Tide, the second overall seed in the NCAA softball tournament, cruised through their regional. Alabama beat UT Martin 5-1 in its first game and then beat South Alabama 5-2 on Saturday. Alabama finished off South Alabama again on Sunday with a 6-0 victory to advance and face Michigan.
Below is a recap of the scores from the Louisville Regional. Dates and start times for Michigan's series against Alabama will be out later.
Friday, May 18
Game 1: Michigan def. Kentucky, 3-2
Game 2: Louisville def. Valparaiso, 6-4
Saturday, May 19
Game 3: Michigan def. Louisville, 2-1
Game 4: Kentucky def. Valparaiso, 5-4
Game 5: Louisville def. Kentucky, 3-2
Sunday, May 20
Game 6: Michigan def. Louisville, 4-0
You can check out the full 2012 NCAA softball tournament bracket right here.