Looking Back at the NCAA Champions: 2005 Michigan Wolverines

Photo courtesy Michigan Athletics

Fall practice has wrapped up around the country in Division I, which allows us to set our sights on the 2024 season that lies ahead.

Early focus will be centered on the University of Oklahoma as they begin the quest to become the first team in Division I history to win four consecutive national championships.

The Sooners tied UCLA (1988, 1989, 1990) as the only teams to ever win three consecutive titles when they defeated Florida State to claim the 2023 title.

Extra Inning Softball will be reviewing the 41 national champions that have previously hoisted the trophy.

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2005 Michigan Wolverines

The Venue: ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Head Coach: Carol Hutchins

The Players (Women’s College World Series Roster): Lorilyn Wilson, Jennifer Kreinbrink, Tiffany Worthy, Stephanie Bercaw, Michelle Teschler, Stephanie Winter, Grace Leutele, Lauren Holland, Jennie Ritter, Samantha Findlay, Alessandra Giampaolo, Nicole Motycha, Rebekah Milian, Tiffany Haas, Michelle Weatherdon, Jessica Merchant, Becky Marx, Angie Danis

The Regular Season: Michigan rolled through the regular season with a 55-5 overall record and finished Big Ten play with a 16-2 record which was good for first place. After beginning the season with a loss to Baylor, the Wolverines ripped off a 32-game winning streak. The Wolverines captured the Big Ten Tournament title with victories over Michigan State (6-2), Wisconsin (10-1) and Iowa (7-2) to earn the conference automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Offensively, the Wolverines were led by Jessica Merchant, Samantha Findlay, Tiffany Haas and Nicole Motycha. Merchant finished the season with a .378 batting average, 21 home runs and 63 runs driven in, while Findlay hit .361 with 21 homers and a team-best 77 RBIs. Haas hit .360 and Motycha posted a .344 batting average. Jennie Ritter had an absolutely brilliant season in leading the Wolverines pitching staff. She finished the year with a 38-4 record and a 0.92 ERA and struck out 417 batters in 288.2 innings pitched. Lorilyn Wilson also had an outstanding season as she was 22-2 with a 1.05 earned run average. Ritter, Haas, Merchant and Motycha were each named All-America.

The Regional: Michigan hosted the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional and were joined by Canisius, Seton Hall and North Carolina. Jennie Ritter paved the way for the Wolverines run through the regional as she recorded all three victories. The Wolverines defeated Canisius to begin regional play and then beat Seton Hall 5-0 behind a shutout from Ritter. Michigan secured a spot in the Super Regional with a 6-0 win against North Carolina as Ritter and Lorilyn Wilson combined on a one-hit shutout.

The Super Regional: Michigan stayed at home for the Super Regional as the Wolverines welcomed Washington to Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines captured the opener 4-1 to win the all important first game of the best of three series. Ritter allowed just one hit and Michigan used a four-run fifth inning to post the victory. Washington responded with a 3-2 victory in game two as the Huskies hit a pair of home runs to fuel the win. In the winner take all third game, Washington jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a home run but the Wolverines offense took over after that by scoring 11 unanswered runs to claim an 11-2 victory. Motycha drove in four runs and Grace Leutele drove in three runs to lead the Michigan offense. Ritter picked up the win in relief by pitching four hitless innings. With the win, Michigan clinched a berth in the Women’s College World Series.

The Field at the Women’s College World Series: Alabama, Arizona, California, DePaul, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA

The Wolverines at the Women’s College World Series: Michigan opened WCWS play against DePaul and Jennie Ritter tossed a three-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts to lead the Wolverines to a 3-0 victory. The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Nicole Motycha and another run scored on a DePaul error. Michigan tacked on a run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Tiffany Haas. Game two for the Wolverines came against Texas and All-American pitchers Ritter and Cat Osterman took to the circle. Ritter allowed only one hit over 7.0 innings and struck out 12 while the Wolverine offense got to Osterman in the fourth inning. Alessandra Giampaolo and Jessica Merchant began the inning with singles and Samantha Findlay brought home both runners with a double to left centerfield. Michigan tacked on a run in the sixth when Merchant walked, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Motycha. Haas added an RBI single in the seventh inning to push the final score to 4-0. Another All-American pitcher awaited the Wolverines in game three as Monica Abbott and Tennessee were the opponent. Both Ritter and Abbott were outstanding, but Tennessee got a walk-off home run from Tonya Callahan in the bottom of the 12th inning for a 2-0 Vols win. Michigan and Tennessee met again with the winner advancing to the championship series and the loser headed home. Ritter and Abbott each took to the circle and Michigan broke through for a run in the bottom of the first inning when Findlay singled in Giampaolo who had singled earlier in the inning. Michigan extended the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Stephanie Bercaw homered to leftfield. Tennessee cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning when Natalie Brock hit a two-run double. Ritter took over for the remainder of the game as she struck out four of the final seven batters and recorded the final out on a strikeout with the tying run on second base. With the win, Michigan earned a spot in the championship series for the first time in school history.

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