Michigan Softball Opens NCAA Tournament Against Kansas in Norman
Michigan softball opens the NCAA Tournament against Kansas at 6 p.m. ET on Friday in Norman, Oklahoma. The Wolverines enter the Norman Regional at 34-20 and need multiple wins in the May 15-17 double-elimination bracket to reach the Super Regional.
Tholl’s Team Gets Another Chance
Bonnie Tholl said the selection gives her team a chance to keep playing after a finish that included four wins in its last five games. Michigan swept Michigan State to close the regular season, beat Ohio State by run-rule in the Big Ten Tournament, and then lost to eventual tournament champion Nebraska.
“The conference especially, gave us a really good shot,” Tholl said Monday. “We didn’t have really any poor losses.” She added, “And so to see our name, it just reaffirms that we have another season to play.”
Michigan is making its 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance and has been selected 30 times in the last 31 seasons. That run puts the Wolverines in a familiar postseason spot, but this regional sends them into a bracket with host Oklahoma and Binghamton, the America East Conference champion and automatic qualifier.
Oklahoma’s Regional Pressure
The assignment is sharp. Oklahoma is the No. 3 overall seed and has reached 15 consecutive Super Regionals, while its last regional-round loss came in 2019. Michigan has to beat Kansas first, then survive the rest of the regional field over three days if it wants to advance.
Kansas arrives at 35-19, one win better than Michigan’s record, and the opener pairs two teams that both earned postseason spots through steady seasons rather than late surges. The Wolverines also know what one of their best bats can do against the Jayhawks: Lauren Putz went 1-for-2 with a home run and a walk as part of five Michigan hits in that matchup.
Putz Powers Michigan
Putz has been central to Michigan’s offense all season. The sophomore right fielder is an unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection and leads the Wolverines with 77 RBIs and 21 home runs, numbers that put her close to Sierra Romero’s program marks of 23 homers in 2012 and 83 RBIs in 2015.
She has also posted a.442 batting average, a.554 on-base percentage and a.987 slugging percentage, along with 41 walks and 10 stolen bases. Tholl said, “Anytime that she picks up the bat and steps into the batter’s box, you know, you’re anticipating something exciting happening, and not just because she swings the bat so darn well and she’s so strong, but because she runs the bases so well, and I don’t think that people expect her to scoot around the bases as quickly as she does.”
Tholl added, “She can turn a double into a triple in a heartbeat … her impact and her presence is felt.” For Michigan, that kind of production is the clearest path through a regional where one loss does not end the trip, but every game from here on asks for another answer.
