» No. 19 Michigan persevered to claim a 1-0, nine-inning decision in a pitchers' duel on the road against Michigan State.
» Alex Storako set a new program record with 22 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout; the previous record, held by her, Meghan Beaubien and Jennie Ritter was 19.
» Lexie Blair, who went 4-for-5 at the plate, led off the ninth inning with a solo homer to right field to plate the game's lone run.

Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Secchia Stadium)
Score: #19 Michigan 1, Michigan State 0
Records: U-M (29-5, 29-5 B1G), MSU (10-20, 10-20 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, May 7 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 7 p.m. CDT

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Junior right-handed pitcher Alex Storako blazed a program-record 22 strikeouts to headline the No. 19-ranked University of Michigan softball team's 1-0, nine-inning win over in-state rival Michigan State on Wednesday evening (May 5) at the Spartans' Secchia Stadium. It was the Wolverines' eighth straight win.

Storako (18-2) allowed just two hits and two walks over nine innings en route the complete-game shutout -- her seventh of the season. She struck out the side in the second, third and fourth frames as part of a streak of 13 consecutive strikeouts and then again in the eighth. It was her 12th game this season with double-digit strikeouts.

She previously tied Michigan's single-game record (19) in a seven-inning win against Nebraska on March 11, while senior left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien similarly struck out 19 in U-M's season opener against Purdue. Wolverine great Jennie Ritter held the school record for 15 years, dating back to her 19-strikeout performance in a 1-0, nine-inning win against Oklahoma in the 2006 NCAA Regional semifinals.

Junior center fielder Lexie Blair drove in the winning run with a leadoff homer in the top of the ninth inning. Blair, who went 4-for-5 at the plate, connected with a 2-1 pitch and parked a no-doubt shot deep over the right-field wall for her sixth homer of the season. Blair's four hits -- she also posted a double and two singles -- matched her career high; she boasts four four-hit games in the career.

The Michigan State (10-20, 10-20 B1G) half of the pitchers' duel, freshman RHP Ashley Miller, stranded 12 Michigan (29-5, 29-5 Big Ten) base runners, including seven over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings until Blair kicked off the ninth with the game-winning home run.

The Wolverines will stay on the road this weekend when they head to Minneapolis, Minn., for a four-game set against No. 23 Minnesota at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. The series kicks off with a 7 p.m. CDT slate on Friday (May 7). Every game of the series will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.