ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland University Softball visits No. 19 Michigan in a non-conference bout on Wednesday, March 16 at 4:00 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

The Golden Grizzlies opened Horizon League play last Thursday with a 3-0 sweep over Northern Kentucky winning all three games (3-1, 6-3, 5-4) in Highland Heights to improve OU's overall record to 7-6. 

Lauren Griffith went 4-10 from the plate with two doubles and three RBI in the series while reigning #HLSB Player of the Week, Madison Jones, finished 3-8 with two RBI while adding on her second home run of the year in game two. 

Griffith and Jones lead the team in batting averages at .405 and .295, respectively, as Griffith sits first in the league while posting third in slugging percentage at .649. The LaGrange, Ohio native is also the team's leader in hits at 15 and doubles with six. 

Jones has the second-highest home runs on the team to Cammie Brummitt at two while Brummitt has batted three. 

In the circle, Sydney Campbell boasts a 2.56 earned run average as the fourth-best ERA in the league as the LaGrange, Ohio product has the second most strikeouts looking in the conference at 23 out of her 50 strikeouts this season.

The Golden Grizzlies are 64th in the latest NCAA Softball RPI rankings following last week's series as the best-ranked Horizon League team. OU is also ahead of notable programs such as North Carolina, Iowa State, Baylor, Indiana, and others.

SCOUTING REPORT

MICHIGAN

The No. 21 Michigan squad is 15-6 on the year with ranked wins over UCF, LSU, Duke, and Kentucky as the maize and blue host Toledo Tuesday night. U of M wraps up its non-conference slate with Western Michigan Tuesday, March 22 before starting Big Ten play against Nebraska.

The Wolverines' Kristina Burkhardt is first in the nation in doubles with 13 through 21 games played while also holding 17th in batting average at .485 as of March 14. Lauren Esman and three others hold batting averages above .300 while Esman has five doubles on the team for second. Burkhardt and Annabelle Widra are both 6-7 on stolen base attempts, respectively, as a base-running threat for Michigan.

Alex Storako has the most appearances in the circle for the Wolverines with a 13-11 record and a 0.79 ERA, the 13th-best average in the NCAA, with 122 strikeouts while only giving up a single home run in 244 at bats faced. Three others for U of M have ERAs at 2.89, 1.71, and 0.0 (only one appearance). 
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#HLSB SWEEP
Oakland swept NKU in the Horizon League series opener 3-0 in Highland Heights to start perfect in league play. 

NEAR UPSET ALERT
Oakland started off strong against the Seminoles behind Lauren Griffith's RBI home run to lead 3-0 before FSU would go on to tie at 3-3 then explode out to a 6-3 advantage behind a fiery bottom of the sixth. Griffith would then slap an RBI double to left center as OU pulled within one run at 6-5 before a groundout to second would dash the Golden Grizzlies' hopes.

HEATED UP IN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Golden Grizzlies finished 26-16 overall, 23-11 in Horizon League play last season that concluded in the Horizon League Conference Tournament after No. 2 seed Oakland upset No. 1 seed Youngstown State only to fall to No. 3 seed UIC in the championship match 4-3. 

ALL-LEAGUE HONOREES
Following the 2021 season, five Golden Grizzly athletes were named to #HLSB All-League honors in Cammie Brummitt, Lauren Griffith, Madison Jones, Sydney Campbell, and Jen Krizka. Brummitt, Griffith, and Jones were named to First Team honors as position players while Campbell was one of two to be listed as a First Team Pitcher. Krizka then followed suit with an  All-League Second Team accolade.

RETURNING POWER
Oakland returns all five of the previously mentioned names with an average batting average of .373 as Jones returns to the line up with a team-high .411 average from 2021. Jones was also 15-16 on stolen base attempts and racked up a tying team-high of 13 doubles and seven home runs for a .738 slugging percentage.

Campbell returns to the circle after a 17-7 season a year ago with 91 strikeouts through 165.2 innings pitched to allow 46 earned runs for an ERA of 1.94. 

THE FAVORITE? OAKLAND
The Golden Grizzlies were picked first in the #HLSB Preseason Poll with two first-place votes and 82 in total ahead of Youngstown State who garnered five first-place votes and 81 total, respectively. UIC was third with 74 points (two first-place votes) while Robert Morris (62) and Green Bay (49) rounded out the top five. 

2022 RECRUITING CLASS
The Golden Grizzlies added five student-athletes to the roster for the 2022 season in Kamryn Troyer, Maraina Smith, Jenna Johnston, Kayla Rodriguez, and Taylor Carraway. 

KARN EXTENDED
Head Softball Coach, Lauren Karn, had her contract extended through 2025 as the fifth-year coach has coached 11 student-athletes to All-Horizon League honors while reaching the conference tournament three times with two of those being runner-up performances. Ahead of the 2022 campaign, Karn is 19 wins away from being the all-time winningest coach.