Michigan vs. James Madison in NCAA softball regional postponed until Monday

The Detroit News

Ann Arbor — Nearly four hours after Michigan softball’s regional final was supposed to begin Sunday afternoon, it was postponed until Monday.

The Wolverines, unbeaten through two games in the NCAA Tournament regional they are hosting at Alumni Field, will now face James Madison at noon Monday. If the Wolverines win that game they are regional champions. If they lose, a final game against James Madison will follow at 2:30 p.m.

Both games will be carried live on ESPN2.

Rain postponed Sunday's action at Alumni Field until Monday.

Michigan and James Madison were scheduled to play at 2 p.m. Sunday, but a nearby lightning strike forced evacuation of fans from Alumni Field, just before significant rain fell. The game was rescheduled twice, for 6:05, then 7:05, but the decision to postpone was made because the weather radar indicted another stretch of storms would be coming through.

Michigan won its first two NCAA regional games, including the 12-inning, drama-filled 1-0 victory over James Madison on Saturday. Wolverines third-baseman Madison Uden’s shot to left-center scored Natalie Peters to secure a spot in the regional final. It was the Wolverines’ fifth walk-off win of the season. James Madison responded to that loss shortly after that marathon game by beating DePaul 3-0 on three home runs.

The winner of the regional will advance to a Super Regional against the winner of the regional hosted by UCLA, the No. 2 overall tournament seed.

The Wolverines (45-11) are ranked No. 19 and James Madison (49-8) is ranked No. 16.

Ann Arbor Regional

All games at Alumni Field

Format: Double elimination

FRIDAY

Game 1: No. 2 James Madison 5, No. 3 DePaul 2

Game 2: No. 1 Michigan 8, No. 4 St. Francis 0

SATURDAY

Game 3: Michigan 1, James Madison 0 (12 innings)

Game 4: DePaul 3, St. Francis 1

Game 5: James Madison 3, DePaul 0

SUNDAY

Games postponed

MONDAY

Game 6: Michigan vs. James Madison, noon (ESPN2)

Game 7 (if necessary): Michigan vs. James Madison, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

achengelis@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @chengelis

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