The afternoon had been as deadlocked as Friday traffic on State Street.

Entering Sunday's double-header tied for first place in the Big Ten, the No. 6 Michigan softball team and visiting No. 12 Northwestern gave the sellout crowd at Alumni Field two tight battles.

Both games were pitch-for-pitch, throw-for-throw and hit-for-hit, and it was clear each team was just one hit away from the win. In game one, the Wolverines fell short, leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. In game two, they delivered, with a walk-off single from senior second baseman Samantha Findlay.

By splitting, the Wolverines (16-2 Big Ten, 44-5 overall) and Wildcats (16-2, 32-11) remain tied for first place in the Big Ten. In the event that both squads perform equally in their final series next weekend, they will share the Big Ten regular-season title and a coin-flip will determine the Big Ten Tournament site.

"I think that each team taking one really shows what this conference is about," freshman first baseman Dorian Shaw said. "Anyone can beat anyone on any given day."

After leaving 10 runners on base in their first-game 2-1 loss, the Wolverines looked to relax at the plate and choose their pitches wisely.

"It seemed like all day we were just one hit away from the big hit or from getting runs," Findlay said. "We loaded the bases plenty of times and didn't capitalize."

But the Wolverines made it count when it mattered most.

In the second game, Michigan found itself trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Findlay stepped up to the plate with one out and the bases loaded.

With two strikes, the Wolverines' all-time home run and RBI leader hit a line drive to left field.

The crowd rose to its feet as sophomore Kristin Larsen scored and sophomore Molly Bausher sprinted home from second base to make a diving slide as her left hand touched the plate to give Michigan the 3-2 victory.

"I saw Sam roped the ball to left field and there was no stopping me - I was going home all the way," Bausher said. "I had a great path towards home and her throw wasn't great, but even if it was, I think I still would have been safe."

Northwestern stifled the usually potent Wolverine offense for much of the afternoon. After claiming two five-inning mercy-rule wins against Michigan State on Friday and Saturday (10-0 and 11-3), Michigan had just four runs against Wildcat pitcher Lauren Delaney. The sophomore ace had 18 strikeouts in two complete games and had shut out the Wolverines in game two until the bottom of the seventh.

"They just need to work on understanding a one-pitch focus," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "I don't think we were as focused as we needed to be on competing. What did we think? 'They were going to come in and let us win?' "

Freshman pitcher Jordan Taylor (24-2) kept the Wolverines alive in the second game, giving up just three hits and striking out six batters. Taylor replaced sophomore pitcher Nikki Nemitz (20-3) in the final inning of game one after Nemitz gave up nine hits and two earned runs.