Michigan coach Carol Hutchins has emphasized consistency as the strength of her team.

And in a double-header sweep over Florida State yesterday at Alumni Field, the sixth-ranked Wolverines demonstrated why they've outscored opponents 285-62 this season.

In a lineup packed with power, eight-of-nine Wolverines registered hits in 6-2 and 8-4 wins.

"There's not a weak part of the lineup," said senior co-captain Alessandra Giampaolo, who went 4-for-7 with four RBI. "People are in the lineup because they're going to do their job. I think it's a huge strength of this team, that we're a pickup team.

"The bottom of the lineup picks up the top of the lineup, and the top of the lineup picks up the bottom of the lineup."

But after falling behind 3-1 in the third inning of game two to the Seminoles (12-9 Atlantic Coast Conference, 36-25 overall), the Wolverines had to show their mettle.

"I told them if they want to be champions, they're going to have to start playing like that every inning," Hutchins said.

Senior Samantha Findlay answered the call when, with a runner on, she laced an outside pitch far over the right field bleachers to tie the score at 3-3.

Still tied in the bottom of the fourth, the Wolverines (13-1 Big Ten, 46-5 overall) strung together six consecutive hits and scored five runs to take a commanding 8-3 lead.

Junior Teddi Ewing started the cascade of Michigan hits when she laced a ground ball down the third base line for a standup double. As the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, Ewing has demonstrated consistent power and speed when she has had to be the first Wolverine on base.

"It's always fun to lead off the inning and to know that you can spark the team into having a big inning," Ewing said. "I try not to take a different approach whether I'm the first, second third or eighth batter of the inning. I try to go up there with the same approach - have a good at-bat, see a good pitch and try to drive it."

Sophomore pitcher Nikki Nemitz (21-3) could not seem to find the same force from the mound. Although she went 2-for-6 from the plate, she gave up four earned runs worsening her seventh lowest ERA in the nation (0.76). Nemitz ended the day giving up seven hits and tallying five strikeouts.

With just one more conference series left before the post-season, Hutchins said the midweek slant against the Seminoles keeps her team sharp during a long string of weekend games.

"This time of year your kids would rather play than practice," Hutchins said. "You hope it's a big game environment because at this point in the year, it's all we have left."

The Wolverines will head to State College on Saturday for their final Big Ten series of the regular season against Penn State. Michigan is currently deadlocked with No. 11 Northwestern for the top spot in the conference. If both Michigan and Northwestern win the same number of games next weekend, a coin toss will determine the site of the Big Ten tournament (May 8-10).