When freshman Dorian Shaw steps into the batter's box, people take notice.

At 5-foot-11, her powerful and monstrous swing lets pitchers know they're facing a hard hitter.

In the second game of Sunday's nail-biter against No. 12 Northwestern, Shaw came up to bat in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded and the sixth-ranked Wolverines trailing 2-0.

Michigan had left runners on base all afternoon and failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position. When Shaw stepped up to the plate, the sellout crowd of 2,491 at Alumni Field was looking for a Wolverine rally.

"We needed a timely hit," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "It's amazing that we didn't compete nearly as well as we could have, and we had a chance to win all day."

After hitting a couple prodigious foul balls earlier in the day, including one that bounced off the Indoor Track Building in far left-foul territory, Shaw put together an outstanding 12-pitch at-bat in the sixth.

With a full count, the Burke, Va. native refused to give up as she laced six foul balls to the left side. She woke up the Northwestern dugout with a hard line shot that struck the near corner of the dugout and sent the coaches and players ducking for cover.

"We just try to go down fighting," Shaw said. "And one thing the coaches tell us is don't get cheated. You know you're going to go out there, and you're going to take your cuts.

"Don't let the umpires take it from you. Don't let the pitcher take it from you. Just don't get cheated. That was the thing I was thinking of when she was pitching it, and just trying to put it in play."

Shaw finished the at-bat fanning at a throw just below her knees that may have been called a ball. Ranked second on the team with seven home runs this season, the freshman didn't have the winning hit, but everyone saw the potential damage her powerful swing can inflict.

"That was a great at-bat," Hutchins said. "Great at-bats don't always go your way, and I think that's the only thing she needs to realize . I was very proud of her."

Wildcat pitcher Lauren Delaney tested the Wolverines all afternoon. The sophomore threw two complete games and stifled the Michigan offense with 12 strikeouts in the first game.

Delaney's changeup remained dominant in the backend of the twin bill, but Shaw stayed determined.

"They were all foul, but I think that definitely did something for the team," Shaw said. "To kind of show them there's no reason why we can't hit this girl. I think that we kind of took that going into the seventh and just took it rolling."

Junior shortstop Teddi Ewing fed off Shaw's momentum with a leadoff single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh, which Hutchins called "every bit as important as Samantha Findlay's (game-winning hit).