University of Minnesota Athletics
SOFTBALL TEAM HEADS TO NORTHWESTERN AND MICHIGAN STATE
4/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MINNESOTA'S CO-COACHES - Minnesota co-head coach Lisa Bernstein is in her eighth season at the school. Her overall record is 276-197-1 (.583). Bernstein won her 250th game in the Triangle Classic, defeating Ball State in the Gophers' first game Feb. 21. She won her 100th Big Ten game Saturday in the nightcap against Indiana. In the last three-plus seasons, Minnesota has won 69 percent of its games and qualified for two NCAA tournaments.
Minnesota co-head coach Julie Standering was elevated to her current position Jan. 22, and has a Minnesota career record of 36-15 (.706). Standering was an assistant coach at Minnesota from 1992-96 and had been the associate head coach of the Gophers for the past two seasons.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN - The Wildcats (25-26, 6-8) have struggled recently, losing three games at home to Michigan State last weekend by a combined score of 29-5 and dropping 11 of their last 15 contests. Northwestern travels to DePaul for a doubleheader Tuesday before hosting the Gophers on Wednesday.
The leading hitters for Northwestern are sophomore utility player Brooke Siebel (.358, 5 HR, 33 RBI) and first-year oufielder Erin Jancic (.331, 18 runs, 22 RBI). Siebel is also the Wildcats' top pitcher (18-15, 2.49 ERA). First-year pitcher Kelly Campbell (3-3, 3.52 ERA) is the likely starter in the other game. Head coach Sharon Drysdale is in her 21st year at Northwestern and has a record of 585-456-3 at the school.
THE SERIES - Minnesota leads the series, 35-29. The Gophers swept a doubleheader from the Wildcats last year in Minneapolis by scores of 11-1 in five innings and 10- 4. Minnesota also defeated Northwestern 6-0 in the 1998 Big Ten Tournament, with Shannon Beeler hitting two home runs for the Gophers. Minnesota split a doubleheader in their last trip to Evanston in 1997, losing the first game, 4-3, and winning the nightcap, 1-0. Minnesota has won the last four games against Northwestern.
Big Ten Pct. Record Pct. Michigan 17-1 .944 45-7-1 .858 Minnesota 9-5 .643 36-15 .706 Michigan State 8-6 .571 34-17 .667 Penn State 9-7 .563 28-18 .609 Wisconsin 7-6 .538 23-15 .605 Iowa 7-7 .500 33-20-1 .620 Purdue 8-9 .471 29-21 .580 Northwestern 6-8 .429 25-26 .490 Indiana 3-13 .188 17-32 .347 Ohio State 2-14 .125 16-27 .372 ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE - The Spartans (34-17, 8-6) had a huge weekend in Evanston, sweeping three games against Northwestern to move into third place in the Big Ten standings, one game behind Minnesota. Michigan State will finish with a maximum number of 22 Big Ten games, as two games against Wisconsin and Purdue have been lost to the weather. The Spartans host Indiana on Wednesday before Minnesota visits for the weekend.
Michigan State is a potent offensive team with a .323 Big Ten batting average and a 4.9 runs per game average in conference play. Sophomore outfielder Shealee Dunavan (.392, 4 HR, 27 RBI), senior outfielder Carrie Carpenter (.361, 22 runs) and senior catcher Molly Hugan (.319, 3 HR, 32 RBI) lead the Spartan offense. The likely pitchers are junior right-hander Erica Strutz (24-10, 1.63 ERA) and first-year right-hander Becky Gray (9-5, 2.03 ERA). Head coach Jacquie Joseph is in her sixth year at Michigan State and has a school record of 195-145.
THE SERIES - Minnesota leads the series, 41-21. The Gophers swept the final three games of the 1998 regular season from the Spartans in Minneapolis by scores of 2-1 (11 inn.), 3-1 and 7-2. Minnesota was swept in its last visit to East Lansing in 1997, losing three games by scores of 3-1, 11-4 and 3-2.
BIG TEN UPDATE - Michigan needs two victories to clinch the 1999 Big Ten title and the top seed in the 1999 Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota has taken a slim one-game lead over Michigan State and Penn State for second place. Wisconsin moved into the top half of the standings with a three-game sweep of Ohio State, but must travel to Michigan this weekend. The top five teams qualify for the 1999 Big Ten Tournament on May 14-15 at the field of the top seed.
GOPHERS SWEEP WISCONSIN AND INDIANA - Game 47: Minnesota 6, Wisconsin 0 - Steph Klaviter threw the fifth one-hitter of her career, the first against a Big Ten opponent, to lead the Gophers to victory. The Badgers could only produce a second-inning single against the Gopher senior in her 19th career shutout. Minnesota scored two unearned runs in the second inning and four runs in the fourth inning, keyed by a two-run single by Jordanne Nygren (Farmington, N.M./Farmington).
Game 48: Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 3 - The Gophers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to complete the sweep in Madison. Michelle Bennett (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) hit a two-run triple and Morgan Holden (Los Lunas, N.M./ LaCueva) singled in Bennett with two out in the third inning to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead. Angel Braden (Chino, Calif./St. Lucy's) grounded out to score pinch- runner Ninette Mohns (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc) in the fifth inning to increase the Gopher lead to 4-2. Wisconsin's Julie Borchard homered with one out in the seventh inning to complete the scoring. Steph Klaviter pitched the first 4 1/3 innings for her 13th win of the season and Michelle Harrison retired the final Badger for her fourth save.
Game 49: Minnesota 9, Indiana 1 (5 inn.) - Minnesota scored four runs in the third inning and five runs in the fourth inning to invoke the eight-run rule after 4 1/2 innings. Erin Brophy started the scoring with her fourth home run of the season, a solo blast to center field. Steph Midthun (Rio Rancho, N.M./Cibola) had two singles and scored two runs. Shannon Beeler drove in four runs with a two-run triple in the third inning and a two-run single in the fourth inning. Steph Klaviter pitched a complete game, allowing one unearned run and four hits.
Game 50: Minnesota 6, Indiana 3 - The Gophers broke a 3- 3 tie with three sixth-inning runs to claim the victory. Erin Brophy singled in the go-ahead run and Steph Midthun added insurance with a two-run single. Earlier in the game, Brophy hit her fifth home run of the season, marking the second time this season she has hit home runs in both ends of a doubleheader. Midthun had three hits to lead a nine-hit attack, the eighth time this season she has had three or more hits in a game. Steph Klaviter pitched in relief and retired the final eight Hoosiers for her 15th win of the season.
Game 51: Minnesota 10, Indiana 0 (5 inn.) - Minnesota scored multiple runs in three innings and ended the game in five innings for the second time in three games against Indiana. The Gophers scored two runs in the second inning on a single by Morgan Holden. Minnesota added four runs in the third inning on a double by Angel Braden, a triple by Michelle Bennett and a two-run homer by Erin Brophy, her third in three games and sixth of the season.
KLAVITER NAMED BIG TEN PITCHER OF THE WEEK - Steph Klaviter has had some very special weeks during her four-year career at the University of Minnesota. Her performances against Wisconsin and Indiana made last week another one of those special weeks. Appearing in all five Gopher games, Klaviter compiled a 5-0 record and allowed one earned run in 24 innings pitched for a 0.29 ERA. She threw her fifth career one-hitter against Wisconsin in a 6-0 victory. Klaviter tossed her 20th career shutout in a 10-0, five-inning win against Indiana. She was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for her efforts. Klaviter is Minnesota's all-time winningest pitcher after winning her 68th game March 5 at Texas A&M. She broke the record previously held by Brenda Bixby, who won 67 games from 1988-92. Klaviter, who has won 73 percent of her games at Minnesota (77- 29), is in second place on the Gopher all-time list with 690 innings pitched, 351 strikeouts and is tied for second with 20 shutouts.
BEELER CONTINUES THE RECORD CHASE - Minnesota shortstop Shannon Beeler has shattered many of the records in the Gopher record book, both single season and career. No Gopher has hit more home runs than Beeler, and no Gopher has driven in more runs than Beeler, either in a single season or a career. Since that measure of comparison is gone, Beeler must now be compared to the greatest players in Big Ten and NCAA history. She moved into fifth place on the NCAA all-time RBI list with seven RBI against Indiana. Beeler now has more career RBI than any non-Arizona player in NCAA Division I history. With her home run against Indiana on Sunday, Beeler became the 15th player in NCAA Division I history to hit 40 home runs in her career. The data:
NCAA DIVISION I CAREER LEADERS Home Runs 1. Leah Braatz, Arizona, 85 11.Stephanie DeFeo, USL, 43 Jennifer Cline, Washington, 43 13.Nina Lindenberg, Fresno St./LBSU, 40 Chelo Lopez, Cal State Northridge, 40 Shannon Beeler, Minnesota*, 40 Runs Batted In 1.Jenny Dalton, Arizona, 328 2.Leah Braatz, Arizona, 322 3.Laura Espinoza, Arizona, 315 4.Leticia Pineda, Arizona, 240 5.Shannon Beeler, Minnesota*, 229 * denotes active players OTHER BEELER NUMBERS - A career .360 hitter, Shannon Beeler is currently fourth on the Minnesota all-time list for batting average. She has 264 career hits, and she collected her 100th extra-base hit Saturday against Indiana. She is second on the Gopher all-time chart with 158 career runs scored.
THE DEUCE DRIVES ON - Minnesota center fielder Steph Midthun can occasionally get overlooked on a team that hits as many home runs as the Gophers do. However, do not underestimate the impact that the Minnesota leadoff hitter has on the Gopher offense. Midthun leads the team with 65 hits and 22 stolen bases, and is second among Gophers with a .371 batting average and 37 runs scored. Midthun singled in her first at bat against MSU, Mankato on March 31, the 200th hit of her career. She is the seventh Gopher in history to accumulate 200 hits. A career .345 hitter, Midthun is second on the all-time career list with 73 stolen bases and is third with 144 runs scored.
BRADEN LEADS GOPHER HITTERS - It might surprise some people that sophomore infielder Angel Braden is among Minnesota's top offensive players, both in overall and Big Ten play. Despite missing five weeks with a broken orbital bone suffered in New Mexico, she is Minnesota's leading hitter with a .386 (32-83) batting average. In Big Ten play, Braden leads the Gophers with a .386 (17- 44) batting average, and is second on the team with a .545 slugging percentage, 17 hits and nine runs batted in. Braden has improved her career batting average to .333 (60-180) with 24 runs scored, 12 extra-base hits and 34 RBI in 61 career games.
GOPHER LONG-BALL NOTES - Minnesota has set a new school record with 35 home runs this season, and has tied the 1997 Iowa team for the Big Ten's single-season record. One of the main reasons for that is first-year infielder Jordanne Nygren. Nygren has hit 12 home runs this season, just two shy of the school record for a season set by Shannon Beeler in 1998. Nygren and Beeler have combined for 22 home runs, more than any Big Ten team in 1999. Erin Brophy has added six home runs, which is tied for sixth on Minnesota's single-season list, and has 11 career dingers, which is tied for fourth on the all-time Minnesota list.
KLAVITER, BEELER TO PARTICIPATE IN USA SOFTBALL NATIONAL TEAM FESTIVAL - Steph Klaviter and Shannon Beeler have been chosen to participate in the 1999 Coca-Cola USA Softball Women's National Team Festival from June 8-14 in Fresno, Calif. Klaviter and Beeler will be two of 60 players in the Festival. Ten players in the group have been chosen to participate as a member of the United States team at the 1999 Pan American Games. Klaviter and Beeler will compete for one of the five remaining positions.
NEXT WEEK - Minnesota concludes the 1999 regular season next week with a five-game homestand at the Bierman Softball Complex. The Gophers host Iowa in a Big Ten doubleheader Wednesday, May 5, at 2 p.m. Minnesota hosts Ohio State in a three-game series Saturday, May 8, at 1 p.m., and Sunday, May 9, at noon.
