University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Take Two From Concordia
10/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The Golden Gopher softball team opened its 2006 fall season with two wins over crosstown neighbor Concordia-St. Paul on Friday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
Minnesota won the first game, 9-2, with the middle of the order providing much of the offense. Katie Meyer had doubled twice and had four RBI to lead the Golden Gophers. Megan Higginbotham went three-for-four with two doubles and Mandy Valadez was to-for-two with two RBI. Sophomore Katie Dalen gave up just two runs on six hits and struck out eight to earn the victory.
The Gophers made quick work of the Golden Bears in the night cap, shutting out Concordia 10-0 in five innings. Sophomore Briana Hassett faced just three more than the minimum amount of batters and struck out 10 in a one-hit shutout. Valadez had two more RBI and Higginbotham scored three runs in the game for Minnesota.
In the first game, Minnesota used a two-out rally in the first inning to jump ahead of the Golden Bears. Higginbotham started the rally by beating out an infield hit to the shortstop. Lisa Parks then walked to give the Gophers runners on first and second. Meyer laced a shot over the centerfielder’s head to score two runs, giving Minnesota an early 2-0 lead.
The Gophers put two more runs on the board in the second. Valadez doubled to right center to start the inning and then advanced to third on a groundout by Shannon Stemper. Sophomore Colleen Conway doubled to left field to score Valadez. She then stole third and scored on a throwing error by the Concordia catcher who tried to pick her off, giving Minnesota a 4-0 lead.
Concordia got one run back in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Mallory Olson, who went deep to right center to make the score 4-1.
The Gophers got the run back with a rally in the bottom half of the fifth that was eerily similar to the first inning. Higginbotham led off with a bunt single and then showed off her speed on the base paths by stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Parks then walked and was replaced by pinch runner Bethany Wolvington. Meyer offered up her second two-RBI double of the game to extend Minnesota’s lead to 6-1.
Olson hit her second solo home run of the game in the sixth inning to make the score 6-2, but the Gophers put the game away with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Higginbotham again started the rally with a double and scored on a single by Parks. After back-to-back walks to Meyer and Amber Nelsen, Valadez singled to left field to score two more runs to make the final 9-2.
In the nightcap, Hassett put on a dominating display on the mound, striking out 10 Golden Bears and allowing just one hit in five innings. After giving up a leadoff walk, Hassett settled down to retire the next 11 batters, seven by way of strikes, including striking out the side in both the second and third innings.
The Gophers took advantage of Concordia pitcher Jenny Kaminski’s lack of control in the first inning to jump ahead of the Golden Bears early. Conway started the game with a single through the right side of the infield. She then advanced to second on sacrifice bunt by Nelsen and went to third on a wild pitch. Higginbotham then walked, stole second and also advanced to third on a wild pitch on a play that also scored Conway. Meyer continued to swing the hot bat with a triple to right center to score Higginbotham. Meyer later scored to give the Gophers a 3-0 lead after one.
The Golden Gophers put one run on the board in the second on another wild pitch by Kaminski. After singling to right field, Stemper advanced to second on a passed ball, went to third on a groundout by Colleen Powers and later scored on a wild pitch to put Minnesota up 4-0.
Minnesota nearly batted around in the third inning, with the heart of the order again proving too much for Concordia to handle. Higginbotham started the inning with a triple off the right-center field fence. Meyer followed with a walk and Valadez doubled to plate two runs. Casey Wheeler doubled to score Valadez and Stemper followed with a single to score Wheeler, giving Minnesota an 8-0 lead.
The Gophers ended the game with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Higginbotham scored her third run of the game after a double by Lauren Pockl, who later scored on a triple by Valadez. Concordia was unable to touch Hassett in the top of the fifth, and the game ended by way of 10-run rule.
The Golden Gophers will be in action again on Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m., with a doubleheader against Wisconsin-Superior.
Minnesota won the first game, 9-2, with the middle of the order providing much of the offense. Katie Meyer had doubled twice and had four RBI to lead the Golden Gophers. Megan Higginbotham went three-for-four with two doubles and Mandy Valadez was to-for-two with two RBI. Sophomore Katie Dalen gave up just two runs on six hits and struck out eight to earn the victory.
The Gophers made quick work of the Golden Bears in the night cap, shutting out Concordia 10-0 in five innings. Sophomore Briana Hassett faced just three more than the minimum amount of batters and struck out 10 in a one-hit shutout. Valadez had two more RBI and Higginbotham scored three runs in the game for Minnesota.
In the first game, Minnesota used a two-out rally in the first inning to jump ahead of the Golden Bears. Higginbotham started the rally by beating out an infield hit to the shortstop. Lisa Parks then walked to give the Gophers runners on first and second. Meyer laced a shot over the centerfielder’s head to score two runs, giving Minnesota an early 2-0 lead.
The Gophers put two more runs on the board in the second. Valadez doubled to right center to start the inning and then advanced to third on a groundout by Shannon Stemper. Sophomore Colleen Conway doubled to left field to score Valadez. She then stole third and scored on a throwing error by the Concordia catcher who tried to pick her off, giving Minnesota a 4-0 lead.
Concordia got one run back in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Mallory Olson, who went deep to right center to make the score 4-1.
The Gophers got the run back with a rally in the bottom half of the fifth that was eerily similar to the first inning. Higginbotham led off with a bunt single and then showed off her speed on the base paths by stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Parks then walked and was replaced by pinch runner Bethany Wolvington. Meyer offered up her second two-RBI double of the game to extend Minnesota’s lead to 6-1.
Olson hit her second solo home run of the game in the sixth inning to make the score 6-2, but the Gophers put the game away with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Higginbotham again started the rally with a double and scored on a single by Parks. After back-to-back walks to Meyer and Amber Nelsen, Valadez singled to left field to score two more runs to make the final 9-2.
In the nightcap, Hassett put on a dominating display on the mound, striking out 10 Golden Bears and allowing just one hit in five innings. After giving up a leadoff walk, Hassett settled down to retire the next 11 batters, seven by way of strikes, including striking out the side in both the second and third innings.
The Gophers took advantage of Concordia pitcher Jenny Kaminski’s lack of control in the first inning to jump ahead of the Golden Bears early. Conway started the game with a single through the right side of the infield. She then advanced to second on sacrifice bunt by Nelsen and went to third on a wild pitch. Higginbotham then walked, stole second and also advanced to third on a wild pitch on a play that also scored Conway. Meyer continued to swing the hot bat with a triple to right center to score Higginbotham. Meyer later scored to give the Gophers a 3-0 lead after one.
The Golden Gophers put one run on the board in the second on another wild pitch by Kaminski. After singling to right field, Stemper advanced to second on a passed ball, went to third on a groundout by Colleen Powers and later scored on a wild pitch to put Minnesota up 4-0.
Minnesota nearly batted around in the third inning, with the heart of the order again proving too much for Concordia to handle. Higginbotham started the inning with a triple off the right-center field fence. Meyer followed with a walk and Valadez doubled to plate two runs. Casey Wheeler doubled to score Valadez and Stemper followed with a single to score Wheeler, giving Minnesota an 8-0 lead.
The Gophers ended the game with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Higginbotham scored her third run of the game after a double by Lauren Pockl, who later scored on a triple by Valadez. Concordia was unable to touch Hassett in the top of the fifth, and the game ended by way of 10-run rule.
The Golden Gophers will be in action again on Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m., with a doubleheader against Wisconsin-Superior.
Players Mentioned
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