University of Minnesota Athletics
Pivotal Weekend Ahead For Gopher Softball Team
4/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MINNESOTA at #9 MICHIGAN
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Facility: Alumni Field
Date: Friday, Apr. 27, 5 p.m. (CST)
..........Saturday, Apr. 28, 12 p.m. (CST)
Live Stats: Live stats of both games against the Wolverines will be available through Michigan’s website at www.mgoblue.com.
MINNESOTA at MICHIGAN STATE
(Doubleheader)
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Facility: Old College Field
Date: Sunday, Apr. 29, 11 a.m. (CST)
Live Stats: Live stats of both games against the Spartans will be available through Michigan State’s website at www.msuspartans.com.
Pivotal Weekend
The University of Minnesota softball team heads to the state of Michigan this weekend for a pivotal weekend in Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers, who stand just a half-game back of the necessary eighth spot in the league standings to advance to the Big Ten Tournament, hope to put themselves in position to control their own destiny heading into the final week of conference action.
The Gophers will begin the weekend with a tough test against the ninth-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Friday at 5 p.m., and Saturday at 12 p.m., before they head to East Lansing for a doubleheader against Michigan State beginning at 11 a.m., on Sunday.
The Push for Postseason Play
Standing just a half-game back of eighth place in the conference standings, Minnesota is still very much in the hunt to make the Big Ten Tournament. So is everyone else, however, with the six through 10 seeds currently all within 2.5 games of each other. Every game from here on out is therefore a “must-win”, and while they do not completely control their own destiny, the Gophers have plenty of winnable games remaining.
Here is a look at the log-jam in the middle of the Big Ten standings and the remaining schedules for each team:
Rk...Team............Record...............Rem. Games
6......Purdue.........6-7 (.462)........at (1) Ohio State
....................................................at (8) Penn State
...........................................................(11) Indiana*
7......Wisconsin....5-7 (.417)....at (10) Michigan St.
........................................................at (1) Michigan
.....................................................at (9) Minnesota
8......Penn State...3-5 (.375)...............(11) Indiana
..............................................................(6) Purdue
.....................................................at (1) Ohio State
9......Minnesota....2-5 (.286)...........at (1) Michigan
.................................................at (10) Michigan St.
.........................................................(7) Wisconsin
10....Michigan St..2-8 (.200).............(7) Wisconsin
.........................................................(9) Minnesota
..........................................................(1) Michigan*
* Indicates a home-and-home series.
Note: Numbers preceding school indicate current place in conference standings. Each series is two games.
GOPHER SOFTBALL NOTEBOOK
That's a No-No
In the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against South Dakota State, sophomore pitcher Briana Hassett threw the 15th no-hitter in school history. She collected a career-high 14 strikeouts and was perfect through 5.2 innings before issuing back-to-back walks with two outs in the sixth, the only two batters to reach base for the Jackrabbits.
Hassett’s no-hitter was the first for a Golden Gopher pitcher since teammate Katie Dalen tossed a no-no against Rhode Island on March 18, 2005.
Hassett is just the sixth Big Ten pitcher to throw a no-hitter this season. Ohio State’s Jamee Juarez is the only pitcher in the conference to record multiple no-hitters during the 2007 season. Here is a look at the no-nos thrown by Big Ten pitchers this year:
Pitcher (School)..................Opponent (Date)
Briana Hassett (MINN)............vs. SDSU (4/24)
Jamee Juarez (OSU)............vs. IUPUI (4/18)**
Lesley Noel (MSU)...................vs. IPFW (4/18)
Rachel Turney (MSU)....vs. Miami (OH) (3/25)
Jamee Juarez (OSU)..........vs. Oakland (3/18)
Megan Hair (MSU)........vs. St. Joseph’s (3/6)**
Eileen Canney (NU)...........vs. California (2/17)
** Indicates perfect game.
Weather Permitting
Simply getting games in has been a struggle for the Golden Gophers this season, as they have had seven conference games wiped out due to weather-related issues. Minnesota had a doubleheader at Penn State canceled due to rain before its first four scheduled home games were eliminated due to unplayable field conditions which resulted from persisting freezing temperatures. The Gophers had yet another game canceled last Sunday when the second game of its doubleheader against Northwestern was called due to rain.
A number of Big Ten teams have had similar difficulties during the 2007 season, forcing conference officials to waive a rule which states that the Big Ten champion must complete a minimum of 15 its 20 scheduled conference games. Even if they do complete the remainder of their conference schedules, neither Penn State nor Minnesota would have met that requirement, while Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State will each finish the season with 16 Big Ten games on their records.
Assuming they do play all six of their remaining Big Ten contests, the Gophers will finish the season with just 13 regular season conference games, their lowest total ever. Previously, the fewest number of conference games Minnesota played was 15 in 2002. Minnesota had just three games canceled last season.
Hanging Tough
Minnesota has played some of its best softball against the toughest competition this year. Despite an 0-4 record against ranked opponents, the Gophers have hung tough with some of the top teams in the country.
Minnesota lost a heartbreaker to then-No. 14 Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 17. Minnesota jumped out to a 5-1 lead over the Sooners before OU rallied for five runs in the final two innings to dash the Gophers’ upset hopes. Since then, Oklahoma has climbed to as high as No. 2 in the national rankings and is currently ranked third.
At the Worth Invitational in Fullerton, Minnesota had a 2-0 lead against No. 8 Stanford after the top of the first before the Cardinal responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Gophers played even-up with Stanford the rest of the way in a 6-3 loss.
Most recently against No. 10 Northwestern, the Gophers held a 1-0 lead over the Wildcats before one bad inning led to a 7-1 loss in a game which was called after five innings due to rain.
Adding Pop to the Lineup
Senior third baseman Mandy Valadez has been a pleasant surprise in the lineup for the Gophers this season and currently leads the team with a .305 batting average and 23 RBI while ranking tied for second with five home runs on the season. Valadez hit the first home run of her career in the second game of the season at Jacksonville, a three-run shot which propelled the Gophers to an 11-1 victory.
After spending her first two-and-a-half seasons primarily as a pitcher, Valadez started the final 13 games of 2006 at third base and was impressive enough to convince the coaches to move her there permanently.
Filling The Stat Sheet
Senior Megan Higginbotham has led Minnesota offensively throughout her career in a Golden Gopher uniform. Nothing has changed this season, as Higginbotham ranks first or second in 12 offensive statistical categories.
Statistic.........Higginbotham.....Rank
At Bats.....................126...................1st
Average...................302..................2nd
Runs..........................26...................1st
Hits............................38...................1st
Doubles.....................10...................1st
Triples.........................2....................1st
Home Runs.................5...............T-2nd
RBI............................20...................2nd
Total Bases...............67....................1st
Slugging %...............532...................1st
Walks.........................15..................2nd
Stolen Bases..............11...............T-1st
Mowing Them Down
Two of Minnesota’s pitchers have set or matched career highs in strikeouts this season. Senior Rene Konderik struck out a career-high 11 batters in Minnesota’s 7-6 eight-inning win over Birmingham Southern on Feb. 18. Konderik entered the game in the second inning and kept the Gophers in it the rest of the way to earn her second victory of the season.
Sophomore Briana Hassett has set or matched her career-high in strikeouts on three occassions this season. She matched her then-career-best with 10 strikeouts in Minnesota’s 1-0 shutout against Oklahoma State on March 3 but has since raised the bar twice. She struck out 11 in Minnesota’s home opener against Purdue on April 14 before establishing a new career-high with 14 strikeouts in her no-hitter against South Dakota State on April 24.
