University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Close Non-League Slate, Open Big Ten Play
3/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Gophers Close Out Non-Conference Play, Open Big Ten Season
The University of Minnesota softball team (14-17, 0-0) wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule this week, with a pair of doubleheaders at IUPUI and Butler, before opening Big Ten play with two games at the University of Indiana this weekend.
The Golden Gophers played in their final tournament of the season last weekend, going 1-4 at the Courtyard by Marriott Cardinal Tournament in Louisville, Ky. Two of Minnesota’s losses came in extra innings, including a 3-2 setback versus the host school, #17 University of Louisville. Five of the Gophers’ losses this season have been one-run decisions.
Scouting This Week's Opponents
IUPUI is 2-17 on the year after going 1-2 against Oakland University over the weekend. The Jaguars and Gophers have two common opponents this season, with IUPUI defeating UNC-Greensboro, 6-1, and losing 8-0 to Louisville, while Minnesota lost 1-0 to UNCG and 3-2 to UL.
Butler enters the week with a record of 5-9 after going 5-4 at last week’s Rebel Games in Orlando, Fla. Four of the Bulldogs’ five victories this season have come against members of the Ivy League.
Indiana will head into Saturday’s Big Ten opener against the Gophers with a record of 3-19, but the Hoosiers won two of their last four games at the USF-Under Armour Showcase in Clearwater, Fla., over the weekend. Minnesota and IU have five common opponents, with the Hoosiers going 1-5 in games against Cal State-Fullerton (0-1), UC-Riverside (1-1), nationally-ranked Stanford (0-1), Oregon State (0-1), and Florida Gulf Coast (0-1). The Gophers are 3-2 against those foes, with wins against FGCU, UC Riverside, and Cal State Fullerton.
Co-Head Coaches Lisa Bernstein and Julie Standering
Co-head coaches Lisa Bernstein and Julie Standering coached their 1,000th game at Minnesota earlier this month at the Hillenbrand Invitational on the campus of their alma mater, the University of Arizona. After dropping the first two games of the tournament against the nationally-ranked Wildcats, the Gophers rallied for three consecutive shutout wins. Minnesota defeated St. Joseph’s twice on March 7, with the first game against the Hawks marking their 1,000th since taking the reigns of the softball program in 1992.
Barnes Topsthe Charts
Sophomore first baseman Malisa Barnes, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., leads the team (or is tied for first) in several offensive categories this season. Barnes, who has started all 31 games for Minnesota, tops the Gophers in batting average (.286), runs scored (16), doubles (4), total bases (38), slugging percentage (.388), hits (28), games played (31), runs batted in (13), and home runs (2), while ranking second for on base percentage (.364).
Hassett Carrying the Pitching Staff
After recording the third-highest single-season strikeout total in school history last year with 276 K’s, senior right-handed pitcher Briana Hassett is well on her way to exceeding that mark in 2009.
Through Minnesota’s first 31 contests, Hassett has already struck out 226 opposing batters in just 158 1/3 innings. Hassett also has 19 complete games in 24 starts this year, and has notched complete game shutouts 10 times.
Howard Plays Well at Louisville
Redshirt freshman second baseman Sammie Howard had good offensive numbers for the Gophers at the Courtyard by Marriott Cardinal Tournament in Louisville, Ky., over the weekend. Howard played in four games for the Gophers, making three starts, and going four-for-eight at the plate, with three runs scored, a double, two runs batted in, four walks, and two stolen bases in two attempts.
Howard, who missed most of 2008 with an injury, is batting .197 (12-for-61) with nine runs scored, eight walks, and three stolen bases in 25 games this season.
Minnesota Tangles With Elite Foes
Minnesota posted a 2-3 mark against an elite field at the DeMarini Invitational hosted by Cal State-Fullerton Feb. 27-March 1. The Gophers dropped their first two contests that weekend, but bounced back with a pair of 3-0 shutout wins against UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 28. Minnesota closed out action in Fullerton with a 4-1 loss to Oregon State on March 1.
Briana Hassett recorded complete game shutouts in the Saturday wins over UCR and host CSF. Hassett struck out 14 UC Riverside hitters and eight more in her shutout of the host Titans as she padded her conference lead in strikeouts.
Senior Colleen Conway and sophomore Malisa Barnes led the Gophers at the plate in Fullerton, combining to go 13-for-37 (.351) with three doubles.
Lone Star State Kind to Gophers
The Golden Gophers posted a solid 4-1 record at the Islander Invitational hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Feb. 20-22. The tournament was a homecoming of sorts for current Minnesota players Mallory Mitchell (Forney, Texas) and Natalie Neal (Frisco, Texas), who were each seeing their first collegiate action in their home state.
Gophers Endure Up-and-Down Classic
For the 10th time in the past 12 seasons, Minnesota played host to its mid-winter invitational at the Metrodome Feb. 12-15. The four-day, round-robin competition included 16 games, featuring six different teams from around the country. Minnesota played six games during the tournament, posting a 1-5 record.
Freshman outfielder Dannie Skrove showed consistency at the plate, recording a pair of multi-hit games and playing solid defense in center field. Senior pitcher Briana Hassett and sophomore first baseman Malisa Barnes also had solid weekends for Minnesota, earning spots on the all-tournament team.
The weekend at the Metrodome also included a special Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame induction ceremony honoring former Golden Gopher great Jordanne Nygren and longtime umpire and Minnesota softball supporter Les Novak. The pair became the 49th and 50th members of the elite group.
Hassett Leads Gophers in Tampa
For the third consecutive year, Minnesota got its season underway with a trip to the Sunshine State. After beginning the 2007 and 2008 campaigns in Jacksonville, the Gophers’ season got underway this year on the opposite coast at the Louisville Slugger Tournament hosted by the University of South Florida in Tampa.
The Gophers posted a 3-2 record in their opening weekend of play, highlighted by a 4-3 win over host USF, which was receiving votes in the preseason USA Today/NFCA coaches poll.
Patience at the Plate Pays Off
Entering play this week, Minnesota hitters have drawn a Big Ten-best 90 walks. Senior Shannon Stemper is tied for first in the league in drawing free passes, helping her to a team-leading .402 on-base percentage. Her 18 walks lead the team. Two other Gophers are among the Big Ten’s leaders in bases on balls:
Conway Leading the Minnesota Offense
Senior third baseman Colleen Conway is one again helping to lead Minnesota’s offense. After topping the team in hitting with a .331 average as a junior in 2008, the Gophers’ leadoff hitter for most of the season hit her stride during a solid weekend at the DeMarini Invitational three weekends ago.
Conway was 7-for-19 (.368) at the plate in Fullerton, Calif. Her big weekend coincided with a five-game hitting streak and capped a stretch that saw her hit safely in nine of 10 games.
The native of Woodbury, Minn., ranks among Big Ten leaders in hits (28, t-6th) and at-bats (108, 1st). She also played solid defense at the hot corner, and leads the conference with 75 assists.
Get 'Em Over, Get 'Em In
Redshirt freshman second baseman Sammie Howard leads the team, and is tied for fifth in the Big Ten, with six sacrifice bunts this season. Howard’s ability to get bunts down and advance Minnesota baserunners has contributed to her holding down the second spot in the Gopher order for a majority of the season.
As a team, the Gophers rank fifth in the Big Ten with 20 sacrifice hits.
