University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Play Host to Nittany Lions
4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MINNESOTA PLAYS HOST TO PENN STATE
After playing their past six games against the top three teams in the Big Ten, all of which are ranked in the Top 25, the Golden Gophers return home for two games with Penn State this weekend (April 18-19). Saturday's game is set for a 1:00 p.m. (CDT) first pitch, while Sunday's game begins at 11:00 a.m. The Gophers are 21-24 overall and are tied with the Nittany Lions (15-19) for seventh place in the Big Ten with a mark of 4-6. Minnesota received 15 votes in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll.
Last weekend, Minnesota dropped both games of its series at #8 Michigan, losing 4-1 in eight innings on Saturday before a 7-0 setback on Sunday. Those games followed a split with #6 Northwestern on Wednesday. Minnesota lost the first game, 6-1, but handed the Wildcats their first Big Ten loss of the season with an 8-3 win in the nightcap.
Senior pitcher Briana Hassett made history in the opening game versus Northwestern by establishing a new single-season school record for strikeouts, breaking the previous mark of 311, set in 2003 by current Gophers pitching coach Piper Marten.
A right-hander from Eagan, Minn., Hassett entered this week ranked second in NCAA Division I softball in Ks with 336 in 236 1/3 innings this year. Hassett’s total currently ranks seventh in Big Ten history. She moved past the following players during the games against the Wildcats: Piper Marten, Minnesota (311 in 2003); Lisa Birocci, Iowa (313 in 2004); Lorilyn Wilson, Michigan (317 in 2007); and Marissa Young, Michigan (319 in 2000). Former NU hurler Eileen Canney is sixth on the list with 383 in 2006, and also is fifth with 386 in 2007.
Minnesota holds a 32-12 lead in the all-time series with Penn State. The Gophers are 29-12 in regular season contests, and 3-0 in non-conference or tournament games between the schools.
A TOUGH SCHEDULE
Last weekend’s games versus Michigan wrapped up a stretch of six-straight games against nationally-ranked opponents. Minnesota’s 21-24 record is deceptive, as the Golden Gophers have played 10 games against teams ranked in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. Minnesota is 1-9 in those games, but owns the lone win against #10 Northwestern in Big Ten play, has taken two Top 25 teams (#8 Michigan and #17 Louisville) to extra innings, and dropped a pair of 1-0 decisions versus #15 Ohio State.
In addition, the Gophers have played a total of 23 contests against teams listed among this week’s Top 100 RPI. Minnesota is 2-9 versus the Top 25, 2-2 against teams between #26-50, and 4-4 against teams between #51-100.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State is 15-19 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten after sweeping its series with Wisconsin last weekend. The Nittany Lions won Saturday’s game, 2-1, and then posted a 4-0 shutout on Sunday. tHE nITTANY lIONS split THEIR pitching duties primarily between sophomore right-hander Jackie Hill and freshman right-hander Lisa Akamine. Hill has the better numbers, with a 10-6 record, a 0.92 ERA, 13 complete games, and five shutouts. Akamine enters the weekend with a mark of 5-10 and a 4.93 ERA. Offensively, senior outfielder Sam Hovanec is batting .315 (29-for-92) with a team-best 20 runs batted in, and four home runs. Sophomore Desi Giordano leads the team with seven home runs.
BARNES LEADS MINNESOTA OFFENSE
Sophomore first baseman Malisa Barnes had a career-long 11-game hitting streak earlier this season, and has been leading the Golden Gophers on offense for most of the year. During her streak, the native of Phoenix, Ariz., batted .500 (18-for-36) with 11 RBI, eight runs scored, three home runs, and a double, while striking out just three times.
For the season, Barnes is batting .333 (47-for-141), with team-leading totals for runs scored (24), hits (47), home runs (5), runs batted in (24), on base percentage (.416), and slugging percentage (.475), all while maintaining a .984 fielding percentage. In Big Ten play, Barnes is batting a solid .464 (13-for-28), with five runs scored, five RBI, two home runs, a .679 slugging percentage, and a .571 on base percentage.
HASSETT AMONG STRIKEOUT LEADERS
Senior pitcher Briana Hassett is ranked second in NCAA Division I softball for strikeouts, according to stats released by the NCAA Tuesday afternoon. In updated stats, through games of April 16, Hassett has struck out a career-high 336 batters to rank just behind Fresno State’s Morgan Melloh, who leads the nation with 339 strikeouts. The remainder of the Top 10 includes Whitney Canion, Baylor (314); Ashlyn Williams, Troy (280); Danielle Lawrie, Washington (276); Danielle Spaulding, North Carolina (271); Lauren Delaney, Northwestern (253); Missy Penna, Stanford (247); Brittany Weil, Iowa (246); and Kylie Reynolds, Kent State (228). Michigan’s Nikki Nemitz was 12th on the list with 219 strikeouts. In addition, Hassett was fourth for shutouts (12), tied for ninth in victories (20), and 13th in strikeouts per seven innings (10.0).
CONWAY CONNECTING
Senior Colleen Conway, who led Minnesota with a .331 average in 2008 and has started every game of her Golden Gopher career, is second on the team with a .277 (43-for-155) batting average. Conway also has scored 22 runs and driven in seven runs, while hitting four doubles, two triples, and stealing eight bases in 11 attempts. She has started the past six games at shortstop for the Gophers.
MORE ABOUT HASSETT
In 41 appearances totaling 236 1/3 innings, Hassett has struck out an eye-popping 336 batters. An impressive 47.4 percent of the outs Hassett has been responsible for this season have come via the strikeout, and she currently averages 9.96 Ks per seven-inning game. In Big Ten games, the senior standout is 4-6 with a 2.33 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 66.0 IP. She has limited opponents to just 28 runs (22 earned) in Minnesota’s 10 conference games this season, an average of just 2.8 runs allowed per game. Hassett also has 29 complete games in 37 starts this year, and has notched 12 shutouts.
She ranks among the Big Ten’s leaders in the following categories (through games of April 16): Strikeouts (336, 1st); Strikeouts Looking (88, 1st); Innings Pitched (236.1, 1st); Appearances (41, 1st); Games Started (37, 1st); Wins (20, 2nd); Opponent BA (.182, T-4th); ERA (1.98, 9th).
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE CHARTS
With the single-season strikeout mark already in the books for this year, Hassett has the potential to make her mark on several other categories this season. Hassett needs three more shutouts this season to break Vicki Swanson’s mark of 14, which Swanson set during the 1978 season. In addition, Hassett is moving up several of Minnesota’s career pitching charts, currently ranking second for strikeouts (884) and shutouts (29), third for complete games (78), and fifth for both wins (58) and innings pitched (706.1).
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Not surprisingly, senior catcher Shannon Stemper leads the Big Ten with 397 putouts, which is 50 more than the runner-up in the category. As a team, the Gophers rank second in the Big Ten with 376 Ks, to account for the vast majority of Stemper’s total. Senior infielder Colleen Conway also leads the Big Ten in a defensive category. Conway has 93 assists while playing third base and shortstop, which is 11 more the player ranked second in the category. In addition to her 397 putouts, Stemper has 12 assists and just five errors behind the plate, which adds up to an impressive .988 fielding percentage. More impressively, Stemper has recorded 1,141 putouts, 48 assists, and just eight errors during her career, for a .993 percentage in 155 career games.
