University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-Wisconsin Games Televised Live on BTN
4/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
GOPHERS TO FACE WISCONSIN ON BTN
Minnesota will try to even its Big Ten record when the Golden Gophers face the Wisconsin Badgers in a conference doubleheader televised live on Big Ten Network Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 4:06 p.m. (CDT), with Marney Gellner calling the play-by-play and Stacey Phillips adding color commentary. The Gophers are 22-25 overall and are tied for seventh place in the Big Ten with a mark of 5-7. Minnesota split a pair of pitchers’ duels with Penn State on Saturday, losing the first game, 1-0, before recording a 1-0 win in eight innings in the second game.
Senior pitcher Briana Hassett was her steady self against the Nittany Lions, combining over the two games to allow just five hits and one earned run in 15 innings, while striking out 19 and walking five. A right-hander from Eagan, Minn., Hassett is ranked second in NCAA Division I softball with 355 strikeouts in 251 1/3 innings this year. Hassett’s total currently ranks seventh in Big Ten history. Former Northwestern hurler Eileen Canney is sixth on the list with 383 during 2006, and also ranks fifth with 386 during 2007.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are tied, 15-15, in the all-time series between the schools, but the Golden Gophers have won three straight, and four of the past six, against the Badgers. Last year in Madison, Minnesota posted a 4-0 win in 11 innings in the first game, before winning 14-4 in five innings in the second game.
NO CUPCAKES ON THIS SCHEDULE
Minnesota’s 22-25 record is deceptive, as the Golden Gophers have played 10 games against teams ranked in this week’s USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls. Minnesota is 1-9 in those games, but is one of just two teams to win against #7/11 Northwestern in Big Ten play, has taken two Top 25 teams (#6/9 Michigan and #17/18 Louisville) to extra innings, and dropped a pair of 1-0 decisions versus #12/14 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 WISCONSIN
The Badgers enter Wednesday’s games at 12-32 overall and 1-9 in the Big Ten after getting swept by nationally-ranked Ohio State last weekend. The Buckeyes won the first game, 10-0, but it took 11 innings to decide the nightcap, before OSU prevailed by a score of 6-5.
Wisconsin splits its pitching duties primarily between junior right-hander Letty Olivarez and senior left-hander Leah Vanevenhoven. Olivarez is 8-21 with a 3.32 ERA, 18 complete games, and 128 Ks. Vanevenhoven enters with a mark of 4-10 and a 3.49 ERA.
Offensively, sophomore Jennifer Krueger leads the team with a .317 (39-for-123) batting average, 17 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases, while Olivarez leads the Badgers with four 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 (March 17-April 8), 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 .342 (50-for-146), with team-leading totals for runs scored (24), hits (50), home runs (5), runs batted in (24), on base percentage (.429), and slugging percentage (.479), all while maintaining a .985 fielding percentage.
Saturday versus Penn State, Barnes went 2-for-3 in the first game, before going 1-for-2 and drawing two intentional walks in the second game. She’s been walked intentionally four times this season.
In Big Ten play, Barnes is batting a solid .485 (16-for-33), with five runs scored, five RBI, two home runs, a .667 slugging percentage, and a .595 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 19, Hassett has struck out a career-high 355 batters to rank just behind Fresno State’s Morgan Melloh, who leads the nation with 364 strikeouts. The remainder of the Top 10 includes Whitney Canion, Baylor (341); Danielle Lawrie, Washington (309); Ashlyn Williams, Troy (285); Danielle Spaulding, North Carolina (284); Lauren Delaney, Northwestern (273); Brittany Weil, Iowa (263); Missy Penna, Stanford (262); and Kylie Reynolds, Kent State (258). Michigan’s Nikki Nemitz was 15th on the list with 229 strikeouts.
In addition, Hassett is tied for fourth for shutouts (13), tied for 13th for victories (21), and 15th for strikeouts per seven innings (9.9).
CONWAY CONNECTING
Senior Colleen Conway, who led Minnesota with a .331 average in 2008 and has started every game of her Golden Gopher career, had a good effort versus Penn State on Saturday by going 3-for-6 at the plate in the doubleheader. Conway is second on the team with a .286 (46-for-161) batting average, and 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 eight games at shortstop for the Gophers.
MORE ABOUT HASSETT
In 43 appearances totaling 251 1/3 innings, Hassett has struck out a school-record 355 batters. An impressive 47.1 percent of the outs Hassett has been responsible for this season have come via the strikeout, and she currently averages 9.89 Ks per seven-inning game.
In Big Ten games, the senior standout is 5-7 with a 1.99 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 81.0 IP. She has limited opponents to just 26 runs (23 earned) in Minnesota’s 12 conference games this season, an average of just 2.2 runs allowed per game.
Hassett also has 31 complete games in 39 starts this year, and has notched 13 shutouts.
She ranks among the Big Ten’s leaders in the following categories (through games of April 19): Strikeouts (355, 1st); Strikeouts Looking (97, 1st); Innings Pitched (251.1, 1st); Appearances (43, 1st); Games Started (39, 1st); Wins (21, 2nd); Opponent BA (.178, 3rd); ERA (1.89, 8th).
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 two more shutouts this season to break Vicki Swanson’s mark of 14, which was set during the 1978 season.
In addition, Hassett is moving up several of Minnesota’s career pitching charts, currently ranking second for strikeouts (903) and shutouts (30), third for complete games (80), and fifth for both wins (59) and innings pitched (721.1).
With just 1.1 IP versus the Badgers, Hassett will move past Angie Recknor and into fourth place on Minnesota’s career list for innings pitched. Recknor totaled 722.1 IP for the Gophers during 2000-03.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE WIN GAMES
Not surprisingly, senior catcher Shannon Stemper leads the Big Ten with 417 putouts, which is 52 more than the runner-up in the category. As a team, the Gophers rank second in the Big Ten with 395 Ks, to account for the vast majority of Stemper’s total.
Senior Colleen Conway also leads the Big Ten in a defensive category. Conway has 94 assists while playing third base and shortstop, which is seven more the player ranked second in the category.
In addition to her 417 putouts, Stemper has 13 assists and just five errors behind the plate, which adds up to an impressive .989 fielding percentage. More impressively, Stemper has recorded 1,161 putouts, 49 assists, and just eight errors during her career, for a .993 percentage in 157 career games.
As a team, Minnesota has four consecutive games in which it’s played flawless defense, and the Gophers are 13-9 this season in games where they play errorless softball.
DALEN THRIVES IN THE CLUTCH, PART II
Senior right fielder Katie Dalen has come through with a clutch single in the eighth inning to drive in the game-winning run for the Gophers not once, but twice, this season.
Her most recent game-winning hit came in the eighth frame of Saturday’s nightcap versus Penn State. With the game scoreless, and two outs, Dalen blooped a single in front of the Nittany Lions’ left fielder to score pinch runner Chonquita Jones with the winning run.
Earlier this season, Dalen came off the bench to drive in the winning run with a single to right field against Creighton. Interestingly, the final score of both games was 1-0.
Dalen, who has started the past five games in right field, is batting .164 (11-for-67) with six runs batted in, four runs scored, and two doubles this season.
GOLDEN GOPHER, GOLDEN VOICE & WHEELS
Junior utility player Chonquita Jones has dazzled those in attendance with her beautiful renditions of the National Anthem before every Minnesota home games this season. But Saturday, it was Jones’ speed that helped the Gophers earn a split with Penn State at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
Jones, who has only appeared in three games this season -- all as a pinch runner -- came into the second game versus the Nittany Lions after junior left fielder Heidi Carls had reached base on a two-out single to right center in the eighth inning. The speedy Jones then proceeded to steal second base, the first stolen base of her career, and scored the winning run for the Gophers when Katie Dalen singled to short left field.
HOME SWEET HOME
Four Minnesota players are back in their home state of Wisconsin this afternoon, as the Gophers play the Badgers in a doubleheader.
Senior utility player Lauren Pockl (Green Bay, Wis./Preble), junior utility player Nikki Aken (Thorp, Wis./Thorp), freshman pitcher Alissa Koch (Racine, Wis./Racine), and freshman utility player Lindsey Pockl (Green Bay, Wis./Preble) are all natives of America’s Dairyland.
Lauren Pockl has played in eight games, including one start, and has scored one run for the Gophers this season. She was recently featured on gophersports.com, and has aspirations of a career in politics after graduation. She did an internship in the office of Minnesota Congressman Jim Ramstad last fall, and she is in the process of applying to the Coast Guard.
Lauren’s younger sister, Lindsey has played in 23 games for Minnesota, all as a pinch runner during her first collegiate season. Lindsey has scored nine runs, which ranks eighth on the team.
Koch is the Gophers’ backup pitcher, having made 16 appearances, including seven starts. She has been able to learn from two of the top pitchers in Minnesota history -- senior pitcher Briana Hassett and Gophers pitching coach Piper Marten -- and owns a record of 1-7 with a 6.12 ERA. Offensively, Koch is batting .156 (5-for-32) with a double and four runs batted in. As a prep at Racine’s J.I. Case High School, Koch was honored as Wisconsin’s Division I High School Player of the Year during 2007.
THIS WEEKEND’S GAMES ON BTN.COM
This weekend’s home games versus Michigan State will be streamed live on BTN.com.
The Gophers and Spartans will play a single game Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (CDT), with Sunday’s first pitch also slated for 1:00 p.m.
Today’s twinbill at Wisconsin is the second set of games involving the Gophers to be televised live by BTN this season. Minnesota previously split a TV doubleheader with #6 Northwestern on April 8th.
This weekend’s games versus MSU will be the first games involving the Gophers to be streamed live on BTN.com this season.
