University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Closes Home Schedule With Illinois
4/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MINNESOTA PLAYS FINAL HOME GAMES OF SEASON VERSUS ILLINOIS
Minnesota will try to snap its three-game losing streak when the Gophers play host to Illinois in the final home games at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch each day is slated for 1:00 p.m. The Golden Gophers are 23-28 overall and are tied for seventh in the Big Ten with a mark of 6-10 after going 1-3 in games versus Wisconsin (April 22) and Michigan State (April 25) last week. Minnesota won Wednesday’s opener in Madison by a score of 4-0, but then dropped the second game, 2-1. Last Saturday, the Gophers were on the short end of a 1-0 score in eight innings in the first game of the day, and then lost 3-0 in the nightcap.
Senior pitcher Briana Hassett combined to allow just seven hits and two runs (one earned) against the Badgers, striking out 16 and walking seven. In the games against the Spartans, Hassett combined for 17 strikeouts and just three walks, but MSU came up with 11 hits and four runs (three earned) to complete the sweep of the Gophers. A right-hander from Eagan, Minn., Hassett leads NCAA Division I softball in strikeouts with her school-record total of 388. Hassett’s total currently ranks fifth in Big Ten history, and she needs just 12 strikeouts in Minnesota’s last four games to become one of only four Big Ten pitchers to have recorded 400 or more strikeouts in a season.
Minnesota trails 11-4 in the all-time series with Illinois. The Golden Gophers are 4-10 in regular season contests, and are 0-1 in non-conference and tournament games between the schools. Last year in Champaign, Minnesota won the first game by a score of 2-0, but the Illini countered with a 10-2 win in the nightcap. The last time the schools played at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium was on April 21-22, 2006, when Illinois swept the Gophers by scores of 7-1 and 4-0. The teams were scheduled to play here during 2007, but the games were canceled due to weather.
MINNESOTA’S TOUGH ROAD
Minnesota’s 23-28 record is deceptive, as the Golden Gophers have played 13 games against teams ranked in this week’s USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls. Minnesota is 3-10 in those games, but is one of just three teams to win against #10/12 Northwestern in Big Ten play, has taken two Top 25 teams (#6/8 Michigan and #18 Louisville) to extra innings, and dropped a pair of 1-0 decisions versus #11/12 Ohio State. In addition, the Gophers have played a total of 25 contests against teams listed among this week’s Top 100 RPI. Minnesota is 1-9 versus the Top 25, 3-2 against teams between #26-50, and 5-5 against teams between #51-100.
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 .331 (52-for-157), with team-leading totals for runs scored (24), hits (52), home runs (5), doubles (6), runs batted in (25), on base percentage (.420), and slugging percentage (.465), all while maintaining a .987 fielding percentage. Barnes also has been intentionally walked five times this year. In Big Ten play, Barnes is batting a solid .409 (18-for-44), with six RBI, five runs scored, two home runs, one double, a .568 slugging percentage, and a .527 on base percentage.
HASSETT LEADS NATION IN STRIKEOUTS
Senior right-handed pitcher Briana Hassett leads NCAA Division I softball in strikeouts, according to stats released by the NCAA Tuesday afternoon.
In updated stats, through games of April 29, Hassett holds a slim lead with a career-high 388 Ks to rank just ahead of Fresno State’s Morgan Melloh, who ranks second with 375 strikeouts. The remainder of the Top 10 includes Whitney Canion, Baylor (366); Danielle Lawrie, Washington (333); Danielle Spaulding, North Carolina (307); Ashlyn Williams, Troy (301); Lauren Delaney, Northwestern (288); Brittany Weil, Iowa (288); Kylie Reynolds, Kent State (287); and Missy Penna, Stanford (286).
In addition, Hassett was tied for fourth for shutouts, 12th for strikeouts per seven innings, and tied for 17th for victories.
CONWAY ON A ROLL
Senior Colleen Conway, who led Minnesota with a .331 average in 2008 and has started every game of her Golden Gopher career, stretched her hitting streak to seven games by collecting a hit in each of last Saturday’s games versus Michigan State. Conway, who has hit safely in nine of the last 10 games overall, is batting .348 (8-for-23) during the seven-game streak.
For the season, she is second on the team with a .286 (50-for-175) batting average, has scored 23 runs, driven in seven runs, while hitting five doubles, two triples, and stealing eight bases in 12 attempts. She has started the past 12 games at shortstop for the Gophers.
HASSETT, CONTINUED
In 47 appearances totaling 280 innings, Hassett has struck out a school-record 388 batters. An impressive 46.2 percent of the outs Hassett has been responsible for this season have come via the strikeout, and she currently averages 9.70 Ks per seven-inning game. In Big Ten games, Hassett is 6-10 with a 1.72 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 109.2 IP. She has limited opponents to just 32 runs (27 earned) in Minnesota’s 16 conference games this season, an average of just 2.0 runs allowed per game. Hassett also has 35 complete games in 43 starts this year, and has notched 14 shutouts.
She ranks among the Big Ten’s leaders in the following categories (through games of April 29): Strikeouts (388, 1st); Strikeouts Looking (103, 1st); Innings Pitched (280.0, 1st); Appearances (47, 1st); Games Started (43, 1st); Wins (22, Tie-2nd); Opponent BA (.178, 3rd); ERA (1.80, 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. With a shutout in the first game at Wisconsin (April 22), Hassett tied Vicki Swanson’s single-season school record 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 (936) and shutouts (31), tied for second for complete games (84), fourth for innings pitched (750.0), and fifth for wins (60). With two complete games versus the Illini, Hassett would break Minnesota pitching coach Piper Marten’s school-record total of 85, while two more shutouts would not only break Swanson’s single-season mark, it would tie Marten’s school record of 33.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE WIN GAMES
Not surprisingly, senior catcher Shannon Stemper leads the Big Ten with 449 putouts, which is 47 more than the runner-up in the category. As a team, the Gophers rank second in the Big Ten with 428 Ks, to account for the vast majority of Stemper’s total. Senior Colleen Conway ranks second in the Big Ten in a defensive category. Conway has 99 assists while playing third base and shortstop, which is just one behind the leader in the category.
In addition to her 449 putouts, Stemper has 16 assists and just five errors behind the plate, which adds up to an impressive .989 fielding percentage. More impressively, Stemper has recorded 1,193 putouts, 52 assists, and just eight errors during her career, for a .994 percentage in 161 career games.
As a team, Minnesota has played flawless defense in six of its past eight games, and the Gophers are 14-10 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 the nightcap versus Penn State on April 18. 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 eight of the past nine games in right field, is batting .147 (11-for-75) 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 game this season. But two Saturday’s ago, 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 five 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 bottom of the eighth. The speedy Jones then proceeded to steal second base for the first stolen base of her career, and a few minutes later, scored the winning run for the Gophers by beating the throw to the plate after Katie Dalen singled to short left field.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
The Fighting Illini enter this weekend’s games on the heels of last weekend’s sweep of nationally-ranked Northwestern, followed by a split with Purdue on Wednesday. Illinois is 27-15 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten. Illinois won the first game against Northwestern, 10-8, and then prevailed by a score of 9-8 in the nightcap. The Illini then dropped a 4-1 score in the first game versus Purdue, but responded with a 10-6 win to earn the split with the Boilermakers.
Like the Gophers, Illinois relies primarily on one pitcher, as freshman right-hander Monica Perry has pitched a total of 221.2 innings for the Illini this season. Perry is 22-13 with a 4.11 ERA, 23 complete games, four shutouts, and 209 strikeouts.
Offensively, sophomore Danielle Zymkowitz leads the team with a .406 (58-for-143) batting average, with 45 runs scored, 21 runs batted in, and 19 stolen bases, while sophomore Hollie Pinchback is batting .360 (45-for-125) and leads the Illini with 13 doubles and 36 RBI.
As a team, Illinois has 68 doubles and 34 home runs this season, while scoring 231 runs in just 42 games for an average of 5.5 runs per game.
