University of Minnesota Athletics
Softball Closes Weekend With 2-0 Win Over Belmont
3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Athens, Ga. - The Minnesota softball team wrapped up its stay at the Georgia Bulldog Invite this morning (Mar. 7), with one game on the docket against Belmont. After the first five innings went scoreless, the Gophers added runs in the fifth and seventh for a 2-0 win.
The Gophers became the first to crack the scoreboard in the top of the fifth after finally knocking Kelsey Klucas (Aitkin, Minn.) around for the 1-0 lead. Allison Murphy (Rapid City, S.D.) started the rally with an infield single, and was they pinch ran for by Klucas. After a fly out by Allie Siu (Maple Grove, Minn.), Lacey Middlebrooks (Wake Village, Texas) was next to take the batter's box.
Although Middlebrooks struck out, Klucas moved over to second on a wild pitch, leaving her in scoring position with two outs. Up next, Malisa Barnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) put the bat on the ball, forcing the second baseman into a fielding error allowing Klucas to come all the way around for the score.
The Gophers went down in order in the sixth, but added one insurance run in the top of the seventh. Dannie Skrove (Zimmerman, Minn.) banged out a lead-off double and was then promptly moved over to third with on a sac bunt from Murphy. Then another wild pitch from the Belmont starter and Skrove came home for the 2-0 lead.
The next two Gophers were retired, but they had their 2-0 lead with Middlebrooks set to close it out. And she went on to do just that, pitching a perfect seventh inning for her ninth win of the season.
The Gophers improve to 9-13 in 2010 with the win, and leave Georgia on a winning note. In Athens, the Gophers were 2-1 against teams not ranked No. 4 in the country.
Middlebrooks allowed just one hit on the day and registered double-digit strikeouts for the second straight time with 10 in the game.
Next week the Gophers head to the Southwest for the Arizona Wildcat Invitational Mar. 12-14. While in Tucson, they will play Creighton, Illinois-Chicago, Northern Colorado and St. John's in addition to host Arizona.
