University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Opens 2012 Season in Las Vegas
2/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 10, 2012
| Sportsco Kick-Off Classic | |
| Date | February 10-12, 2012 |
| Tournament Central | |
| Location | Las Vegas, Nev. (Eller Media Stadium) |
| Game Notes | Minnesota| Kent State | UNLV | Weber State | CSU Bakersfield |
| Social Media | Facebook | Twitter |
Up to Bat
Minnesota opens the 2012 season this weekend at the Sportsco Kick-off Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. The Gophers will play four games at Eller Media Stadium on the campus of UNLV with two games Saturday and another pair on Sunday.
Sportco Kick-Off Classic Schedule
Friday, Feb. 10
9:00 am CSU Bakersfield vs. Kent State
11:15 am CSU Bakersfield vs. Oklahoma
1:30 pm Kent State vs. Weber State
3:45 pm UNLV vs. Oklahoma
6:00 pm UNLV vs. Weber State
Saturday, Feb. 11
9:00 am CSU Bakersfield vs. Weber State
11:15 am Oklahoma vs. Weber State
1:30 pm Oklahoma vs. Kent State
3:45 pm Kent State vs. Minnesota
6:00 pm UNLV vs. Minnesota
Sunday, Feb. 12
9:00 am Oklahoma vs. Kent State
11:15 pm Minnesota vs. Weber State
1:30 pm Minnesota vs. CSU Bakersfield
3:45 pm UNLV vs. CSU Bakersfield
Sportco Kick-off Classic Opponents
Kent State
Minnesota opens up the 2012 season with Kent State on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. The Flashes finished the 2011 season with a 20-31 record. They return eight letterwinners from last year's squad (two pitchers and six positional players). Among those six positional players are Abbey Ledford, Alex, Marcantonio and Lauren Grimes who each hit over .300 last spring. The Flashes will have a trio of games under their belt before facing Minnesota.
The Gophers and Kent State have only met once in the two team's history, which came on March 22, 1991. Minnesota would escape with a 2-1 victory over the Flashes at the Pony Tournament in Fullerton, Cailf.
UNLV
After playing Kent State, the Gophers will turn around and play the tournament host in UNLV at 8 p.m. The Rebels are coming off a 27-18 year where they finished second in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV returns nine starters from a year ago, including Amanda Oliveto, who went 21-10 in the circle and struck out 199 batters. When the two foes meet Saturday night, the Rebels will have two games under their belt to the Gophers one.
UNLV leads the all-time series with Minnesota at 4-2. The last meeting between the two was on March 15, 2005 when the Rebels shutout the Gophers 3-0 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Weber State
The Gophers kickoff Sunday with a matchup against Weber State at 1:15 p.m. The Wildcats closed out 2011 with a 12-38 record in only their second season in the history of the softball program. Weber State's top returner is Erika Dixon who had a .338 batting average last spring and stole 35 bases. The Wildcats will have played four games over the weekend before meeting the Gophers.
Minnesota holds the all-time series at 2-0 after sweeping Weber State in the inaugural season of the Wildcats in 2010. The Gophers pulled out a 5-4 home victory on March 20 while they throttled the Wildcats the following day 14-5 in five innings.
CSU Bakersfield
Minnesota closes out the Sportsco Kick-off Classic with a 3:30 p.m. game against CSU Bakersfield. The Roadrunners have completed their transition from Division II to Division I, and they are now eligible for postseason play in Division I. CSUB finished the 2011 season with a 17-38 record, and they return seven starters from that squad. Karissa Veiga is atop that list of returners as she led the team with 51 hits and 28 runs.
Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between Minnesota and CSU Bakersfield.
The Return of Moulton
Pitcher Sara Moulton returns after having a historic year in the circle for Minnesota as she was voted the Big Ten Freshman of the year and selected Second Team, All-Great Lakes Region. Moulton set a school record last season by winning 28 games and tied a school record with 14 shutouts, which ranked fifth in the nation. The Eagan, Minn. native also recorded 330 strikeouts, which ranked seventh in the country.
Growing Up Fast
The Gophers add seven freshmen to the roster this season, and Coach Allister has mentioned that all seven will play an integral part this season with possibly five freshmen starting the season opener. Of those five freshmen starters, three of them are projected to start in the infield with junior Alex Davis at first base.
Road Warriors
Minnesota begins the 2012 season with 31-straight road games before their first home contest on March 31. Those 31 games are top among Big Ten Conference schools.
Reviewing 2011
The Gophers are coming off a successful 2011 season in which they went 31-24 and tallied their first 30-win season since 2004. Last season was also the inaugural year for first-time head coach Jessica Allister. Under Allister's tutelage, Minnesota had their most Big Ten Conference wins since 2004 (nine), increased their batting average by .031 points from 2010 and recorded 25 less errors.
At the end of the season, Minnesota had two All-Conference players in Malisa Barnes and Sara Moulton, who were both named to the second team. Moulton went on to win the Big Ten Freshmen of the Year and was also named Second Team, All-Great Lakes Region.
Facing 2011 NCAA Qualifiers
This season the Gophers will face 10 teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. Those 10 teams will combine for 17 of the Maroon and Gold's contests this season. Also among those 10 teams are four national ranked opponents in No. 1/1 Arizona State, No. 10/12 Georgia, No. 15/16 Michigan and No. 20/21 Nebraska.
Viewing the Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference returns 27 All-Conference performers (including Nebraska) from a season ago. Each team will return at least one All-Conference honoree from a year ago.
Gopher Facebook/Twitter
For the latest and most updated information on Minnesota women's gymnastics check out the team on Facebook and Twitter.
Get Score Updates on Your Phone
Fans can get scoring updates from all Golden Gopher athletics through the Twitter account @GopherScores. Just find and follow @GopherScores, then set up your phone or mobile device to receive text updates.
