University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Central Michigan
Gophers Snag Two Wins to Open Arizona Trip
2/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 17, 2012
The University of Minnesota softball team opened up the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz. on a high note as it garnered a pair of wins in the first day of play. With the two wins, the Gophers improve to 5-1 on the season, which is the team's best start since going 6-0 in 2003.
The Golden Gophers first put it to Iowa State in the tournament opener, 9-1. The Maroon and Gold were led by freshman Tyler Walker, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI, which included a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth.
Minnesota came back in an afternoon game to trump Central Michigan 2-0 thanks to late heroics by freshman Hannah Granger, who singled in the game-winning run, and dominant pitching by Sara Moulton, who threw a one-hitter.
Game 1: Minnesota 9, Iowa State 1 (6 innings)
Final Stats
Freshman Tyler Walker's grand slam in the fourth inning surged the Golden Gophers (4-1) past Iowa State (2-2) in the opening game of the Littlewood Classic. Minnesota improved to 4-1 on the season with the 9-1 victory, and sophomore pitcher Sara Moulton moves to 3-1 on the season.
Walker put together another stellar performance in her young collegiate career by going 2-for-3 with four RBI and one home run. The freshman from San Jose, Calif. leads the team with three home runs on the year.
Minnesota led from the start as Walker tallied a double to begin the game. Later in the inning, junior Alex Davis would single home Walker on a shot to right center, putting the Gophers up 1-0.
Davis went 2-for-3 with one RBI and scored once against the Cyclones.
The Maroon and Gold would add another run in the second when outfielder Bree Blanchette bombed a ball over the centerfield fence for her first collegiate home run. Blanchette went 2-for-2 in the game while scoring three of Minnesota's nine runs.
The Cyclones would make it interesting in the top of fourth by tallying a run to make it 2-1, but Minnesota opened the flood gates in the bottom of the fourth by scoring five runs.
Davis led off the inning with a single through the left side of the infield and would circle the bases thanks to a Cyclone error and a Madie Eckstrom RBI single to left-center field, which increased the Gopher lead to 3-1. Walker would eventually make that 7-1 with her one-out grand slam.
Moulton would be pulled after five innings and Alissa Koch would relieve the starter. Moulton pitched five complete innings while surrendering four hits and striking out nine batters. The Eagan, Minn. native's strikeout total for the season has now reached 33.
The Gophers would add two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to reach the eight-run rule, which ended the game with a score of 9-1.
Game 2: Minnesota 2, Central Michigan 0
Final Stats
In a game that was dominated by pitchers, the Gophers (5-1) managed to generate two runs in the top of the seventh to sneak away with a 2-0 victory over Central Michigan (0-1). Moulton threw a one-hitter, but it was freshman Hannah Granger who served as the hero in this game as she singled in Kari Dorle for the game-winning run in the seventh.
With only having a pair of hits entering the top of the seventh, Minnesota focused and tallied four more hits to generate two runs in the final inning of the game. Dorle came up with one out and no one on and had a seeing-eye single to begin the rally. Davis came up next and lined a double to the right-center wall to put Dorle on third. It was at that point that Granger hit a chop single to the pitcher, which allowed Dorle to score.
Minnesota would score another run when Erika Smyth drilled a ball to leftfield to bring in Davis, who reached third on Granger's single.
With only a two run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, the pressure sat on Moulton and the Gopher defense's shoulders. They rose to the occasion as they forced the Chippewas into a three up, three down inning to close out the game.
Moulton threw a complete game one-hit shutout in the final game of the day. The sophomore struck out a season-high 12 batters while only walking two.
The Golden Gophers return to action tomorrow afternoon when they face off against Illinois State at 4 p.m. and No. 5 Arizona State. Times are subject to change based on the length of the games prior.
