University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Penn State
Gophers Blank Penn State, 1-0
4/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 25, 2014
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MINNEAPOLIS - Entering the day having lost two-straight games for the first time all season, the No. 12/13 Minnesota softball team got back on track with a 1-0 win over Big Ten foe Penn State Friday night at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. The victory boosted the Gophers' record to 34-8 with a 12-5 mark in conference action.
Sara Moulton tossed her 11th shutout of the season to tie for the national lead, stifling the Nittany Lions offense by allowing just five hits in a 97-pitch, complete game effort. She notched 11 strikeouts-her ninth double-digit strikeout performance of the season-to up her season total to 203. The right-hander out of Eagan, Minn. is 21-6 on the year.
Moulton improved on school records for wins (106), strikeouts (1,143), innings pitched (968.2), complete games (105), and shutouts (46).
The game was a pitcher's duel on both sides as Penn State pitcher Marlaina Laubach also threw a complete game and did not concede an earned run.
Minnesota, which didn't reach base until the third inning, score the game's only run in the fourth inning when Kaitlyn Richardson led off with a double and came around to score on a passed ball and errant throw to third by Penn State catcher Katie Hatfield.
The double was Richardson's 15th of the season, tying her for the fifth-most by a Gopher in a single season and leaving her one shy of a career-high. She has now doubled 42 times in her career, good for fourth all-time at the school.
The Gophers had a chance to add to their lead in the bottom sixth when Taylor LeMay lined to left with a runner in scoring position and two outs, but PSU right fielder Macy Jones robbed the home team of an insurance run with a diving catch.
Stranding the runner in the sixth did not affect the outcome of the game, however, as Moulton closed out the game by striking out two batters and inducing a game-ending groundout to second.
Minnesota won by a 1-0 score for the fifth time this season.
The two teams will conclude their weekend series with a Saturday doubleheader in Minneapolis. The first game begins at 11:30 a.m. and the second game, which will serve as Minnesota's Senior Day game, kicks of at 3:05 p.m. The series finale will air live on the Big Ten Network. Next week, the Gophers wrap up their regular-season schedule with a midweek doubleheader against North Dakota State and a weekend series at Purdue.
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