University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Penn State
Gophers Sweep Senior Day Twin Bill
4/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 26, 2014
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score | 
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MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 12/13 Minnesota softball team swept a doubleheader against Big Ten foe Penn State Saturday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium on Senior Day, winning by 9-0 and 16-2 scores. Both games ended in five innings as run-rule decisions. The Gophers, who completed a weekend sweep with the pair of victories are now 36-8 on the season with a 14-5 mark in the Big Ten.
Sara Groenewegen tossed her first-career no-hitter in the first game and Sara Moulton earned her 22nd win of the season in the second game. Ten of 11 Minnesota players with at bats recorded a hit and seven of those players had multi-hit days.
The first game saw Minnesota get all the offense it needed in the first inning when Groenewegen and Madie Eckstrom notched RBI singles to stake the Maroon and Gold to a quick 2-0 lead.
After capitalizing on a PSU error to add another run in the second, Minnesota pulled away with a two-run homerun by Tyler Walker in the fourth. In the fifth, Minnesota ended it when Sam Macken knocked in a run with a single to left center and Walker blasted her second home run in as many innings off the scoreboard in right field.
Groenewegen allowed two baserunners in five innings of work, racking up eight strikeouts with a walk.
Penn State jumped ahead in the first inning of the second game, scoring its only two runs of the weekend, but Minnesota answered right back in the home half of the frame with two-RBI doubles by Groenewegen and Eckstrom. Taylor LeMay made it a 6-2 contest in the second inning by belting a two-run home run, her team-high 10th long ball of the season to make it 6-2.
Following a scoreless third stanza, the Gophers broke the game open with their highest-scoring inning of the season in the fourth, plating 10 runs.
Kaitlyn Richardson got the inning started with a two-run home run and Minnesota used a pair of Nittany Lion errors, as well as RBI hits from Groenewegen, Bree Blanchette, Sydney Fabian, and Erika Smyth to gain a 16-2 lead. In addition to her homer, Richardson scored two more runs with a double before the frame came to a close.
Moulton struck out three in four innings of work before being relieved by Nikki Anderson in the fifth to add to her school-record win total of 107. Moulton also has program records with 972.2 innings pitched and 1,147 strikeouts.
Walker and Richardson each notched her eighth home run of the season on the day. Walker is now third on Minnesota's all-time home runs list with 29 and Richardson is one behind her with 28. Richardson's double was her 16th of the season, tying a career-high that also gives her the fourth-most for a Gopher in a single season. Her 43 career doubles also rank her fourth on the school's all-time list.
The 16-run output in the second game was Minnesota's most in a single game this year and the team's shutout in the first game was the 21st of the year for the Gophers. They lead the Big Ten with 53 home runs this season.
The games were the final Big Ten home games for seniors Moulton, Blanchette, and Kelsey Klucas. Senior manager Eric Reinhart was also recognized for his contributions to the team in the Senior Day ceremony before the second game.
Minnesota wraps up its home schedule with a Wednesday doubleheader against North Dakota State before concluding its regular season next weekend with a road series against Purdue. The first game against the Bison begins at 2 p.m.
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