University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Arizona State
Gophers Earn Two Wins, Move to 12-1
2/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 15/14 Minnesota softball team continued its hot start to the 2015 season Saturday with a pair of wins at the Diamond Devil Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. The Gophers defeated Boise State, 8-4, before dispatching host and No. 19/21-ranked Arizona State, 4-1.
The victories upped the Gophers' 2015 record to 12-1, matching the best starting record the program has ever had.
To open the afternoon, Minnesota scored in each of the first two innings against Boise State, using a Sara Groenewegen RBI single and a solo home run by Erica Meyer to grab a 2-0 lead.
Groenewegen led the charge as the Gophers broke the game in the fifth, belting a home run on the inning's first pitch. The Maroon and Gold then added a two-run Meyer double. After Meyer scored on an error, Tyler Walker hit an RBI double to put Minnesota ahead, 7-0.
In the sixth, Groenewegen finished her team's scoring with another solo homer. It was her second multi-home run game of the season. Kylie Stober was solid in the circle, improving to 3-0 by striking out seven over 6.1 innings of work. One of BSU's four runs was unearned.
Looking for their second road win against Arizona State in as many years, the Gophers got out of trouble in each of the first two innings with Groenewegen strikeout and pulled ahead in the third using a two-run long ball from Walker.
En route to her sixth win of the season and 20th as a Gopher, Groenewegen kept ASU hitless through 4.2 innings. She finished with eight strikeouts in a complete-game performance. Kaitlyn Richardson cushioned Minnesota's lead in the top of the fifth when a single plated two runs.
The Gophers will wrap up Diamond Devil Invitational play Sunday with noon CT game against Colorado State. They will travel to Orlando, Fla. next week for five games at the Citrus Classic.
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