University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Hits Road for Three With MSU
4/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| No. 13/10 Minnesota (34-7, 9-3 B1G) at Michigan State (16-24, 1-12 B1G) | |
| Dates and Times | Friday, April 17, 2015 · 3:00 p.m. CT (BTN) Saturday, April 18, 2015 · 12:00 p.m. CT (BTN+) Sunday, April 19, 2015 · 12:00 p.m. CT (BTN+) |
| Location | Secchia Stadium · East Lansing, Mich. |
| Live Blogs | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Notes/Previews | Minnesota | Michigan State |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Michigan State |
| Social Media | @GopherSoftball | Facebook | Instagram |
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 13/10 Minnesota softball team will play a three-game series at Michigan State this weekend. The Gophers and Spartans open the weekend Friday at 3 p.m. CT with a matchup on Big Ten Network. The teams will finish their series with noon CT games Saturday and Sunday on BTN Plus.
LAST TIME OUT
After sweeping a three-game home series against Northwestern last weekend, Minnesota won an 8-2 game against South Dakota Wednesday evening.
AGAINST THE SPARTANS
All-time, the Gophers are 53-35 against Michigan State. They are 1-1 under Jessica Allister after splitting a pair of games in Minneapolis in 2011.
ROAD WARRIORS
Minnesota has excelled on the road thus far in 2015. The Gophers spent their first eight weeks of the season away from home and are 14-1 in true road games. They entered the week second in the nation in road wins are three wins away from tying the school record for road wins in a season.
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
Danielle Parlich has made an impact in her first season in Maroon and Gold. The Queen Creek, Ariz. native has started all 41 games and has reached base in 38 of them. She leads the team with a .409 batting average after going 6-for-8 versus Northwestern last week. Thursday, she was named a top-25 finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award.
HAVE A WEEK
Three Gophers have combined for seven Big Ten weekly accolades. Sara Groenewegen was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week three times, while Danielle Parlich has been named the conference's top rookie three times, including this week. Erica Meyer became Minnesota's first Big Ten Player of the Week since 2013 the week of Feb. 23.
NO HITS FOR NU
Sophomore Sara Groenewegen threw her second-career no-hitter Sunday in an 11-0 win over Northwestern. She struck out 12 of the 17 batters she faced. Groenewegen has allowed the 20th-fewest hits per seven innings in the nation at 4.38. That mark in the best in the Big Ten thus far.
STRIKING THEM OUT
Sara Groenewegen, who led the nation with 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings last season, has kept fanning hitters in 2015. The reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year has 237 strikeouts in 153.2 innings (10.8 strikeouts per seven innings) so far.
RECORD ROLL
Before dropping a 5-3 contest to Nebraska March 29, the Gophers had won a program-record 15 straight games. Previously, their longest win streak was 12 games.
IN THE RANKINGS
After starting the season with its highest preseason ranking in program history at No. 15 (in both polls), Minnesota is now No. 13/10 after starting 33-7. The Gophers are currently No. 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, a program-best.
LEADING THE CHARGE
Gopher senior Kaitlyn Richardson was selected in the first round, fifth overall by the Dallas Charge in the National Pro Fastpitch College Draft April 1. She was the second pick in the franchise's history and is set to become Minnesota's seventh player to play professionally once she plays for Dallas. Sara Moulton, a 2014 senior All-American, was drafted fifth overall last season and plays for the Chicago Bandits.
###
