University of Minnesota Athletics
NDSU Doubleheader Slated for Wednesday
4/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| North Dakota State at No. 12/10 Minnesota | |
| Dates and Time | Wednesday, April 22, 2015 · 2:00 p.m. CT (BTN+) Doubleheader |
| Location | Jane Sage Cowles Stadium · Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Live Coverage | Gopher Softball Live |
| Notes/Previews | Minnesota | North Dakota State |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | North Dakota State |
| Social Media | @GopherSoftball | Facebook | Instagram |
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 12/10 Minnesota softball team will pick up play with a doubleheader against North Dakota State at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The Gophers go into the game with a 37-7 overall record that includes a 12-3 Big Ten mark, while NDSU is 35-7 with a 13-2 record in the Summit League. Both teams will enter the day with seven-game win streaks.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, Minnesota swept Big Ten foe Michigan State on the road by scores of 8-4, 7-1 and 9-4 in the teams' first meetings since 2011. The Gophers tied a school record for road wins in a season by improving to 17-1 in true road games. They won in East Lansing for the first time since 2008.
AGAINST THE BISON
All-time, Minnesota is 20-1 against North Dakota State after defeating the Bison, 4-1, in 10 innings last season in the NCAA Minneapolis Regional. The Gophers have won all five
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Minnesota enters Wednesday's game with a 415-206 mark at home in 41-plus seasons. The Gophers, 5-2 at home this year, are 102-87 at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium after going 9-3 there last year.
SECOND HALF SURGE
After hitting .257 through her first 22 games, Tyler Walker has raised her average 99 points since March 8. In the 22 games since then, Walker has hit .447 with eight home runs and 32 RBI. She has also had a .517 on-base percentage, an .868 slugging percentage and broke the school record for career runs with 196.
NO HITS FOR NU
Sophomore Sara Groenewegen threw her second-career no-hitter last week 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 4.49. That mark in the second-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 260 strikeouts in 165.1 innings (11 strikeouts per seven innings) so far. She has had 12 double-digit strikeout showings and set a new career-high for strikeouts in a game with 15 against Northwestern and Michigan State.
RUN RULE WINS
The Gophers have piled up 13 run-rule wins in their first 44 games. Last year, 11 of the Gophers' 44 wins were by run-rule decision.
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 44 games and has reached base in 41 of them. She leads the team with a .400 batting average.
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. 12/10 after starting 37-7. The Gophers are currently No. 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, a program-best.
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. Erica Meyer became Minnesota's first Big Ten Player of the Week since 2013 the week of Feb. 23.
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. The Gophers are currently on their third win streak of seven or more games this year.
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.
