University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Iowa
Gophers Post Two 8-0 Wins Over Iowa
4/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 25, 2015
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MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 12/10 Minnesota softball team secured its sixth 40-win season by defeating Iowa by identical 8-0 scores in five innings in a doubleheader Saturday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. The Gophers, who finished 2014 with 44 wins, are now 40-8 on the season and 14-3 in Big Ten play.
The Maroon and Gold conceded just four hits on the afternoon and has now shut the Hawkeyes out in the teams' last four overall meetings.
Sara Groenewegen, who threw her second no-hitter in 10 days Wednesday, started the day by tossing a one-hitter in the first game. She fanned nine Iowa batters to up her season strikeout total to 276.
Offensively, Minnesota wasted little time getting on the board. After Hannah Granger drove in the first run of the day, Kaitlyn Richardson made it 2-0 with an RBI double. The double was the 61st of Richardson's career, giving her the most in program history.
The runs continued to add up for the Gophers in the second inning when Danielle Parlich hit a two-run double and Groenewegen belted a two-run homer in the team's next at bat. Minnesota capped the game in the sixth with bases-loaded RBI singles by Taylor LeMay and Erica Meyer.
Groenewegen's victory in the circle improved her record on the year to 24-4.
In the second game, the teams played a scoreless first inning before Richardson got the scoring going in the second with a towering home run that eventually landed on Siebert Field. The long ball was the 40th of Richardson's career.
It took until the fourth for the Gophers to cushion their lead. Parlich made it 3-0 with her second two-run double of the day. The game ended in the next frame when Meyer blasted a two-run homer and Sam Macken finished the contest with a three-run shot of her own.
Nikki Anderson improved to 8-2 in the circle by allowing just one hit in three innings of relief. She struck out four and saw 24 of her 30 pitches go for strikes.
Minnesota's four home runs on the day gave them 72 on the season, surpassing last year's 68-home run output for the most in school history.
The Gophers and Hawkeyes conclude their series Sunday at noon. Minnesota will then travel to Border Battle rival Wisconsin for a doubleheader Wednesday before capping its regular season at home next weekend versus Purdue.
