University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Madison for Two
4/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| No. 13/9 Minnesota (41-8, 15-3 B1G) at Wisconsin (19-28, 3-14 B1G) | |
| Dates and Times | Wednesday, April 29, 2015 · 4:30 p.m. CT (BTN) Wednesday, April 29, 2015 · 6:30 p.m. CT (BTN) |
| Location | Goodman Diamond · Madison, Wis. |
| Live Blogs | Game 1 | Game 2 |
| Notes/Previews | Minnesota |Â Wisconsin |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Wisconsin |
| Social Media | @GopherSoftball | Facebook | Instagram |
April 28, 2015
MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 13/9 Minnesota softball team will travel to Border Battle rival Wisconsin Wednesday for a doubleheader at Goodman Diamond in Madison, Wis. Both games will be televised on the Big Ten Network,Â
LAST TIME OUT
Minnesota continued its nine-game win streak in Big Ten play last weekend with a sweep against Iowa. The Gophers won all three games in five-inning, run-rule decisions, blanking the Hawkeyes by 8-0, 8-0 and 9-0 scores.Â
AGAINST THE BADGERS
All-time, the Gophers are 21-23 against Wisconsin after splitting a doubleheader at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium in 2014.Â
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 17-1 in true road games. They enter the week second in the nation in road wins have tied the school record for road wins in a season.Â
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 49 games and has reached base in 46 of them. She leads the team with a .401 batting average and was named a top-25 finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award.Â
HAVE A WEEK
Three Gophers have combined for eight Big Ten weekly accolades. Sara Groenewegen has been named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week four times, including this week, 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.
NO HITS FOR NU, NDSU
Sophomore Sara Groenewegen threw her second and third-career no-hitters 10 days apart against Northwestern and North Dakota State April 12 and 22. She struck out 19 batters in 10 innings of work in those two games. Entering the week, Groenewegen has allowed the 13th-fewest hits per seven innings in the nation at 4.23. That mark in the best in the Big Ten thus far.Â
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 285 strikeouts in 180.1 innings (11.1 strikeouts per seven innings) so far.Â
RUN-RULE WINS
The Gophers have piled up 18 run-rule wins in their first 49 games. Last year, 11 of the Gophers' 44 wins were by run-rule decision.Â
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. They have had three winning streaks of eight or more games this season.Â
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. 13/9 after starting 41-8. The Gophers are currently No. 9 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, a program-best.Â
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.
