University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Clash With First-Place Wildcats
4/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| Northwestern at No. 15/11 Minnesota | |
| Dates and Times | Friday, April 10, 2015 · 6:00 p.m. CT (BTN+) Saturday, April 11, 2015 · 1:00 p.m. CT (BTN+) Sunday, April 12, 2015 · 12:00 p.m. CT (BTN+) |
| Location | Jane Sage Cowles Stadium · Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Live Blogs | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Notes/Previews | Minnesota | Northwestern |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Northwestern |
| Social Media | @GopherSoftball | Facebook | Instagram |
April 9, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 15/11 Minnesota softball team will host Northwestern for a three-game series this weekend at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. The Gophers enter the weekend with a 30-7 mark that includes a 6-3 record in the Big Ten. NU comes in with a 20-11 record and an unblemished 8-0 conference ledger, good for first place. The two teams will play Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, Minnesota dropped two of three games to fourth-ranked Michigan in its home-opening series. The Gophers won the opener, 9-1, in six innings, but the Wolverines took Game 2, 9-4, and Game 3, 9-1, in six innings.
AGAINST THE WILDCATS
All-time, Minnesota is 47-51 against Northwestern with a 7-4 mark under head coach Jessica Allister. The Gophers defeated the Wildcats in two of three games at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium last season.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Minnesota enters the weekend with a 411-206 mark at home in 41-plus seasons. The Gophers, 1-2 at home this year, are 98-87 at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium after going 9-3 there last year. Before last week, the Maroon and Gold was on the road for eight-consecutive weeks.
TRENDING UP
After hitting .257 through her first 22 games, Tyler Walker has raised her average 98 points since March 8. She has hit seven home runs in her last 10 games and leads the team in hitting lead in Big Ten play with a .433 average and a 1.067 slugging percentage.
MERCHANT REUNION
Minnesota assistant coach Jessica Merchant and volunteer assistant Macy Merchant will face their sister, Brittini, when Northwestern comes to town this week. Brittini, a volunteer assistant for the Wildcats, held the same position with the Gophers in 2012.
RUN RULE WINS
The Gophers have piled up 11 run-rule wins in their first 37 games. Last year, 11 of the Gophers' 44 wins were by run-rule decision.
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 207 strikeouts in 139.2 innings (10.4 strikeouts per seven innings) so far. She has had nine double-digit strikeout showings and has matched her career-high with 14 strikeouts two times. She entered the week ranked seventh in the nation in strikeouts.
LEADING THE CHARGE
Gopher senior Kaitlyn Richardson was selected in the first round, fifth overall by the Dallas Charge in last week's National Pro Fastpitch College Draft. 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.
RECORD ROLL
Before dropping a 5-3 contest to Nebraska last 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. 15/11 after starting 30-7. The Gophers are currently No. 11 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, a program-best.
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