University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Announce 2015 Team Awards At Banquet
9/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The University of Minnesota softball held its annual awards banquet Friday announcing its 2015 Pitcher of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Player of the Year and Teammate of the Year. The 2015 varsity letters were handed out by sixth-year head coach Jessica Allister.
Pitcher of the Year: Sara Groenewegen
"This player finished the season with 31 wins, a 1.67 ERA and 379 strikeouts. Her win total was tied for the best in the Big Ten and second on Minnesota single season list. Her season ERA was the best in the conference ... Her season strike out totals were the best in the Big Ten, third in the nation and second in Minnesota single season history," Allister said at the banquet.
Groenewegen went 31-7 in the circle. She was an NFCA Second Team All-American, named the Big Ten Player of the Year and became just the third player in Big Ten history to win Big Ten Player, Pitcher and Freshman of the Year awards in her career. She takes home the Pitcher of the Year award after being named Freshman of the Year at last year's banquet.
Freshmen of the Year: Danielle Parlich
"This player became the first freshman in program history to hit .400 on a season, a number which also was the highest on last year's roster. She led the team with 78 hits, 4 triples and 21 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games," Allister said.
On top of what Parlich did at the plate she was also very successful in the field starting all 60 games at second base for Minnesota and being named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team. She was a top-10 NCFA Freshman of the Year finalist, First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region.
Players of the Year: Shared by Tyler Walker and Kaitlyn Richardson
"This next category is shared by two players which seems just about right given the tremendous impact these two seniors made during their Gopher Softball careers. Together they ended the season with the team's second and fifth highest batting averages (.374 and .356), first and third most doubles (16 and 12), third and fourth most home runs (10 and 10) and first and third highest slugging percentage (.658 and .638)," Allister said.
Walker played primarily played shortstop in her four seasons for the Gophers. She became the team's first three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection this past season. She was also named Second Team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region.
This was Richardson's third straight Player of the Year award. She started all 224 of Minnesota's games in her four seasons. She was named a Senior CLASS Award Top-10 Finalist and Senior CLASS Award First Team-All American this past season. She was also an NPF first-round selection going on to play with the Dallas Charge this summer.
Teammate of the Year: Erika Smyth
Coach Allister had great things to say in sharing the final award of evening. "This last award is a special one, because it is our only award voted on by the team. Being a great teammate can mean a lot of things. When I asked what made this player such a great teammate these were her teammates' responses:
- She cared more about the success of those around her than her own, and always pushed everyone to be their best.
- Her intense love and passion for the game were consistently shown in her hustle at practice, her excitement for her teammate's successes and her engagement in every single play during games- regardless of whether she was on the field or in the dugout.
-Her intense love for the game was shown every day in every single thing she did. She was a leader both on and off the field and was always willing to help out when someone needed help. Her energy was outstanding and always made people want to work harder.
Not everyone gets to play every game, but great teams are made up of individuals who care most about the success of the team. Our first player to ever win this award twice. Our 2015 Minnesota Softball Teammate of the Year, Erika Smyth!"
Smyth played second base for the Gophers in her four seasons and will be greatly missed after winning the Teammate of the Year award twice which is highly regarded as the top award you can win at the banquet.
Fifth year under Allister
The Gophers went 49-11 and made a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament while racking up national recognition along the way in Allister's fifth year as the head coach. They claimed nine weekly Big Ten awards and five Big Ten season awards. They earned a school record seven All-Region players and in the classroom had a school record 14 players named Academic All-Big Ten.
2015 Letterwinners: Nikki Anderson, Ellie Cowger, Sydney Dwyer, Madie Eckstrom, Hannah Evavold, Sydney Fabian, Hannah Granger, Sara Groenewegen, Taylor LeMay, Sam Macken, Brandi McGregor, Hannah Melick, Erica Meyer, Paige Palkovich, Danielle Parlich, Kaitlyn Richardson, Erika Rozell, Erika Smyth, Kylie Stober, Dani Wagner, Tyler Walker and Kayla Wenner.
While the Gophers are strong on the field and in the classroom they still know how to have fun. Enjoy this behind the scenes video below.
