University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Purdue
Gophers Open B1G Play With Win
3/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sydney Dwyer went 3-3 at the plate while Sara Groenewegen struck out 13 batters and added two hits in the No. 22 University of Minnesota Gophers 5-0 win at Purdue.
The Gophers improve to 20-9 overall on the season after taking a win in their first Big Ten game this year. The two teams are set to battle again tomorrow at noon and Sunday at 11 a.m.
The first four innings of the game went scoreless with both teams putting up four hits.
The Gophers had a chance to score in the third when Sydney Fabian and Sam Macken hit back-to-back singles. They were both moved over by a Kayla Wenner sacrifice bunt. The Boilermakers got out of the jam with a force at home followed by a pop up.
Minnesota kept attacking in the fourth after Dwyer came to the plate with two outs and drilled a double right over the glove of the center fielder. Groenewegen and Fabian would both be walked to load the bases but Purdue again got out of the jam.
In the top of the fifth, the Maroon and Gold kept the bats rolling and finally saw it count on the scoreboard. Wenner and Danielle Parlich opened up the inning with singles. Taylor LeMay smacked a single to center advancing to second on the throw as Wenner made it home and Parlich went to third.
Maddie Houlihan made it four singles in a row for the Gophers ripping one to right center to bring Parlich home for the score. With two outs on the board, Groenewegen came up and torched the first pitch she saw for a RBI single to center.
The Gophers field stayed strong behind a dominant performance from Groenewegen the rest of the way. They did not allow a hit to Purdue in the game's final three innings.
After a quick sixth inning, Minnesota added a pair of security runs in the top of the seventh doing the damage with two outs on the board. It was Dwyer who again started the spark with a single to right field. Groenewegen knocked a double to left center sending Dwyer all the around from first to home for a run. Macken would later bring Groenewegen home with her second hit of the day on a RBI double down the left field line.
Groenewegen closed out the seventh with three more strikeouts. She improves to 15-4 on the year with 14 complete games. This win was her second complete game shutout of the season.
