University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Ready for Fourth Straight NCAA Tournament
5/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| Minnesota (41-12, 19-3) vs. North Dakota State (38-13, 17-0) | |
| Date | Time | Friday, May 20 | 6:30 p.m. |
| Location | Husky Softball Stadium | Seattle, Wash. |
| Live Video | Pac-12.com |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Day Live | Game Day Central |
| Tournament Info | Tournament Central |
| Social Media | @GopherSoftball | Facebook | Instagram |
Weekend Notes
The No. 19/15 University of Minnesota Gophers are set for their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance competing into the Seattle Regional this weekend. The Gophers will play North Dakota State at 6:30 p.m. this Friday. Washington will play Weber St. to follow. There will be three games on Saturday and one team will leave as regional champs moving onto super regionals after Sunday.
Coming into the week the Maroon and Gold have won 14 straight games. They closed out the regular season on an 11 game win streak outscoring opponents 108-18 in that span. They followed it up by topping NCAA Tournament teams Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan to win the Big Ten Tournament Championship.
After beating Illinois 2-0 on Friday night the Gophers were in for a marathon on Saturday. With two rain delays they finally topped Northwestern 8-4 in the semifinals before going 10 innings in the championship with No. 2 Michigan winning 4-3. Sydney Fabian came sliding home just avoiding a tag on a walk-off as Danielle Parlich placed a ball into the field that was booted for an error by the shortstop.
How to Follow this Weekend?
A live stream of all the tournament games can be found here.
Go to our tournament central page for a live stats link and more here.
Live updates can be found by following our Twitter account @GopherSoftball.
Seattle Regional
(Husky Softball Stadium, Seattle, Wash.)
Friday, May 20
Game 1: #15/19 Minnesota (41-12) vs. North Dakota State (38-13), 6:30 p.m. CT
Game 2: #12/14 Washington (36-13) vs. Weber State (37-17), 9 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3 p.m. CT
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5:30 p.m. CT
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2 p.m. CT
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 4:30 p.m. CT
Note: The winner of the regional in Seattle will move on to a Super Regional against the winner of the regional being hosted by Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
North Dakota State and the Gophers were set to play a midweek doubleheader that was cancelled earlier this season. NDSU has won 14 in a row, 20 of its last 21 games and are 13-5 on the road and 13-7 at neutral sites. NDSU won its third straight Summit League tournament championship and the program's seventh overall last weekend.
Washington topped the Gophers earlier this season. They are 36-13 on the year. Weber State is 37-17 and winners of the Big Sky conference.
By the Numbers
• Ended the season on a 14-game win streak. Ended the regular season winning 11 and outscoring opponents 108-18 in that span.
• Went 21-8 against RPI Top 75 teams with five wins against teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time of playing them including three top ten wins. Had 11 run rule victories.
• Thirty three of the teams 41 wins came away from home which is third most in the country.
• Top 15 in the NCAA in doubles per game, home runs per game, on base percentage, scoring and slugging percentage.
• They are 13-5 against NCAA Tournament teams
Groenewegen's Grit
Groenewegen pitched all 24 innings for the Gophers in the Big Ten Tournament leading them to a Big Ten Championship. She went the distance in a 10 inning thriller against No. 2 Michigan striking out 11 batters and was named the Big Ten Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
All in all Groenewegen threw 395 pitches on the weekend with 29 strikeouts. She hit the 30-win mark (30-5) and the 300 strikeout milestone (313) for the second straight year during the weekend.
Her performance has now caught national attention as she has been named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week. She wins the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week award for the first time this season. She has won the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Pitcher of the Week twice, an espnW Player of the Week plaudit once, two Big Ten Player of the Week awards and five Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. She is a top-10 finalist for National Player of the Year.
All-B1G
Five University of Minnesota Gophers have been named to the All-Big Ten team with Maddie Houlihanearning Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Houlihan, Groenewegen and Macken were all selected to the first-team. Taylor LeMay and Sydney Dwyerearned second-team honors. LeMay was also named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team while Paige Palkovich earned a Sportsmanship Award.
This is the second straight year the Gophers have had five all-league selections. Before that 1991 was the last time the feat was accomplished. The Maroon and Gold had the second most selections in the conference.
Touch em' All
The Gophers have hit 65 home runs this season with 12 players recording at least one. Three players are now in double digits.
Macken leads the team with 12 while Houlihan and Groenewegen have each launched 11 out of the park. Dwyer and Palkovich each have six this season while seniors LeMay and Sydney Fabian have each drilled five.
Kayla Wenner has homered four times and Brandi McGregor has carried the ball over the fence twice.Danielle Parlich, Erika Rozell and Taylor Chell each have one.
Smackin' Macken
Macken leads the team in essentially every hitting category putting up a career season. She leads the team in hits (69), doubles (21), home runs (12), RBI (48), total bases (128) and slugging percentage (.703).
Her 21 doubles has her tied for second in Minnesota history for most doubles in a season. She has been in the top five in the country in extra base hits the majority of the season and one point led the country. She currently has 34 and is seventh in doubled per game with a B1G leading .40 per game.
No Houlin' Her
Houlihan has had an incredible freshman campaign. She earned the B1G Freshman of the Year award and had made a huge impact for the Maroon and Gold all year. She is hitting a .364 with 12 doubles and 11 home runs for 45 RBI. She is tied for first on the team with 47 runs scored and is second with 100 total bases.
In conference Houlihan hit a team leading .464 and was second in the conference to only B1G Player of the Year Sierra Romero. She had a big sacrifice fly to bring in a game tying run in the third inning against Michigan.
Holding Down the Middle
Danielle Parlich has started every single game at second base while hitting at the top of the order this season. Dani Wagner has started at shortstop recently getting 19 starts there. Dwyer has started every game for the Gophers this season either at shortstop or as the designated player.
Parlich is hitting a .337 on the year with five doubles, three triples and a home run. She is ranked the toughest player to strikeout in the Big Ten and is the 44th toughest in the NCAA. She also swiped eight bases on the year.
Dwyer is hitting .306 with eight doubles, a triple and six home runs for 31 RBI and a slugging percentage of .497. Wagner has been solid at shortstop as of late. She has started in the flex and does not hit but often flexes in to run and is 6-6 on stolen base attempts.
Seniors in the Outfield
Palkovich, Wenner and Fabian have combined for 343 career starts in the outfield over their careers and have provided strong leadership but none more so than this season.
Wenner is hitting third on the team in batting average with a .340 on the year. She has eight doubles, a triple and four home runs. She has 21 RBI and has showed off the wheels with 12 steals.
Palkovich is a gritty player. She is fielding a perfect 1.000 in centerfield and has shown the ability to hit a home run one at bat while dropping a bunt single the next. She is hitting .282 with ten doubles, a triple and six homers along with 31 RBI.
Fabian tore it up in conference play hitting .360 with four doubles, a triple and three home runs. On the season she has five doubles and five home runs.
Fluff the Bangs
LeMay is a rock behind the plate for the Gophers starting all but three games in the past seasons at catcher. She is having a strong season hitting a .322 with nine doubles, a triple and five home runs for 43 RBI. She leads the team with 13-multi RBI performances.
She is one of the best fielding catchers in the country with 374 putouts, 49 assists and has caught eight runners stealing. She has only allowed two passed balls all season, no easy task, as many of Groenewegen's strikeouts hit the dirt.
Lefty Hurler
Nikki Anderson is 8-4 on the season with a 2.80 ERA, three complete games, two shutouts and one save. She has 47 strikeouts and has only walked 10 batters all season long. She had some big time clutch moments in her career for the Gophers in postseason play.
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