University of Minnesota Athletics
No Hits Allowed Earns Groenewegen NFCA Award
5/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
NFCA Release
Zero hits allowed in an entire weekend of play.
That was Sara Groenewegen's weekend in the circle against Maryland and it has earned her the Louisville Slugger / NFCA Pitcher of the Week, the organization announced Tuesday.
"It is an honor to be recognized as pitcher of the week. This past weekend versus Maryland went very well and I had full trust in my defense, which allows me to throw all of my pitches with confidence," Groenewegen said. "There were some big time plays made by my teammates which ultimately made my box score hitless. I am proud of the way we played as a team, especially with all of the run support that we had."
This is the second time this season and third time in her career that Groenewegen has been recognized by the NCFA for a weekly award.
Groenewegen threw a no-hitter against Maryland in a 10-0 win on Friday while striking out 10 batters. On the day she walked just one batter.
On Sunday Groenewegen stepped back into the circle and kept on rolling. Through four innings she had eight strikeouts and had a perfect game going before exiting. She finished the weekend with 18 strikeouts in nine innings of work.
"This is a tremendous honor for Sara and our program. Sara is putting together an unbelievable season on the field, but more importantly is a great teammate off the field," head coach Jessica Allister said. "She cares about her teammates successes, and celebrates them like they are her own. We are very proud of Sara."
Groenewegen has earned five B1G Pitcher of the Weeks this season and 11 in her career while also winning two B1G Player of the Week honors. She is also a Top-25 finalist for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
This season Groenewegen is 25-5 overall with a 1.87 ERA and 268 strikeouts. She has thrown three of her six career no-hitters including a perfect game this year. She has thrown 19 complete games with six shutouts.
The Gophers finish up regular season play this weekend with a series at Iowa.
