University of Minnesota Athletics
Class of 2020 Roundup
6/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Pictured from left-right: Amber Fiser, Katelyn Kemmetmueller, MaKenna Partain, Kaylen Krueger, Carlie Brandt and Kendal Judge. (Kendyl Lindaman not pictured)
The University of Minnesota Gophers are coming off another strong season and do not show any signs of slowing down in the future. The incoming freshmen class is full of talented student-athletes who are tearing it up in their final high school seasons.
Le Sueur, Minn. native Carlie Brandt was named the Minnesota Softball Gatorade Player of the Year. She led her team to a 20-3 record and a berth in the Class AA sectional finals playing shortstop and pitcher. Brandt owned a 20-1 record at the time of her selection with a 0.47 ERA and 278 strikeouts, issuing just 14 walks in 134 innings pitched. She batted .493 with five home runs, 14 runs scored and 18 RBI through 23 games. She will be competing in the Minnesota state tournament this weekend.
Brandt and fellow incoming Gopher freshman Katelyn Kemmetmueller, a Rogers, Minn. native, are both finalists for Play Ball! Minnesota Ms. Softball. They are two of seven finalists. The winner will be announced at a Minnesota Twins game on June 26.
So far this season Kemmetmueller is hitting .441 with nine doubles, two triples and a home run with a team leading 27 RBI. She is 9-2 in the circle with a 1.03 ERA and 83 strikeouts. She also won the coveted Athena Award given to the 55 top female athletes in Minnesota. She was named the Metro Player of the Year.
MaKenna Partain, a Banks, Ore. native, led her team to the state championship game with a huge semifinal game performance. She went 3-3 with two home runs, a double, four RBI and three runs scored. She went on to hit a RBI triple in the state championship team as her team won their second championship in her career there.
Kendal Judge, a Plainfield, Ill. native, led her team to a West Regional Championship pitching a complete game while allowing only four hits. Judge finished this season sixth in the state of Illinois with a 1.45 ERA, fifth with 15 wins, and third with 181 strikeouts.
Kaylen Krueger, a Green Bay, Wis. native, led her team to a second place conference finish and a regional championship appearance with a league best .561 batting average and 10 home runs. Krueger also added six doubles, two triples, and 23 RBI at the shortstop position.
Iowa softball is just getting started but Amber Fiser, a Benton, Iowa native, is off to a great start. In her first five appearances she threw three no-hitters including a 20 strikeout, eight inning, 1-0 victory. She did not allow a single earned run in that span.
Kendyl Lindaman, an Ankeny, Iowa native, is just two games into her season, but if the rest of her career is any indication, it is sure to be a special one. Lindaman already holds the Iowa single season (24) and career home run (56) records. Her 56 career home runs puts her fifth all-time nationally. She has been invited to compete in the High School All-American game that will be played on national TV this summer.
*Judge, Krueger, Fiser, Lindaman and Partain were all named Region All-Americans on June 2.
