University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Open 2017 Season In Texas
2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 8, 2017
Weekend Notes
The No. 16/14 University of Minnesota Gophers open the 2017 season at the Texas Classic in Austin, Texas this weekend.
The Gophers open play on Friday, Feb. 10, at 11:30 a.m. against Big Ten foe Maryland. At 7 p.m. the Maroon and Gold will hit the diamond again to play Texas. The following afternoon the Gophers play Colorado State at 1:30 p.m. and a rematch with Texas at 4 p.m. Minnesota will close out the weekend taking on Maryland at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
All five games will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network. The Colorado State game will be on tape delay until 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening.
Five Things To Know
1. The Gophers are coming off a program record fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and their second B1G Tournament championship in three years. They topped five ranked opponents including the eventual national champions, Oklahoma, twice and No. 2 Michigan in the B1G Tournament championship game. They went 43-14 overall and 19-3 in B1G play. They return nine players from that squad while bringing in nine newcomers (seven freshmen and two transfers).
One of those key returners is two-time All-American Sara Groenewegen. She is a USA Softball preseason Player of the Year Top-50 finalist for her third straight season to start the year. They return three other All-Big honorees in Big Ten Freshman of the Year Maddie Houlihan, Sam Macken and Sydney Dwyer. Groenewegen, Houlihan, Macken, Dwyer and Danielle Parlich were all honored with NFCA All-Region honors as well.
For the third straight season the Maroon and Gold start ranked in both polls coming in at No. 16 in the NFCA poll and No. 14 in the USA Softball poll.
2. The Gophers jumped into the program record books in multiple offensive categories last season. They finished with the second highest slugging percentage (.520), on base percentage (.423), runs (380), doubles (91) and total bases (798). They finished third for most RBI (341) and home runs (67) and fifth in hits (488).
The bulk of the lineup returns as Macken, Houlihan and Groenewegen all had double-digit home run numbers a season ago. Macken led the team in essentially every hitting category with a .366 batting average, 71 hits, 22 doubles, 12 home runs, 53 RBI and a slugging percentage of .675. The 22 doubles put her second place all-time in Gophers history for most in a season and she finished top five in the NCAA for extra base hits with 35.
Freshman Kendyl Lindaman is one of the newcomers expected to add an instant boost to the lineup. In high school she held a career .516 batting average, 1.041 slugging percentage, .676 on base percentage, 66 home runs, 220 walks, 194 RBI and only struck out 23 times in 695 plate appearances. Her 66 home runs is the most in Iowa High School history.
3. The Gophers pitching staff will be a strength this season. Groenewegen led the NCAA in strikeouts last season with 336. She went 31-7 with a 2.03 ERA and threw three no-hitters including one perfect game. She earned NFCA First Team All-American honors. She is fifth all-time for most complete games in program history with 60, fourth all-time for most wins with 76, fourth in strikeouts with 907 and first all-time for no-hitters with six.
The Gophers also add senior transfer Tori Finucane, a former SEC Freshman of the Year winner, from Missouri and three strong freshmen in Amber Fiser, Kendal Judge and Carlie Brandt in the circle.
Finucane compiled a 1.73 ERA with a 21-6 record in 190.1 innings pitched her freshman season and finished with a 21-8 record, 3.03 ERA, and 140 strikeouts in 155.0 innings pitched her sophomore season earning Second Team All-SEC honors. She was limited her junior season due to injuries.
Fiser, Judge and Brandt all had decorated high school careers. Fiser finished her high school career with over 1,000 strikeouts and 100 wins and was named a 2016 All-American. Judge holds career records at Providence Catholic High School for strikeouts, shutouts, and no-hitters, as well as single season strikeout, shutout, and no-hitter records. Brandt was named the 2016 Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota and holds school records for career hits, doubles, triples and RBI along with pitching records for career strikeouts, strikeouts in a season, career shutouts, no-hitters, perfect games and career wins.
4. Minnesota graduated a whole senior outfield from a season ago. They have got creative with how they will replace that. B1G Freshman of the Year Houlihan is moving from first base to outfield, three-year starter Macken could see time out there and Dani Wagner who started at shortstop the end of last year is also moving to outfield. Taylor Chell and Ellie Cowger both bring experience in the outfield as well.
5. Jessica Allister enters her seventh season leading the Maroon and Gold. She is 234-102 overall in her career (all at Minnesota).
About Maryland
The Terps finished out 2016 with an overall record of 12-40 and 4-19 in the Big-Ten, finishing 14th in the conference.
Maryland returns their lone Second Team All Big-Ten selection in senior outfielder Sarah Calta. She had a batting average of .331 and appeared in the first 44 games of the season before sitting out with an ACL injury. She led the team in triples and stolen bases. The Terps also return junior Skylynne Ellazar, who started in all 49 games last season. She saw action in both the infield and outfield, hitting .399 with 59 hits, 32 runs and had four home runs.
Minnesota and Maryland last met up in Big-Ten conference play last season where the Gophers swept them in the series at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
About Texas
The Longhorns finished last season with an overall record of 38-16 and went 10-7 in the Big-12, finishing third in the conference. They made it to the NCAA regionals last season in Lafayette, La., falling to Texas A&M. They were voted second in the Big-12 preseason coaches' poll and are receiving votes in both national polls.
Texas is returning five everyday positional starters and 14 letterwinners for the 2017 season. They will also be bringing back all three starting pitchers from last year and return sophomore right-hander Erica Wright, who was forced to redshirt during the 2016 campaign because of an injury.
Also included among the returnees are 2016 NFCA honorees Celina Felix and Kelli Hanzel. Felix hit .358 with 62 hits, 17 extra-base hits and 39 RBI and senior first baseman Hanzel hit .298 avg. with 31 hits, five Home runs and 19 RBI.
This will be the first time in program history that the Gophers play Texas.
About Colorado State
The Rams finished the 2016 season 22-24 overall and 8-12 in the Mountain West Conference, finishing sixth overall. The 2017 Mountain West preseason coaches' poll had Colorado State tied with UNLV for sixth place.
Colorado State graduated four seniors last year, two of which were 2016 Mountain West All-Conference selections. Haley Hutton, a senior and a 2015-2016 Mountain West All-Conference First Team selection will return in the infield this season. Last season Hutton started 45 of the 49 games she played in, posting a batting average of .418 with 62 hits, 43 runs and one home run. A 2016 Mountain West All-Conference Second Team selection, Amber Nelson, is back for her sophomore season. She she started 38 of the 41 games she played in with a .343 batting average, 35 hits, 22 runs, and six home runs.
The two teams last played each other in the 2014-2015 season at the Diamond Devil tournament at Arizona State. Minnesota walked away with an 8-5 victory.
Following the Gophers?
Make sure to follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all season long to keep up with the latest news, features, videos and more!
| #14/16 Minnesota at the Texas Classic | |
| Game 1 | vs. Maryland | Friday, Feb. 10 | 11:30 a.m. |
| Game 2 | at Texas | Friday, Feb. 10 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Game 3 | vs. Colorado State | Saturday, Feb. 11 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Game 4 | at Texas | Saturday, Feb. 11 | 4 p.m. |
| Game 5 | vs. Maryland | Sunday, Feb. 12 | 10 a.m. |
| Location | Red & Charline McCombs Field | Austin, Texas |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Television | Longhorn Network (Game 3 tape delayed at 8:30 p.m.) |
| Live Video | Longhorn Network |
| Live Stats | | | | | |
| Game Day Live | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Social Media | @GopherSoftball | Facebook | Instagram |
Weekend Notes
The No. 16/14 University of Minnesota Gophers open the 2017 season at the Texas Classic in Austin, Texas this weekend.
The Gophers open play on Friday, Feb. 10, at 11:30 a.m. against Big Ten foe Maryland. At 7 p.m. the Maroon and Gold will hit the diamond again to play Texas. The following afternoon the Gophers play Colorado State at 1:30 p.m. and a rematch with Texas at 4 p.m. Minnesota will close out the weekend taking on Maryland at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
All five games will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network. The Colorado State game will be on tape delay until 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening.
Five Things To Know
1. The Gophers are coming off a program record fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and their second B1G Tournament championship in three years. They topped five ranked opponents including the eventual national champions, Oklahoma, twice and No. 2 Michigan in the B1G Tournament championship game. They went 43-14 overall and 19-3 in B1G play. They return nine players from that squad while bringing in nine newcomers (seven freshmen and two transfers).
One of those key returners is two-time All-American Sara Groenewegen. She is a USA Softball preseason Player of the Year Top-50 finalist for her third straight season to start the year. They return three other All-Big honorees in Big Ten Freshman of the Year Maddie Houlihan, Sam Macken and Sydney Dwyer. Groenewegen, Houlihan, Macken, Dwyer and Danielle Parlich were all honored with NFCA All-Region honors as well.
For the third straight season the Maroon and Gold start ranked in both polls coming in at No. 16 in the NFCA poll and No. 14 in the USA Softball poll.
2. The Gophers jumped into the program record books in multiple offensive categories last season. They finished with the second highest slugging percentage (.520), on base percentage (.423), runs (380), doubles (91) and total bases (798). They finished third for most RBI (341) and home runs (67) and fifth in hits (488).
The bulk of the lineup returns as Macken, Houlihan and Groenewegen all had double-digit home run numbers a season ago. Macken led the team in essentially every hitting category with a .366 batting average, 71 hits, 22 doubles, 12 home runs, 53 RBI and a slugging percentage of .675. The 22 doubles put her second place all-time in Gophers history for most in a season and she finished top five in the NCAA for extra base hits with 35.
Freshman Kendyl Lindaman is one of the newcomers expected to add an instant boost to the lineup. In high school she held a career .516 batting average, 1.041 slugging percentage, .676 on base percentage, 66 home runs, 220 walks, 194 RBI and only struck out 23 times in 695 plate appearances. Her 66 home runs is the most in Iowa High School history.
3. The Gophers pitching staff will be a strength this season. Groenewegen led the NCAA in strikeouts last season with 336. She went 31-7 with a 2.03 ERA and threw three no-hitters including one perfect game. She earned NFCA First Team All-American honors. She is fifth all-time for most complete games in program history with 60, fourth all-time for most wins with 76, fourth in strikeouts with 907 and first all-time for no-hitters with six.
The Gophers also add senior transfer Tori Finucane, a former SEC Freshman of the Year winner, from Missouri and three strong freshmen in Amber Fiser, Kendal Judge and Carlie Brandt in the circle.
Finucane compiled a 1.73 ERA with a 21-6 record in 190.1 innings pitched her freshman season and finished with a 21-8 record, 3.03 ERA, and 140 strikeouts in 155.0 innings pitched her sophomore season earning Second Team All-SEC honors. She was limited her junior season due to injuries.
Fiser, Judge and Brandt all had decorated high school careers. Fiser finished her high school career with over 1,000 strikeouts and 100 wins and was named a 2016 All-American. Judge holds career records at Providence Catholic High School for strikeouts, shutouts, and no-hitters, as well as single season strikeout, shutout, and no-hitter records. Brandt was named the 2016 Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota and holds school records for career hits, doubles, triples and RBI along with pitching records for career strikeouts, strikeouts in a season, career shutouts, no-hitters, perfect games and career wins.
4. Minnesota graduated a whole senior outfield from a season ago. They have got creative with how they will replace that. B1G Freshman of the Year Houlihan is moving from first base to outfield, three-year starter Macken could see time out there and Dani Wagner who started at shortstop the end of last year is also moving to outfield. Taylor Chell and Ellie Cowger both bring experience in the outfield as well.
5. Jessica Allister enters her seventh season leading the Maroon and Gold. She is 234-102 overall in her career (all at Minnesota).
About Maryland
The Terps finished out 2016 with an overall record of 12-40 and 4-19 in the Big-Ten, finishing 14th in the conference.
Maryland returns their lone Second Team All Big-Ten selection in senior outfielder Sarah Calta. She had a batting average of .331 and appeared in the first 44 games of the season before sitting out with an ACL injury. She led the team in triples and stolen bases. The Terps also return junior Skylynne Ellazar, who started in all 49 games last season. She saw action in both the infield and outfield, hitting .399 with 59 hits, 32 runs and had four home runs.
Minnesota and Maryland last met up in Big-Ten conference play last season where the Gophers swept them in the series at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
About Texas
The Longhorns finished last season with an overall record of 38-16 and went 10-7 in the Big-12, finishing third in the conference. They made it to the NCAA regionals last season in Lafayette, La., falling to Texas A&M. They were voted second in the Big-12 preseason coaches' poll and are receiving votes in both national polls.
Texas is returning five everyday positional starters and 14 letterwinners for the 2017 season. They will also be bringing back all three starting pitchers from last year and return sophomore right-hander Erica Wright, who was forced to redshirt during the 2016 campaign because of an injury.
Also included among the returnees are 2016 NFCA honorees Celina Felix and Kelli Hanzel. Felix hit .358 with 62 hits, 17 extra-base hits and 39 RBI and senior first baseman Hanzel hit .298 avg. with 31 hits, five Home runs and 19 RBI.
This will be the first time in program history that the Gophers play Texas.
About Colorado State
The Rams finished the 2016 season 22-24 overall and 8-12 in the Mountain West Conference, finishing sixth overall. The 2017 Mountain West preseason coaches' poll had Colorado State tied with UNLV for sixth place.
Colorado State graduated four seniors last year, two of which were 2016 Mountain West All-Conference selections. Haley Hutton, a senior and a 2015-2016 Mountain West All-Conference First Team selection will return in the infield this season. Last season Hutton started 45 of the 49 games she played in, posting a batting average of .418 with 62 hits, 43 runs and one home run. A 2016 Mountain West All-Conference Second Team selection, Amber Nelson, is back for her sophomore season. She she started 38 of the 41 games she played in with a .343 batting average, 35 hits, 22 runs, and six home runs.
The two teams last played each other in the 2014-2015 season at the Diamond Devil tournament at Arizona State. Minnesota walked away with an 8-5 victory.
Following the Gophers?
Make sure to follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all season long to keep up with the latest news, features, videos and more!
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