University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Finishing Spring Break In California
3/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The No. 8/9 University of Minnesota Gophers are finishing out their spring break trip in California. They play No. 23/20 University of California Berkeley on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and have a doubleheader against the University of Pacific beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday.
The Gophers played five games at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. to start their trip. They topped Seattle twice, beat South Dakota once and fell to No. 8/8 at the time Washington twice. They then headed to Oregon State and picked up a victory there. The Gophers are 22-2 overall on the season.
Five Things To Know
1. Two-time All-American Sara Groenewegen is off to a dominant start in the circle. She has already been named the B1G Pitcher of the Week twice. She is 10-1 this year with a stifling 0.71 ERA and 90 strikeouts. She is closing in on 1,000 career strikeouts with 997 in her career. That is already the third most career strikeouts thrown in program history.
2. Groenewegen's success in the circle is no surprise. Freshman Carlie Brandt's start has been. Brandt is 5-0 on the season with a 0.91 ERA. She has made eight appearances with seven in relief. Her first career start came at the Husky Classic against South Dakota where she threw a five inning complete game and only allowed one hit.
3. Two other freshmen in MaKenna Partain and Kendyl Lindaman have been making a huge impact in the lineup. They have combined for three B1G Freshman of the Week plaudits already this season. Partain is hitting a team leading .486 with six doubles, a triple and a home run. Lindaman is third on the team hitting .388 with three doubles, a triple and a team leading six home runs. She also has notched the second most RBIs on the team with 21.
4. Speaking of RBIs, nobody has more than Sydney Dwyer. As a sophomore Dwyer earned All-B1G and NFCA All-Region honors but is on pace for even bigger numbers this season. After hitting 33 RBIs last year Dwyer is already up to 32 RBIs this season. She is hitting .417 with six doubles and four home runs and has a .667 slugging percentage.
5. The Gophers program record win streak came to an end after 19 straight victories. Previously their longest win streak was 15 and their longest to start a season was eight. They came in at No. 7 in both major polls last week which is a program best.
About University of California-Berkeley
The University of California Berkeley is 16-4 this season after splitting at the Tulsa Tournament last weekend. The Bears lost to Tulsa and beat Montana. Redshirt sophomore right-hander, Zoe Conley is leading the pitching staff. In 75.1 innings she has posted a 2.19 ERA and has 62 strikeouts. Jazmyn Jackson, a junior utility player, is batting .391 so far this season with 10 runs, 25 hits and 19 RBIs.
About University of the Pacific
The University of the Pacific is 12-12 this season. They went 2-2 at the University of Oregon Tournament last weekend. The Tigers snagged wins against Hofstra and Idaho State while losing to Oregon and Hofstra. Junior Marissa Young has tossed 37 strikeouts in 47.2 innings and has posted a 1.62 ERA. Junior infielder Sydney Lanners is batting .265 with nine runs, 18 hits, five home runs and 18 RBIs.
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