University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Nebraska
Gophers Open B1G Play With 16-0 Victory
3/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The No. 8/8 University of Minnesota Gophers opened Big Ten season with a 16-0 victory in five innings over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Gophers have won their last five games by a combined 54-1 and have hit double-digits the past four games.
Minnesota had 15 hits in the victory while only allowing three. Danielle Parlich, Sam Macken, Kendyl Lindaman and MaKenna Partain all had multiple-RBI games.
Two Nebraska errors helped the Gophers get on the board right away in the top of the first. Macken came home on an error and Lindaman launched a sacrifice fly to right scoring Parlich.
After forcing a three up, three down the Gophers offense picked right back up in the top of the second. Sara Groenewegen singled and Allie Arneson drew a walk. Macken brought them both in with a double that swirled in the wind to deep left. Macken scooted to third on a wild pitch and later crossed home on another Cornhusker error. Parlich was again brought in by Lindaman to complete the four run inning.
Groenewegen fired in two strikeouts and forced a pop up in the second retiring Nebraska in order again. Macken and Parlich kept their big days going in the third. Macken drilled an RBI single and Parlich launched her first home run of the season over the right field wall to score three more. Maddie Houlihan made it 11-0 when she came home on an error.
Nebraska got on with a walk and back-to-back singles in the bottom of the third but the Gophers got out of the jam as Arneson made a nice fielding play at shortstop.
The Gophers offense started the fourth with Groenewegen and Dani Wagner smacking back-to-back singles. Two wild pitches moved Groenewegen home and Wagner to third. Later Parlich recorded an RBI single, Macken slid home on a wild pitch and Partain brought in the final two runs with a single up the middle.
Amber Fiser stepped into the circle in the fourth and fifth and was locked in. She struck out two batters and only allowed one hit. Groenewegen picked up the win moving to 12-1 on the season with a 0.63 ERA. She has not allowed a run her last three times out.
Katelyn Kemmetmueller notched her first collegiate hit in the fifth inning. Eleven different players recorded at least one hit in the win and 14 Gophers now have had at least one hit on the season.
The Gophers move to 26-2 on the season and are set to play the Cornhuskers again tomorrow afternoon with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
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