University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Iowa
Gophers Roll To 9-1 Victory Over Iowa
4/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Maddie Houlihan and Dani Wagner each hit home runs in the No. 5/5 University of Minnesota Gophers quickest game of the season. The Gophers topped Iowa 9-1 in five innings taking only an hour and 10 minutes to do so.
The Gophers are 42-3 with a 15-1 Big Ten record and have now won 13 straight games. They hav won five weekend B1G series and will play Iowa again tomorrow afternoon with first pitch set for 12 p.m. Tomorrow's game is already sold out. The Gophers played in front of their fourth biggest crowd ever this afternoon with an official attendance of 1,187 people.
Amber Fiser got the nod in the circle and started in complete control. She sat the Hawkeyes down in order in the top of the first with a pair of strikeouts.
The Maroon and Gold jumped out to a 3-0 lead right away in the bottom of the first. Sam Macken was hit by the very first pitch and Kendyl Lindaman drew a walk with one out on the board. Lindaman has now been walked 40 times this season putting her second all-time in Gophers history for most walks in a single season.
Houlihan reached on a fielder's choice as Macken came home on a throwing error for the first run of the game. Lindaman and Houlihan moved over on a wild pitch and MaKenna Partain recorded an RBI groundout right after.
Sydney Dwyer brought in one more run with a single through the left side. She now has 60 RBIs on the season which is fourth all-time in program history for a single season. Third most is 61 and second most is 62 in a season.
The Gophers stayed hot in the second. Allie Arneson knocked a double into the gap in right center and Macken followed with a triple to center. Danielle Parlich drew a walk right after and Lindaman put one through the left side to score Macken. Houlihan brought Parlich home with a single back up the middle.
Iowa scored their lone run in the third using a sacrifice bunt, aggressive base running and a Minnesota error on the same play. Dani Wagner quickly answered for the Gophers with her fifth home run of the season making it 7-1 after three.
Parlich made a number of a good fielding plays to get the Gophers out of a jam in the fourth. Houlihan launched a ball over the wall in right for her second home run of the season to score two in the bottom of the fourth. Houlihan is hitting .400 on the season with 35 RBIs.
Carlie Brandt came in to pitch in the fifth and shut down Iowa in order. She has a 0.69 ERA on the season. Fiser went four innings with four strikeouts. She moves to 10-0 on the season after the win and has a 1.79 ERA with 59 strikeouts.
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