University of Minnesota Athletics
Groenewegen Named Top-10 POW Finalist
5/10/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
For the third straight season Sara Groenewegen has been named a top-10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the organization announced Wednesday.
The Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 24, while the winner of the 2017 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 30 prior to the start of the NCAA WCWS in Oklahoma City.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions, members of the media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country as well as past winners of the award.
Groenewegen saved her best season in the circle for last. She has helped lead the Gophers to new heights so far in the 2017 season. Minnesota had never been ranked in the top-10 before this year and are now up to No. 2 in the country. They are currently on a program record 22-game win streak and have hit 50 wins for the first time in team history with a 51-3 overall record. They went 22-1 in the Big Ten and won their first regular season title since 1991.
This season Groenewegen is 27-2 with a 0.60 ERA and 256 strikeouts. She has thrown one no-hitter, eight shutouts, is holding opponents to a .153 batting average and has had double digit strikeouts in 13 games this season. Groenewegen is just 21 strikeouts away from the Gophers career record. Sara Moulton currently holds that with 1,184.
Groenewegen is also one of the few players in the NCAA that pitches and bats. She has had six doubles, two home runs and 27 RBIs this season.
The Gophers have the No. 1 seed in the B1G Tournament. They will play Friday at 10 a.m. CT against the winner of Northwestern and Purdue.
Big Ten Network will provide live coverage of the entire Big Ten Softball Tournament, televising all 11 games live on the linear network, as well as through the BTN2Go platform, which is available online (btn2go.com) and through the BTN2Go app.
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