University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head To B1G Tournament As No. 1 Seed
5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 11, 2017
Tournament Central- Tournament Bracket- Big Ten Release
The No. 2/3 University of Minnesota Gophers are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend after winning their first regular season conference title since the 1991 season.
The Gophers are 51-3 overall and finished the regular season with a 22-1 Big Ten record. This is the first time they have ever hit 50 wins in a season and the 51 victories is the most in the NCAA. They are currently on a program record 22-game win streak.
The Maroon and Gold will play Friday at 10 a.m. against the winner of Northwestern and Purdue. The Gophers are the defending tournament champions and have won the last two out of three.
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.
Five Things To Know
1. The Gophers made history again on Wednesday when the Big Ten Team and Individual Awards were announced. The Gophers won a program record 15 honors. Kendyl Lindaman was named both the Player and the Freshman of the Year, Sara Groenewegen was named Pitcher of the Year and head coach Jessica Allister was named the Coach of the Year.
Lindaman (catcher), Groenewegen (pitcher), Maddie Houlihan (outfield), Allie Arneson (shortstop) and Danielle Parlich (third base) were all selected to the first-team. Prior to today there had never been more than three Gophers to earn first-team honors in the same season.
Sam Macken (outfield), Sydney Dwyer (first base) and Dani Wagner (outfield) all earned second-team honors. Previously the most Gophers named to the All-Big Ten Team in a season was in 1991 when seven were honored. Lindaman and Groenewegen were both also named to the all-defensive team and Macken won a Sportsmanship Award.
2. Lindaman leads the Big Ten in home runs (19), slugging percentage (.932), walks (52), on-base percentage (.592) and batting average (.432). She holds the Minnesota single season record for home runs and walks and is set to crush the slugging percentage and on-base percentage records. She is also third in the NCAA in on base percentage, fourth in RBIs and slugging percentage and sixth in in home runs.
Lindaman is just the fourth player in Big Ten history to win both Freshman and Player of the Year in the same season. She won nine B1G weekly plaudits this season breaking the record for most Freshman of the Week awards won in a season with eight.
3. Groenewegen has now won two B1G Pitcher of the Year awards in her career. For the third straight season she is a top-10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. 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. She is third in the NCAA in ERA, fourth in wins and ninth in strikeouts. She is just 21 strikeouts away from the Gophers career record. Sara Moulton currently holds that with 1,184.
4. The Gophers are ranked in the top-10 in eight different NCAA statistical categories as a team. They rank first in win/loss percentage (.944) and doubles per game (1.78). They are second in ERA (1.18), on base percentage (.448) and scoring (7.50). They are third in batting average (.350), fourth in slugging percentage (.555) and ninth in home runs (1.13).
5. Sydney Dwyer continues to chase Shannon Beeler's RBIs record. She is just three shy with 71 on the season. Lindaman is not far behind with 68 RBIs.
The Gophers are batting .351 which is a slight nod ahead of the 2015 squad's .339. The Gophers also have a .449 on base percentage which is ahead of 2015's .437 mark. The Maroon and Gold already have drawn a program-record 237 walks. The pitching staff is holding opposing batters to .180. The program record is .190 from 1983. Before this year, the fewest games the Gophers had ever lost in a season was 11, in 2015. They currently have a 51-3 mark.
Tournament Central
Make sure to follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on the B1G Tournament!
| #2 Minnesota (22-1, 51-3) at the Big Ten Tournament | |
| Quarterfinals | vs. Northwestern | Friday, May 12 | 10 a.m. |
| Location | Wilpon Complex | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| TV | BTN |
| Live Video | BTN2Go |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Day Live | Live Updates |
| Tournament Central | Click Here |
| Social Media | @GopherSoftball | Facebook | Instagram |
Tournament Central- Tournament Bracket- Big Ten Release
The No. 2/3 University of Minnesota Gophers are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend after winning their first regular season conference title since the 1991 season.
The Gophers are 51-3 overall and finished the regular season with a 22-1 Big Ten record. This is the first time they have ever hit 50 wins in a season and the 51 victories is the most in the NCAA. They are currently on a program record 22-game win streak.
The Maroon and Gold will play Friday at 10 a.m. against the winner of Northwestern and Purdue. The Gophers are the defending tournament champions and have won the last two out of three.
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.
Five Things To Know
1. The Gophers made history again on Wednesday when the Big Ten Team and Individual Awards were announced. The Gophers won a program record 15 honors. Kendyl Lindaman was named both the Player and the Freshman of the Year, Sara Groenewegen was named Pitcher of the Year and head coach Jessica Allister was named the Coach of the Year.
Lindaman (catcher), Groenewegen (pitcher), Maddie Houlihan (outfield), Allie Arneson (shortstop) and Danielle Parlich (third base) were all selected to the first-team. Prior to today there had never been more than three Gophers to earn first-team honors in the same season.
Sam Macken (outfield), Sydney Dwyer (first base) and Dani Wagner (outfield) all earned second-team honors. Previously the most Gophers named to the All-Big Ten Team in a season was in 1991 when seven were honored. Lindaman and Groenewegen were both also named to the all-defensive team and Macken won a Sportsmanship Award.
2. Lindaman leads the Big Ten in home runs (19), slugging percentage (.932), walks (52), on-base percentage (.592) and batting average (.432). She holds the Minnesota single season record for home runs and walks and is set to crush the slugging percentage and on-base percentage records. She is also third in the NCAA in on base percentage, fourth in RBIs and slugging percentage and sixth in in home runs.
Lindaman is just the fourth player in Big Ten history to win both Freshman and Player of the Year in the same season. She won nine B1G weekly plaudits this season breaking the record for most Freshman of the Week awards won in a season with eight.
3. Groenewegen has now won two B1G Pitcher of the Year awards in her career. For the third straight season she is a top-10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. 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. She is third in the NCAA in ERA, fourth in wins and ninth in strikeouts. She is just 21 strikeouts away from the Gophers career record. Sara Moulton currently holds that with 1,184.
4. The Gophers are ranked in the top-10 in eight different NCAA statistical categories as a team. They rank first in win/loss percentage (.944) and doubles per game (1.78). They are second in ERA (1.18), on base percentage (.448) and scoring (7.50). They are third in batting average (.350), fourth in slugging percentage (.555) and ninth in home runs (1.13).
5. Sydney Dwyer continues to chase Shannon Beeler's RBIs record. She is just three shy with 71 on the season. Lindaman is not far behind with 68 RBIs.
The Gophers are batting .351 which is a slight nod ahead of the 2015 squad's .339. The Gophers also have a .449 on base percentage which is ahead of 2015's .437 mark. The Maroon and Gold already have drawn a program-record 237 walks. The pitching staff is holding opposing batters to .180. The program record is .190 from 1983. Before this year, the fewest games the Gophers had ever lost in a season was 11, in 2015. They currently have a 51-3 mark.
Tournament Central
Make sure to follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on the B1G Tournament!
Players Mentioned
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