University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Penn State
Gophers Claim Share Of B1G Title
5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The No. 4/4 University of Minnesota Gophers claimed at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title for the first time since 1991 with an 11-1 victory in six innings over Penn State.
"It has been a special season. It is a special group of young women and it is just fun being around them all," head coach Jessica Allister said. "The goal at the beginning of the season is to win a Big Ten championship and compete for a national title. Winning the share is exciting but we are ready to get back on the field and compete for the outright tomorrow."
The Gophers also set a new program record for consecutive wins with 20 in a row, besting the record of 19 they set to start the season. If the Gophers win one of their final two regular season games they will be the outright B1G regular season champions.
"It is an honor to be able to call ourselves Big Ten champions," senior pitcher Sara Groenewegen said. "Especially since its regular season and that hasn't happened since 1991. It is a pretty special feeling. This championship wasn't won by just us. It was won by all of the players who helped create a championship culture in the past five years. They helped create a gritty work ethic and it has finally paid off. We can't wait for tomorrow's game."
Groenewegen did not slow down this evening. She had a perfect game going into the sixth inning and finished with a one-hitter and 12 strikeouts. She has only allowed two hits in her last three starts and is 26-2 overall on the season with a 0.57 ERA and 249 strikeouts. She is only 28 strikeouts away from the Gophers career strikeout record of 1,184 set by Sara Moulton.
The Gophers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after the first two innings. Maddie Houlihan notched her team leading 15th double of the season to start the scoring in the first inning. Later in the frame MaKenna Partain hit a deep sacrifice fly to bring in another.
In the second inning Groenewegen and Kaylen Krueger, who made her third start of the season, were each hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out. Sam Macken drew a walk to load the bases. Danielle Parlich reached on an infield single to score Groenewegen and Krueger came home on a throwing error for the fourth run.
Lindaman notched a sacrifice fly and Houlihan ripped a single up the middle to put the Gophers up 6-0 and in full control early.
The next few innings would go scoreless. Katelyn Kemmetmueller made her first career start tonight and notched a beautiful play at shortstop in the third inning to keep Penn State hitless.
In the fifth Sydney Dwyer notched her 70th RBI of the season with a double to center to score Partain. She is now just four RBIs away from tying the Gophers single season record.
Lindaman continues to chase Dwyer for the RBI season record. She blasted a two run home run in the sixth inning to make it a 10-0 game. She now has 19 home runs and 67 RBIs this season.
Houlihan stepped up right after and smashed her fourth home run of the season for the Gophers final score of the game.
Penn State broke up the perfect game and the no-hitter in their final at bat. They put their first two runners on with back-to-back walks and loaded the bases right after with a single to left. A run came in on a strikeout wild pitch.
The Gophers are now 49-3 on the season and 20-1 in the Big Ten. They are on win away from setting a school record for most wins in a season. You can catch them on the Big Ten Network tomorrow with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.
Following the Gophers?
Don't forget to follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all season long to keep up with the latest news, features, videos and more!
