University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Penn State
Gophers Win B1G Regular Season Title
5/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score
The No. 4/4 University of Minnesota Gophers are the 2017 Big Ten regular season champions after routing Penn State 14-1 in five innings this afternoon.
The #Gophers are your 2017 @B1Gsoftball regular season champions!! pic.twitter.com/7y4ZzAUfEo
- Minnesota Softball (@GopherSoftball) May 6, 2017
The last time the Gophers won a Big Ten regular season title was in 1991. The victory also gives the Gophers their first ever 50 win season. They are 50-3 overall and are the first team in the NCAA to hit 50 wins this season.
Outright. @B1Gsoftball. Champs.
Congratulations to No. 4 @GopherSoftball! https://t.co/2ki9aJAWWL- Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 6, 2017
"To see it pay off for a group of your women who worked hard, put the team first and believed in themselves all season and to watch them celebrate on the field was pretty special," head coach Jessica Allister said.
Minnesota came out swinging early going through their entire lineup in their very first at bat. Sam Macken led off with a double to center just sliding safely under a tag at second. She would later come in on a wild pitch.
Sara Groenewegen stepped up to the plate later with the bases loaded and two outs and came up with a big hit. She smoked a double to left center scoring two. Dani Wagner stepped up next. She had the hottest bat of the day and quickly made it a 6-0 game with a home run to left field.
WATCH: The #Gophers can score up and down the lineup! @dwagner215 launched this one to left to make it 6-0. https://t.co/yx54Cs8OpM
- Minnesota Softball (@GopherSoftball) May 6, 2017
Sydney Dwyer notched another RBI in the second inning on a groundout and now has 71 on the season. She is just three shy of the Gophers single season record.
Wagner started the third inning with another home run to left field. She now has seven on the season. Later in the frame Macken scored on another wild pitch. Wagner went 3-3 with four RBIs in the win. Macken reached base all four of her at bats with a pair of doubles.
The Gophers stayed on the attack in the fourth inning scoring five runs on five hits. Allie Arneson drilled a single through the left side to score two. She came home on a Macken RBI double. Danielle Parlich and Kendyl Lindaman brought in the final two runs of the game with an RBI single and an RBI double respectively.
Amber Fiser got the nod in the circle and picked up her 13th victory of the season. She is 13-0 with a 1.55 ERA this season Carlie Brandt pitched the final two innings of the game and did not allow a run while striking out two batters. She has a 0.65 ERA on the season.
The Gophers take on Penn State for one more tomorrow in their final regular season game of the season. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
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