University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
15-10
Arizona
21-3
Gophers Upset No. 9 Arizona in Extras, 1-0
3/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUCSON, Ariz. - On a picture perfect night and in front of a near capacity crowd at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, Minnesota (15-10) upset No. 9 Arizona (21-3) 1-0 behind the strong arm of sophomore right-hander Amber Fiser.
"This is a great win for us because we have been knocking on the door," said head coach Jamie Trachsel of the victory. "It has just been a matter of consistency throughout an entire game and this was our best performance of the year."
Seven innings was not enough to decide a winner in the Wednesday night affair. A pitcher's duel headed into the eighth inning proved to be in the Gophers' favor. Minnesota broke the scoreless tie when MaKenna Partain's ground ball to right side went through the second baseman's legs allowing Ellee Jensen to cross the plate. Jensen started the rally with a leadoff single before moving to second on a passed ball.
"It's a game of execution and we are in that situation because of [Amber] Fiser," said Trachsel of the eighth.
Fiser shut down Arizona in the bottom of the eighth recording back-to-back strikeouts to start off the inning. A routine ground ball to Partain at second gave the Gophers the upset win with a throw over to first for the final out.
Throwing lights out inside the circle for her 10th victory, Fiser recorded eight strikeouts while allowing five hits in the shutout win.
"I felt confident and I knew I had confidence in the defense behind me," said Fiser of the performance. "I knew we were going to break through at some point but we kept in there and stayed in it the whole game."
The defense worked out of jams early in the ball game. In the second a Gopher error extended the inning to load the bases, but a ground ball a batter later put Minnesota back in the dugout. A leadoff single, a sacrifice bunt and another single up the middle looked to be what Arizona needed to get on the board. Instead the Gophers' defense locked down with a pop up in foul ground to Lindaman before Fiser recorded her first strikeout of the game to strand three Wildcats.
Arizona tried one more time to break the Gophers defense, but the Maroon and Gold did not budge. A leadoff single sparked the Arizona offense in the seventh inning. A sacrifice bunt moved the potential winning run up 60 feet before a wild pitch led the runner to third. Playing the odds, the Gophers intentionally walked Arizona's leadoff hitter Alyssa Palomino to put runners at the corners with one out. The odds paid off as Minnesota produced a fly ball in the infield before Fiser fanned another Wildcat batter sending the game into extras where it was all Minnesota from there.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fiser, Amber (10-5)
L: Denham (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Jensen, Ellee 1
SH: Arneson, Allie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jensen, Ellee 1
Batting:
SH: Carranco 1 ; Campbell 1 ; Hughes 1
Base Running:
SB: Hughes 1
