University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 1
Tucson, AZ
12:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Drake
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
C/UT
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ Softball
C/UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
Photo by: Mike Janes
Preview: Wildcat Invitational
2/27/2019 4:20:00 PM | Softball
The No. 23/RV University of Minnesota Gophers head out west for the first time this year for the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
The Maroon and Gold will take on two more top-25 teams in No. 12/12 Arizona and No. 19/19 James Madison. They have already had four top-10 matchups this season and are No. 11 in the FastPitchNews power rankings based on a similar formula used for RPI. Every game will be available for streaming this weekend with non-Arizona games on Flo Softball and the Arizona game available for free on arizonawildcats.com/sblive.
The Gophers went 3-2 last time out at the Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala and are 7-5 on the season. They topped ULM twice and Missouri State once but fell in two games against No. 6/6 Alabama. They lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Crimson Tide on Friday and lost 7-2 in five innings due to weather on Saturday.
Freshmen Natalie DenHartog and Emma Burns had breakout weekends for Minnesota. Denhartog hit .417 with a double, triple, a grand slam, stole home for a run, had six RBIs and had a .917 slugging percentage. Burns hit .308 with three home runs, four RBIs and had a 1.000 slugging percentage.
The Gophers returned their entire pitching staff from a season ago and have used all five so far in the 2019 season. Amber Fiser earned preseason All-American nods and has been strong despite taking on the top teams in the country week after week. She is 4-4 with a 1.79 ERA and 59 strikeouts already this season. She has helped the Gophers to four shutout wins and is holding opposing batters to a .148 batting average. Sydney Smith got on track last weekend at the Bama Bash going 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA and seven strikeouts on the weekend. Rachel Lowary has 11 strikeouts in just 5.2 innings of work and has not allowed a run. Hannah Bailey and Carlie Brandt have each provided six innings of work in the circle so far this season.
The Gophers have 13 home runs this season. Hope Brandner transferred to Minnesota from Oregon State and wasted no time making an instant impact. In her first weekend donning the Maroon and Gold she was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. She finished the weekend with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. She hit another home run for the Gophers against California and launched one against Alabama. The Gophers have had another nine home runs by players who hit the first of their career. Freshman Ali Lindner hit one opening weekend and her classmates, Emma Burns and Natalie DenHartog, have each added three. Carlie Brandt and Anne Miller also launched the first home runs of their career down in Clearwater.
ABOUT No. 12/12 ARIZONA
After spending two of the first three weeks on the road, No. 12/12 Arizona is set for three straight weekends at home beginning this weekend with the annual Wildcat Classic. Arizona has hit 22 home runs through the first 14 games of the season. That figure leads the Pac-12 and all Power 5 Conference teams. The Wildcats are fifth in the country in home runs per game (1.57). Arizona's pitching staff has combined to strike out 108 batters, which is tied for 12th most nationally. The Wildcats rank seventh in the nation with their 108/18 strikeout/walk ratio and ninth with their 8.59 strikeouts per seven innings. Taylor McQuillin currently sits eighth in school history with 643 career strikeouts.
ABOUT DRAKE
Drake is receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll. Drake went 5-0 weekend at the Razorback Invitational last time out including a victory over host and No. 12 at the time Arkansas. The Bulldogs are led by pitcher Nicole Newman, who earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week last week. She is 4-2 with an 0.86 ERA this season.
ABOUT No. 19/19 JAMES MADISON
The Dukes are 5-2 on the season and picked up ranked wins over Oregon and Tennessee already this season. They returned one of the top players in the entire country in Megan Good this year. Good is 3-1 in the circle this year with a 1.99 ERA and 28 strikeouts this season. At the plate she is hitting .368 with three home runs.
ABOUT KENT STATE
Kent State is 6-5 on the season and have a shot to beat anybody behind pitcher Andrea Scali. The redshirt freshman pitcher was just named the USA Softball Collegiate Co-Player of the Week. Scali took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and recorded two victories against ranked Baylor. She threw 18 total innings and limited the opposition to a .136 batting average with a 0.78 ERA and 26 strikeouts to five walks while posting three total wins.
The Maroon and Gold will take on two more top-25 teams in No. 12/12 Arizona and No. 19/19 James Madison. They have already had four top-10 matchups this season and are No. 11 in the FastPitchNews power rankings based on a similar formula used for RPI. Every game will be available for streaming this weekend with non-Arizona games on Flo Softball and the Arizona game available for free on arizonawildcats.com/sblive.
The Gophers went 3-2 last time out at the Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala and are 7-5 on the season. They topped ULM twice and Missouri State once but fell in two games against No. 6/6 Alabama. They lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Crimson Tide on Friday and lost 7-2 in five innings due to weather on Saturday.
Freshmen Natalie DenHartog and Emma Burns had breakout weekends for Minnesota. Denhartog hit .417 with a double, triple, a grand slam, stole home for a run, had six RBIs and had a .917 slugging percentage. Burns hit .308 with three home runs, four RBIs and had a 1.000 slugging percentage.
The Gophers returned their entire pitching staff from a season ago and have used all five so far in the 2019 season. Amber Fiser earned preseason All-American nods and has been strong despite taking on the top teams in the country week after week. She is 4-4 with a 1.79 ERA and 59 strikeouts already this season. She has helped the Gophers to four shutout wins and is holding opposing batters to a .148 batting average. Sydney Smith got on track last weekend at the Bama Bash going 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA and seven strikeouts on the weekend. Rachel Lowary has 11 strikeouts in just 5.2 innings of work and has not allowed a run. Hannah Bailey and Carlie Brandt have each provided six innings of work in the circle so far this season.
The Gophers have 13 home runs this season. Hope Brandner transferred to Minnesota from Oregon State and wasted no time making an instant impact. In her first weekend donning the Maroon and Gold she was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. She finished the weekend with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. She hit another home run for the Gophers against California and launched one against Alabama. The Gophers have had another nine home runs by players who hit the first of their career. Freshman Ali Lindner hit one opening weekend and her classmates, Emma Burns and Natalie DenHartog, have each added three. Carlie Brandt and Anne Miller also launched the first home runs of their career down in Clearwater.
ABOUT No. 12/12 ARIZONA
After spending two of the first three weeks on the road, No. 12/12 Arizona is set for three straight weekends at home beginning this weekend with the annual Wildcat Classic. Arizona has hit 22 home runs through the first 14 games of the season. That figure leads the Pac-12 and all Power 5 Conference teams. The Wildcats are fifth in the country in home runs per game (1.57). Arizona's pitching staff has combined to strike out 108 batters, which is tied for 12th most nationally. The Wildcats rank seventh in the nation with their 108/18 strikeout/walk ratio and ninth with their 8.59 strikeouts per seven innings. Taylor McQuillin currently sits eighth in school history with 643 career strikeouts.
ABOUT DRAKE
Drake is receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll. Drake went 5-0 weekend at the Razorback Invitational last time out including a victory over host and No. 12 at the time Arkansas. The Bulldogs are led by pitcher Nicole Newman, who earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week last week. She is 4-2 with an 0.86 ERA this season.
ABOUT No. 19/19 JAMES MADISON
The Dukes are 5-2 on the season and picked up ranked wins over Oregon and Tennessee already this season. They returned one of the top players in the entire country in Megan Good this year. Good is 3-1 in the circle this year with a 1.99 ERA and 28 strikeouts this season. At the plate she is hitting .368 with three home runs.
ABOUT KENT STATE
Kent State is 6-5 on the season and have a shot to beat anybody behind pitcher Andrea Scali. The redshirt freshman pitcher was just named the USA Softball Collegiate Co-Player of the Week. Scali took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and recorded two victories against ranked Baylor. She threw 18 total innings and limited the opposition to a .136 batting average with a 0.78 ERA and 26 strikeouts to five walks while posting three total wins.
Minnesota (4) - Michigan (0) Highlights
Friday, May 02
Sydney Schwartz Throws No-Hitter
Tuesday, April 29
Gophers (8) - North Dakota (0) Highlights
Sunday, April 27
Gophers (5) - North Dakota (3) Highlights
Saturday, April 26