University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 22
College Park, MD
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Maryland
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
Preview: Big Ten Opener at Maryland
3/21/2019 11:47:00 AM | Softball
The No. 20/19 University of Minnesota Gophers open Big Ten play at Maryland this weekend.Â
The will play Friday at 5 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 12 p.m. (all times central). None of the games will be available for stream. A season ago, the Maroon and Gold went 17-4 in conference play and won their third straight Big Ten Tournament title.Â
This weekend will conclude an 11-day spring break trip for Minnesota. They opened the weekend going 4-1 at the USF Tournament and fell in a 2-0 battle with No. 6/7 Florida on Wednesday.Â
The Gophers have played 10 ranked opponents this year including seven top-10 teams. They have topped three ranked teams and have two top-10 victories. In the first RPI of the season, the Gophers came in at No. 12.Â
The Gophers returned their entire pitching staff from a season ago and that unit has been a strength in 2019. When the weekly NCAA rankings came out on Tuesday, the Gophers 1.67 ERA was ninth in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten.Â
This week's Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Amber Fiser has led the way despite taking on the top teams in the country week after week. She tossed three complete game victories while only allowing one earned run with 37 strikeouts at the Wildcat Invitational. She was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, the FastPitchNews National Player of the Week and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Pitcher of Week for her performance.Â
The Van Horne, Iowa native followed it up a save and a win over No. 9 Texas and pitched three shutouts at the USF Tournament. She held No. 6/7 Florida to two runs despite taking the loss on Wednesday. She is 11-6 with a 1.27 ERA and 125 strikeouts already this season.Â
Sydney Smith is 6-3 on the season with a 2.45 ERA and 51 strikeouts. The Maple Grove, Minn. native has 31 strikeouts in her last three starts.Â
Behind the pitching staff has been a squeaky clean defense. The Gophers are No. 6 in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten with a .980 fielding percentage. Allie Arneson has three different games with a career high six assists at shortstop this season and has 61 on the year. Katelyn Kemmetmueller also has 61 assists and just two errors on the season at third base.
Minnesota has attacked early and often this season. They have scored first in 22 games this season and have gotten on the board in the first inning in 11 games already. The Gophers have outscored opponents 30-11 in the first inning.Â
The Maroon and Gold have counted on the long ball all season with 29 home runs on the year. Freshman Natalie DenHartog leads the way with nine which ranks first in the Big Ten. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after hitting three home runs at the Longhorn Invitational. Hope Brandner has added six home runs on the season and leads the team with 27 RBIs. Nineteen home runs have come from players that never had a collegiate home run before this season. Against Kent State, the Gophers hit a program record six home runs in a single game.Â
Quick hitters: Head coach Jamie Trachsel reached 300 career wins in the Gophers 3-1 win over Texas this season. The Gophers are a perfect 6-0 on Sundays this season. Ace Amber Fiser has a first degree black belt in Taekwondo. Utility Carlie Brandt has played seven positions in her collegiate career: all three outfield spots, second base, shortstop, DP and pitcher. The Gophers are ranked No. 14 in the newly created Softball America poll and came in at No. 12 in the first NCAA RPI of the season. Former Gopher Tori Finucane is in her first season as the Maryland pitching coach.Â
ABOUT MARYLANDÂ
The Terps are 16-12 on the season with a 4-1 home record. They opened their home schedule by going a perfect 4-0 at the Maryland Invitational but fell on Tuesday to Virginia. Maryland has only played one ranked team this season and fell 10-0 in five innings to Alabama.Â
Taylor Okada leads the team with a .426 batting average. She has five doubles, three triples and one home run on the season. Former Gopher Tori Finucane is in her first year leading the Terps pitching staff. Sydney Golden has led the unit with a 9-4 record and a 3.20 ERA with 36 strikeouts. Â
Â
The will play Friday at 5 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 12 p.m. (all times central). None of the games will be available for stream. A season ago, the Maroon and Gold went 17-4 in conference play and won their third straight Big Ten Tournament title.Â
This weekend will conclude an 11-day spring break trip for Minnesota. They opened the weekend going 4-1 at the USF Tournament and fell in a 2-0 battle with No. 6/7 Florida on Wednesday.Â
The Gophers have played 10 ranked opponents this year including seven top-10 teams. They have topped three ranked teams and have two top-10 victories. In the first RPI of the season, the Gophers came in at No. 12.Â
The Gophers returned their entire pitching staff from a season ago and that unit has been a strength in 2019. When the weekly NCAA rankings came out on Tuesday, the Gophers 1.67 ERA was ninth in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten.Â
This week's Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Amber Fiser has led the way despite taking on the top teams in the country week after week. She tossed three complete game victories while only allowing one earned run with 37 strikeouts at the Wildcat Invitational. She was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, the FastPitchNews National Player of the Week and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Pitcher of Week for her performance.Â
The Van Horne, Iowa native followed it up a save and a win over No. 9 Texas and pitched three shutouts at the USF Tournament. She held No. 6/7 Florida to two runs despite taking the loss on Wednesday. She is 11-6 with a 1.27 ERA and 125 strikeouts already this season.Â
Sydney Smith is 6-3 on the season with a 2.45 ERA and 51 strikeouts. The Maple Grove, Minn. native has 31 strikeouts in her last three starts.Â
Behind the pitching staff has been a squeaky clean defense. The Gophers are No. 6 in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten with a .980 fielding percentage. Allie Arneson has three different games with a career high six assists at shortstop this season and has 61 on the year. Katelyn Kemmetmueller also has 61 assists and just two errors on the season at third base.
Minnesota has attacked early and often this season. They have scored first in 22 games this season and have gotten on the board in the first inning in 11 games already. The Gophers have outscored opponents 30-11 in the first inning.Â
The Maroon and Gold have counted on the long ball all season with 29 home runs on the year. Freshman Natalie DenHartog leads the way with nine which ranks first in the Big Ten. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after hitting three home runs at the Longhorn Invitational. Hope Brandner has added six home runs on the season and leads the team with 27 RBIs. Nineteen home runs have come from players that never had a collegiate home run before this season. Against Kent State, the Gophers hit a program record six home runs in a single game.Â
Quick hitters: Head coach Jamie Trachsel reached 300 career wins in the Gophers 3-1 win over Texas this season. The Gophers are a perfect 6-0 on Sundays this season. Ace Amber Fiser has a first degree black belt in Taekwondo. Utility Carlie Brandt has played seven positions in her collegiate career: all three outfield spots, second base, shortstop, DP and pitcher. The Gophers are ranked No. 14 in the newly created Softball America poll and came in at No. 12 in the first NCAA RPI of the season. Former Gopher Tori Finucane is in her first season as the Maryland pitching coach.Â
ABOUT MARYLANDÂ
The Terps are 16-12 on the season with a 4-1 home record. They opened their home schedule by going a perfect 4-0 at the Maryland Invitational but fell on Tuesday to Virginia. Maryland has only played one ranked team this season and fell 10-0 in five innings to Alabama.Â
Taylor Okada leads the team with a .426 batting average. She has five doubles, three triples and one home run on the season. Former Gopher Tori Finucane is in her first year leading the Terps pitching staff. Sydney Golden has led the unit with a 9-4 record and a 3.20 ERA with 36 strikeouts. Â
Â
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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