University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 9
Austin, TX
2:30 PM
University of Minnesota
3
at
5
Texas
Gophers Split on Saturday at Longhorn Invitational
3/9/2019 9:06:00 PM | Softball
Austin, Texas - The No. 22/RV University of Gophers went 1-1 the second day of the Longhorn Invitational. The day included a 7-4 win over Texas Southern and a 5-3 loss to No. 9/10 Texas.
The Maroon and Gold are 14-7 overall and will conclude weekend play with a rubber match against the Longhorns tomorrow at 12 p.m. The game can be viewed on the Longhorn Network.
Game 1: No. 9/10 Texas 5, Minnesota 3
Similar to yesterday, the Gophers put up back-to-back hits to start the game from Ellee Jensen and MaKenna Partain, but this time Texas turned a double play to keep Minnesota off the board.
Amber Fiser got the start in the circle and successfully retired six Longhorn batters in a row through the second and third innings.
The Gophers cracked through in the fourth inning. Katelyn Kemmetmueller singled to right field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Allie Arneson. Later, Kemmetmueller moved to third on a wild pitch to put runners on the corners as Emma Burns was walked. With one out, Carlie Brandt ripped a single to third to score Kemmetmueller. Minnesota had an opportunity to keep putting the pressure on but got caught in a base running pickle to end the frame.
Texas answered back in the bottom of the fourth.They plated two runs on a fielding error to take a 2-1 lead with one out and tacked on one more with an RBI-double to left center.
Texas eventually added two more runs in the sixth to extend their lead to 5-1.
The bats came to life in the top of the seventh for Minnesota as Partain and Hope Brandner ripped back-to-back singles. Texas halted momentum by forcing a double play but Natalie DenHartog kept the Gophers hopes alive. With two on and two outs on the board, the freshman launched a home run over the scoreboard in center to pull Minnesota within two. She has a team leading seven home runs on the season.
Kemmetmueller drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate but Texas was able to get out of trouble.
Amber Fiser went 5.1 innings in the loss. She is now 7-5 on the season with a 1.55 ERA ad 103 strikeouts. Hannah Bailey came in and pitched 0.2 innings to close out the game.
Game 2: Minnesota 7, Texas Southern 4
Minnesota plated the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the second. It started off with a double from Arneson and a walk by Kaylen Krueger. Both runners moved over on a sacrifice bunt from Ali Lindner and scored on a Partain single to right field.
The Maroon and Gold went into attack mode in the fourth with five runs on five hits and were helped by two errors. Anne Miller kicked it off with a double and was followed by a single from Krueger. Lindner brought Miller home on a sacrifice fly, Partain knocked Krueger in and a Houlihan double made it 5-0 in favor of the Gophers.
Another fourth inning run came in on an error and Kemmetmueller made it 7-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Texas Southern made things interesting in the sixth inning by loading the bases. They followed it up with four straight singles to pull within three but the Gophers were able to hang on and get out of trouble.
Sydney Smith pitched 6.2 innings and took the win. For the second straight game she did not allow a run and she set a new career high with 11 strikeouts. Smith is 5-2 on the season with a 2.29 ERA.
The Maroon and Gold are 14-7 overall and will conclude weekend play with a rubber match against the Longhorns tomorrow at 12 p.m. The game can be viewed on the Longhorn Network.
Game 1: No. 9/10 Texas 5, Minnesota 3
Similar to yesterday, the Gophers put up back-to-back hits to start the game from Ellee Jensen and MaKenna Partain, but this time Texas turned a double play to keep Minnesota off the board.
Amber Fiser got the start in the circle and successfully retired six Longhorn batters in a row through the second and third innings.
The Gophers cracked through in the fourth inning. Katelyn Kemmetmueller singled to right field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Allie Arneson. Later, Kemmetmueller moved to third on a wild pitch to put runners on the corners as Emma Burns was walked. With one out, Carlie Brandt ripped a single to third to score Kemmetmueller. Minnesota had an opportunity to keep putting the pressure on but got caught in a base running pickle to end the frame.
Texas answered back in the bottom of the fourth.They plated two runs on a fielding error to take a 2-1 lead with one out and tacked on one more with an RBI-double to left center.
Texas eventually added two more runs in the sixth to extend their lead to 5-1.
The bats came to life in the top of the seventh for Minnesota as Partain and Hope Brandner ripped back-to-back singles. Texas halted momentum by forcing a double play but Natalie DenHartog kept the Gophers hopes alive. With two on and two outs on the board, the freshman launched a home run over the scoreboard in center to pull Minnesota within two. She has a team leading seven home runs on the season.
Kemmetmueller drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate but Texas was able to get out of trouble.
Amber Fiser went 5.1 innings in the loss. She is now 7-5 on the season with a 1.55 ERA ad 103 strikeouts. Hannah Bailey came in and pitched 0.2 innings to close out the game.
Game 2: Minnesota 7, Texas Southern 4
Minnesota plated the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the second. It started off with a double from Arneson and a walk by Kaylen Krueger. Both runners moved over on a sacrifice bunt from Ali Lindner and scored on a Partain single to right field.
The Maroon and Gold went into attack mode in the fourth with five runs on five hits and were helped by two errors. Anne Miller kicked it off with a double and was followed by a single from Krueger. Lindner brought Miller home on a sacrifice fly, Partain knocked Krueger in and a Houlihan double made it 5-0 in favor of the Gophers.
Another fourth inning run came in on an error and Kemmetmueller made it 7-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Texas Southern made things interesting in the sixth inning by loading the bases. They followed it up with four straight singles to pull within three but the Gophers were able to hang on and get out of trouble.
Sydney Smith pitched 6.2 innings and took the win. For the second straight game she did not allow a run and she set a new career high with 11 strikeouts. Smith is 5-2 on the season with a 2.29 ERA.
Players Mentioned
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