University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, April 26
Jane Sage Cowles Stadium
4:00 PM
University of Minnesota
35-10, 16-1
9
vs
0
Iowa
18-26, 4-14
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3
4
5
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H
E
IOWA
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Minnesota
2
2
1
4
X
9
8
0
Gophers Blast Iowa With a Pair of Run-Rules
4/26/2019 8:27:00 PM | Softball
*SCHEDULE UPDATE: The Gophers will NOT be playing on Saturday. They will now conclude the series with Iowa on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. If you had a ticket for Saturday it will be honored on Sunday or you can exchange it for a future ticket depending on availability.*
The No. 16/11 University of Minnesota Gophers earned back-to-back run-rule wins over Iowa on Friday evening. MaKenna Partain ended the second game of the evening with a three-run home run walk-off.
"It is always a good time to win against Iowa, and doing it in front of our home crowd makes it so much better," Partain said.
The Gophers won the first game of the day 9-0 and followed it up with an 8-0 victory. Amber Fiser and Sydney Smith each earned a shutout victory in the circle and only allowed a combined three hits on the day.
"Our pitchers are on fire right now," Partain said. "It's amazing to watch them play, and our defense is doing awesome too."
Minnesota took charge early in the game, going up 2-0 after the first. Hope Brandner kicked things off for the Gophers with a two-run homer to right field.
The Gophers extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second. The first came when Ali Lindner hit her first career double to bring in Allie Arneson. Lindner moved to third on a passed ball and was sent home on Carlie Brandt's single up the middle.
The Hawkeyes hit a single up the middle in the top of the third, but had three consecutive groundouts to cut their scoring chances short.
In the bottom of the third, Emma Burns hit an RBI-single up the middle to punch Macy Gill across the plate and make it 5-0 in favor of Minnesota.
The score was made 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth when Partain scored on a wild pitch. With two outs on the board in the frame, Natalie DenHartog stepped up to the plate and smacked a three-run homer to put the Gophers up 9-0. DenHartog is now tied for third all-time for most home runs in a single season with 15 on the year. She is tied with Jordanne Nygren who held the Gophers home run record from 2003-2017.
The Maroon and Gold kept the Hawkeyes off the board in the top of the fifth to secure the run-rule win.
Fiser struck out the side in a pair of innings and finished with eight on the day. The junior ace improves to 23-6 with win and has a 1.34 ERA.
Game Two: Minnesota 8, Iowa 0 (5)
Carlie Brandt recorded a double in the bottom of the second with two outs on the board to get Minnesota on base. She was sent home by Partain to score the first run for the Gophers and give them and early 1-0 lead.
The Gophers tacked on another run in the bottom of the third. With Burns sitting on first, Arneson sent a double down the left field foul line to give Minnesota the 2-0 lead.
Iowa put a runner on third with two outs in the top of the fourth, but Smith shut the door with a strikeout.
The bottom of the fourth saw three more runs for the Gophers. Brandner's 14th homer of the season was a no-doubter to left center. It was fitting after she had been robbed with an over-the-wall catch in the bottom of the third.
After sending the Hawkeyes down in order in the fifth, the Maroon and Gold needed three runs to seal the deal in run-rule fashion. The Gophers did just that with one swing of the bat from Partain. With Taylor Chell and Arneson on the corners, Partain sent the ball over the fence in left field.
Smith got the nod in the circle and pitched a one-hitter. She struck out five and walked one to move to 11-4 on the season with a 2.57 ERA.
The No. 16/11 University of Minnesota Gophers earned back-to-back run-rule wins over Iowa on Friday evening. MaKenna Partain ended the second game of the evening with a three-run home run walk-off.
"It is always a good time to win against Iowa, and doing it in front of our home crowd makes it so much better," Partain said.
The Gophers won the first game of the day 9-0 and followed it up with an 8-0 victory. Amber Fiser and Sydney Smith each earned a shutout victory in the circle and only allowed a combined three hits on the day.
"Our pitchers are on fire right now," Partain said. "It's amazing to watch them play, and our defense is doing awesome too."
Game One: Minnesota 9, Iowa 0 (5)Take a look at the top plays from a windy doubleheader in Minneapolis between @iowasoftball and @GopherSoftball! pic.twitter.com/fvq4gSGCGv
— BTN Student U (@BTNStudentU) April 27, 2019
Minnesota took charge early in the game, going up 2-0 after the first. Hope Brandner kicked things off for the Gophers with a two-run homer to right field.
The Gophers extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second. The first came when Ali Lindner hit her first career double to bring in Allie Arneson. Lindner moved to third on a passed ball and was sent home on Carlie Brandt's single up the middle.
The Hawkeyes hit a single up the middle in the top of the third, but had three consecutive groundouts to cut their scoring chances short.
In the bottom of the third, Emma Burns hit an RBI-single up the middle to punch Macy Gill across the plate and make it 5-0 in favor of Minnesota.
The score was made 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth when Partain scored on a wild pitch. With two outs on the board in the frame, Natalie DenHartog stepped up to the plate and smacked a three-run homer to put the Gophers up 9-0. DenHartog is now tied for third all-time for most home runs in a single season with 15 on the year. She is tied with Jordanne Nygren who held the Gophers home run record from 2003-2017.
The Maroon and Gold kept the Hawkeyes off the board in the top of the fifth to secure the run-rule win.
Fiser struck out the side in a pair of innings and finished with eight on the day. The junior ace improves to 23-6 with win and has a 1.34 ERA.
Game Two: Minnesota 8, Iowa 0 (5)
Carlie Brandt recorded a double in the bottom of the second with two outs on the board to get Minnesota on base. She was sent home by Partain to score the first run for the Gophers and give them and early 1-0 lead.
The Gophers tacked on another run in the bottom of the third. With Burns sitting on first, Arneson sent a double down the left field foul line to give Minnesota the 2-0 lead.
Iowa put a runner on third with two outs in the top of the fourth, but Smith shut the door with a strikeout.
The bottom of the fourth saw three more runs for the Gophers. Brandner's 14th homer of the season was a no-doubter to left center. It was fitting after she had been robbed with an over-the-wall catch in the bottom of the third.
After sending the Hawkeyes down in order in the fifth, the Maroon and Gold needed three runs to seal the deal in run-rule fashion. The Gophers did just that with one swing of the bat from Partain. With Taylor Chell and Arneson on the corners, Partain sent the ball over the fence in left field.
Smith got the nod in the circle and pitched a one-hitter. She struck out five and walked one to move to 11-4 on the season with a 2.57 ERA.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Smith, Sydney (11-4)
L: A. DOOCY (14-14)
Batting:
2B: Arneson, Allie 1 ; Brandt, Carlie 1
3B: DenHartog, Natalie 1
HR: Partain, MaKenna 1 ; Brandner, Hope 1
RBI: Partain, MaKenna 4 ; Brandner, Hope 3 ; Arneson, Allie 1
SH: Kemmetmueller, Katelyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Partain, MaKenna 2 ; Houlihan, Maddie 1 ; Brandner, Hope 1 ; Burns, Emma 1 ; Arneson, Allie 1 ; Brandt, Carlie 1 ; Chell, Taylor 1
HBP: Partain, MaKenna 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
C/UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballMinnesota (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