University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, April 28
Jane Sage Cowles Stadium
12:00 PM
University of Minnesota
37-10, 18-1
6
vs
1
Iowa
18-28, 4-16
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5
6
7
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H
E
IOWA
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0
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1
4
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Minnesota
2
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1
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X
6
7
0
Gophers Sweep Iowa, Stay in B1G Title Hunt
4/28/2019 2:43:00 PM | Softball
The No. 16/11 University of Minnesota topped Iowa 6-1 to sweep the series on Sunday afternoon.Â
"We were excited for this series," head coach Jamie Trachsel said. "I think this was a tough game to play because it was on Sunday and we had a day break. I was proud of how we came out and took care of business."
The Gophers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after sending the Hawkeyes down in order. Natalie DenHartog placed a double to right center to score MaKenna Partain and move Hope Brandner to third. Leading 1-0, Emma Burns hit a sacrifice fly to score a sliding Brandner.Â
Minnesota was quiet in the bottom of the second, but brought the heat in the bottom of the third. Maddie Houlihan crushed the first pitch she saw for her sixth home run of the season to drive in Partain and put the Gophers up 4-0. On the home run, Partain moved into fourth for most runs scored in a single season in program history with 58 this year. Houlihan tied Sam Macken for second all-time in school history for runs scored in a career at 182.Â
Burns tacked on one more run in the frame with a solo shot to left field to extend the lead to 5-0 in favor of Minnesota.Â
The Maroon and Gold scored their final run, making it 6-0, in the bottom of the fifth when Brandner sent a solo home run over the fences to center field. The home run is her 15th on the season. She is tied with current teammate DenHartog and Jordanne Nygren for third most home runs in a single season in Gophers history.Â
Amber Fiser started in the circle for Minnesota and went three innings with six strikeouts and one hit. She picked up a no decision as she did not go the required number of innings to pick up the victory. Sydney Smith entered the game in the top of the fourth and quickly got to work, retiring the Hawkeyes in order with two strikeouts. She picked up the win to improve to 12-4 on the season. Fiser and Smith combined for a 3-0 record while only allowing five hits on the weekend.Â
Hannah Bailey took the circle in the top of the seventh and gave up Iowa's lone run of the game and the weekend to make it 6-1. She struck out the last batter of the game to finish the Hawkeyes off.Â
Minnesota is back at Jane Sage Cowles next weekend for a big regular season series finale against the Northwestern Wildcats. Northwestern is currently first in the Big Ten with a 20-0 conference record while the Gophers are third with an 18-1 record. Friday's game will begin at 6 p.m C.T. and can be streamed on BTN Plus. Saturday starts at 3 p.m. and will be on ESPNU and Big Ten Network will have the finale at 3 p.m. on Sunday.Â
 "I know they say it's 'Minnesota nice,' but I hope it's 'Minnesota nasty' next week," Trachsel said. "We'll need our fans. We need home field advantage against a tough Northwestern team. You have two of the top teams battling it out that are well balanced. We need our fans to show up and we need them to support us. We'll use every single thing we can get from them."
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"We were excited for this series," head coach Jamie Trachsel said. "I think this was a tough game to play because it was on Sunday and we had a day break. I was proud of how we came out and took care of business."
The Gophers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after sending the Hawkeyes down in order. Natalie DenHartog placed a double to right center to score MaKenna Partain and move Hope Brandner to third. Leading 1-0, Emma Burns hit a sacrifice fly to score a sliding Brandner.Â
Minnesota was quiet in the bottom of the second, but brought the heat in the bottom of the third. Maddie Houlihan crushed the first pitch she saw for her sixth home run of the season to drive in Partain and put the Gophers up 4-0. On the home run, Partain moved into fourth for most runs scored in a single season in program history with 58 this year. Houlihan tied Sam Macken for second all-time in school history for runs scored in a career at 182.Â
Burns tacked on one more run in the frame with a solo shot to left field to extend the lead to 5-0 in favor of Minnesota.Â
The Maroon and Gold scored their final run, making it 6-0, in the bottom of the fifth when Brandner sent a solo home run over the fences to center field. The home run is her 15th on the season. She is tied with current teammate DenHartog and Jordanne Nygren for third most home runs in a single season in Gophers history.Â
Amber Fiser started in the circle for Minnesota and went three innings with six strikeouts and one hit. She picked up a no decision as she did not go the required number of innings to pick up the victory. Sydney Smith entered the game in the top of the fourth and quickly got to work, retiring the Hawkeyes in order with two strikeouts. She picked up the win to improve to 12-4 on the season. Fiser and Smith combined for a 3-0 record while only allowing five hits on the weekend.Â
Hannah Bailey took the circle in the top of the seventh and gave up Iowa's lone run of the game and the weekend to make it 6-1. She struck out the last batter of the game to finish the Hawkeyes off.Â
Minnesota is back at Jane Sage Cowles next weekend for a big regular season series finale against the Northwestern Wildcats. Northwestern is currently first in the Big Ten with a 20-0 conference record while the Gophers are third with an 18-1 record. Friday's game will begin at 6 p.m C.T. and can be streamed on BTN Plus. Saturday starts at 3 p.m. and will be on ESPNU and Big Ten Network will have the finale at 3 p.m. on Sunday.Â
 "I know they say it's 'Minnesota nice,' but I hope it's 'Minnesota nasty' next week," Trachsel said. "We'll need our fans. We need home field advantage against a tough Northwestern team. You have two of the top teams battling it out that are well balanced. We need our fans to show up and we need them to support us. We'll use every single thing we can get from them."
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Smith, Sydney (12-4)
L: S. LEHMAN (1-6)
Batting:
RBI: L. THOMPSON 1
SH: A. BOGAR 1
Base Running:
RUNS: A. LIEN 1
SB: A. LIEN 2
CS: L. THOMPSON 1
HBP: A. LIEN 1
Batting:
2B: DenHartog, Natalie 2
HR: Houlihan, Maddie 1 ; Brandner, Hope 1 ; Burns, Emma 1
RBI: Houlihan, Maddie 2 ; Brandner, Hope 1 ; DenHartog, Natalie 1 ; Burns, Emma 2
SF: Burns, Emma 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Partain, MaKenna 2 ; Houlihan, Maddie 1 ; Brandner, Hope 2 ; Burns, Emma 1
SB: Partain, MaKenna 2
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
dp/lf
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C/UT
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
UT
/ 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