University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, May 24
Jane Sage Cowles Stadium
4:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
LSU
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP/UT
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Preview: Minneapolis Super Regional
5/22/2019 3:44:00 PM | Softball
The No. 7 seed Gophers are set to host their first ever Super Regional this weekend in a best two out of three series with No. 10 seed LSU. A trip to the Women's College World Series is on the line.Â
The Gophers have only made one Super Regional in program history when they traveled to Oregon in 2014 and fell in two games. They have never made a Women's College World Series in the NCAA era but did take third in the 1978 AIAW World Series. The Gophers advanced to Super Regionals with a 3-0 win over NDSU, a 2-1 victory in extra innings over Georgia and an 8-1 win in the Regional Championship game against Georgia. Friday's game will be at 4 p.m. on ESPN 2, Saturday is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN 2 and if necessary Sunday will be at 3 p.m. on ESPN. Friday can also be heard on KFAN + (96.7FM) while Saturday and Sunday will be on KFAN (100.3FM).Â
Eight different Gophers came away with end of the year Big Ten hardware. Amber Fiser was a unanimous selection for the Pitcher of the Year and First team. Natalie DenHartog was also a First Team and All-Freshman Team unanimous selection. MaKenna Partain and Hope Brandner joined Fiser and DenHartog as First Team honorees. Â Maddie Houlihan picked up Second Team honors while Katelyn Kemmetmueller and Allie Arneson earned spots on the All-Defensive Team. Emily Hansen was named a Sportsmanship Award honoree. Fiser, DenHartog, Brandner, Partain and Houlihan were all named All-Region as well.Â
Fiser is 29-7 with three saves, a 1.18 ERA and 328 strikeouts. Her ERA and strikeout numbers lead the Big Ten. Her 29 wins rank fifth in school history and is just three wins off Sara Moulton's 2013 record. Sara Groenewegen picked up 31 wins in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Fiser picked up six Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors this season, which set a new program record and tied a conference record. She is just the third player in conference history to earn six Pitcher of the Week honors in the same season and the first since 2011. She also picked up two Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Pitcher of the Week honors this season.Â
The Gophers have proven to be well balanced. They are ninth in the country in ERA with 1.66, ninth in fielding percentage at .978 and are 15th in the country with 70 home runs this season. If the season ended right now the Gophers would have a new program record for fielding percentage. The current record is .975 from the 2008 season.
Speaking of records, Partain tied Rachel Nelson's school runs record last weekend. She has 65 runs on the year which matches Nelson's mark from 1995. Partain is one of the least talked about stars in the entire country. She is leading the team with a .408 average and has 16 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 13 stolen bases this season. She brought in a game tying run in the bottom of the seventh against Georgia in the winner's bracket matchup last Saturday.Â
Partain has set the table while DenHartog and Brandner have brought her home. DenHartog's 62 RBIs is 12th in the country while Brandner's 59 is good for 21st in the nation. DenHartog is hitting .384 with 16 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs. She is a top-3 finalist for Freshman of the Year. Brandner is batting .364 with eight doubles and 19 home runs. She is one home run shy of tying the school single season home run record and lifted the Gophers into the Regional Championship last weekend with an eighth inning walk-off home run.Â
ABOUT LSU
The LSU Tigers earned the 10th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They went 3-1 in the Baton Rouge Regional. They beat Monmouth and Texas Tech twice and dropped one game to Texas Tech. LSU is 43-17 overall and went 14-10 in the SEC.
Junior outfielder Aliyah Andrews has a team high .367 batting average, 60 runs and 73 hits with  nine RBIs. Shelbi Sunseri is batting .353 with 30 runs, 54 hits, 14 doubles and a team-high 17 home runs and 60 RBIs. The sophomore right-hander has produced a  2.15 ERA in the circle for the Tigers. In 133.2 innings pitched she is 13-9 with 84 strikeouts. Amanda Sanchez, a senior infielder, is batting .364 with 39 runs, 55 hits, 16 doubles and 53 RBIs. As a team, the Tigers are batting .307. The pitching staff has produced a combined ERA of 2.44.
Â
The Gophers have only made one Super Regional in program history when they traveled to Oregon in 2014 and fell in two games. They have never made a Women's College World Series in the NCAA era but did take third in the 1978 AIAW World Series. The Gophers advanced to Super Regionals with a 3-0 win over NDSU, a 2-1 victory in extra innings over Georgia and an 8-1 win in the Regional Championship game against Georgia. Friday's game will be at 4 p.m. on ESPN 2, Saturday is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN 2 and if necessary Sunday will be at 3 p.m. on ESPN. Friday can also be heard on KFAN + (96.7FM) while Saturday and Sunday will be on KFAN (100.3FM).Â
Eight different Gophers came away with end of the year Big Ten hardware. Amber Fiser was a unanimous selection for the Pitcher of the Year and First team. Natalie DenHartog was also a First Team and All-Freshman Team unanimous selection. MaKenna Partain and Hope Brandner joined Fiser and DenHartog as First Team honorees. Â Maddie Houlihan picked up Second Team honors while Katelyn Kemmetmueller and Allie Arneson earned spots on the All-Defensive Team. Emily Hansen was named a Sportsmanship Award honoree. Fiser, DenHartog, Brandner, Partain and Houlihan were all named All-Region as well.Â
Fiser is 29-7 with three saves, a 1.18 ERA and 328 strikeouts. Her ERA and strikeout numbers lead the Big Ten. Her 29 wins rank fifth in school history and is just three wins off Sara Moulton's 2013 record. Sara Groenewegen picked up 31 wins in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Fiser picked up six Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors this season, which set a new program record and tied a conference record. She is just the third player in conference history to earn six Pitcher of the Week honors in the same season and the first since 2011. She also picked up two Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Pitcher of the Week honors this season.Â
The Gophers have proven to be well balanced. They are ninth in the country in ERA with 1.66, ninth in fielding percentage at .978 and are 15th in the country with 70 home runs this season. If the season ended right now the Gophers would have a new program record for fielding percentage. The current record is .975 from the 2008 season.
Speaking of records, Partain tied Rachel Nelson's school runs record last weekend. She has 65 runs on the year which matches Nelson's mark from 1995. Partain is one of the least talked about stars in the entire country. She is leading the team with a .408 average and has 16 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 13 stolen bases this season. She brought in a game tying run in the bottom of the seventh against Georgia in the winner's bracket matchup last Saturday.Â
Partain has set the table while DenHartog and Brandner have brought her home. DenHartog's 62 RBIs is 12th in the country while Brandner's 59 is good for 21st in the nation. DenHartog is hitting .384 with 16 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs. She is a top-3 finalist for Freshman of the Year. Brandner is batting .364 with eight doubles and 19 home runs. She is one home run shy of tying the school single season home run record and lifted the Gophers into the Regional Championship last weekend with an eighth inning walk-off home run.Â
ABOUT LSU
The LSU Tigers earned the 10th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They went 3-1 in the Baton Rouge Regional. They beat Monmouth and Texas Tech twice and dropped one game to Texas Tech. LSU is 43-17 overall and went 14-10 in the SEC.
Junior outfielder Aliyah Andrews has a team high .367 batting average, 60 runs and 73 hits with  nine RBIs. Shelbi Sunseri is batting .353 with 30 runs, 54 hits, 14 doubles and a team-high 17 home runs and 60 RBIs. The sophomore right-hander has produced a  2.15 ERA in the circle for the Tigers. In 133.2 innings pitched she is 13-9 with 84 strikeouts. Amanda Sanchez, a senior infielder, is batting .364 with 39 runs, 55 hits, 16 doubles and 53 RBIs. As a team, the Tigers are batting .307. The pitching staff has produced a combined ERA of 2.44.
Â
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