University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 14
Clearwater, FL
10:30 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
No. 16 Oklahoma State
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP/UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
Photo by: Mike Janes
Preview: SPC Elite Invite
2/13/2020 10:13:00 AM | Softball
For the second straight year, the No. 14/13 University of Minnesota Gophers will compete at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational. The Invitational is one of the most prestigious softball tournaments in the entire country with every game presented on one of the ESPN Family of Networks.
All four of the Gophers game will be available on ESPN3. Minnesota is just one of two Big Ten teams invited and the only Big Ten team to be invited in both seasons of the SPC Elite Invite. They will face three top-20 teams in No. 16/16 Oklahoma State, No. 5/5 Florida State and No.19/18 Missouri. The fourth team Minnesota will play is Virginia Tech who is receiving votes in both major polls.
Last Time Out
The Gophers went 3-2 at the NFCA Div. I Leadoff Classic to open the season. They picked up victories over Missouri State, NC State and South Alabama and fell to Missouri and No. 15/14 at the time Kentucky.
The Gophers won in different ways on opening day. They topped Missouri State 1-0 in a pitcher's duel and used timely hitting to outscore NC State, 13-7. The Gophers fought back to force extra inning against Missouri but lost 7-4 in the eighth. They used eight runs in the seventh inning to cruise past South Alabama 10-0. A Sunday tradition was snapped against Kentucky when the Gophers fell 7-0. Last season, Minnesota went 14-0 on Sunday games.
In the circle, sophomore transfer Autumn Pease impressed in her Minnesota debut. She made two starts and a total of four appearances. She finished the weekend 1-0 with 13 innings pitched and 19 strikeouts. All-American Amber Fiser led the entire tournament with 38 strikeouts on the weekend.
MaKenna Partain was named to the NFCA D1 Leadoff All-Tournament Team after an outstanding performance. The senior finished the weekend with three doubles, a triple, five RBIs and drew four walks to finish with a .389 batting average and a .500 on base percentage. Natalie DenHartog led the team with a .429 batting average, five runs and had the team's lone home run. Emily Hansen started five games at first and recorded a team high seven RBIs.
Fiser's Finest
Amber Fiser has already cemented herself as one of the top players in Gopher softball history and is making a case for one of the top players in all of NCAA softball. She is fifth all-time in program history in wins (74) and strikeouts (704). With UCLA's Rachel Garcia taking an Olympic redshirt, Fiser is the NCAA active leader in strikeouts.
In 2019, Fiser was named a First Team NFCA All-American, was a Honda Cup Award Finalist and was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. She ranked third in the NCAA in wins, fifth in strikeouts and 12th in ERA. Her 31 wins on the season tied for second all-time in program history and 346 strikeouts was third all-time. She set a school record and matched a conference record with six Big Ten Pitcher of the Week awards. She also picked up two NFCA Division I Pitcher of the Week awards.
Fiser is stuck on the 13 strikeout mark. She has hit the impressive number seven times in her career including twice already in opening weekend. She tossed 38 strikeouts last weekend and leads the NCAA in season strikeouts. Fiser pitched four complete game one-hitters in 2019. She has thrown two no-hitters in her career, both in 2018. Her last one was a perfect game at Purdue on Apr. 27, 2018.
The Van Horne, Iowa native opened the season as the No. 7 ranked player on Softball America's Top-100 list. She is also a Softball America Preseason All-American and was named to the USA Softball Top-50 Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
Run MaKenna, Run!
MaKenna Partain has etched her name into Gophers history and has a chance to leave as one of the most productive offensive players in team history but has done so quietly when it comes to national attention. She has already made 180 career starts with the majority of her action coming at second base. She is tied for fifth in career runs at 165 and seventh in career doubles at 45. Both records are in reach as Tyler Walker holds the record with 197 career runs and Kaitlyn Richardson has the doubles record with 64. Partain spent last season as the Gophers leadoff batter and broke the program single season record with 66 runs. She also set program and Big Ten record with five runs scored at Maryland on Mar. 23.
Partain led Minnesota in batting average (.383), runs (66), hits (72), triples (4) and on base percentage (.484) in 2019. She is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree and a three-time NFCA All-Great Lakes All-Region selection. She was named a Preseason All-American by Softball America and earned NFCA D1 Leadoff All-Tournament honors a week ago.
Fresh Faces
Last year the Gophers were boosted in a big way by freshman Natalie DenHartog and transfer Hope Brandner. DenHartog was an NFCA Top-3 Freshman of the Year finalist and earned First Team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors. She hit .373, with 17 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs with a team leading 64 RBIs and a .780 slugging percentage. Brandner led team with 19 home runs which is the third highest in program single season history.
This year the Gophers have eight new faces looking to make their mark. They brought in transfers Brooke Vander Heide (All-Region outfield honoree from BYU) and Autumn Pease (Big SkyCo-Freshman of the Year in the circle from Idaho State). They also welcome freshmen Sydney Strelow, Olivia Peterson, Delanie Cox, Kianna Jones, Ava Dueck and Shyann Beddow. Strelow and Peterson split time as the team's starting catcher a week ago. Peterson scored the game winning run against Missouri State while Strelow led the team with a .615 on base percentage.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls started their 2020 campaign going 2-2 in Baton Rouge, La. facing LSU and Florida A&M twice each in the Tiger Classic. They defeated Florida A&M twice (21-0, 6-2) and fell to the LSU Tigers in both contests (1-0, 3-2). Oklahoma State is coming off a World Series appearance and a 45-17 campaign during 2019. They were the No. 13 seed in the tournament, but their magical postseason run was cut short when they were defeated 1-0 by the Washington Huskies on survival Saturday.
Oklahoma State's offense had a strong start to the season, led by two juniors. Sydney Pennington was very consistent at the plate. The infielder hit for a .462 average, had four RBIs and led the team with a 1.533 OPS after she hit a double and launched two home runs. Michaela Richbourg was the other big hitter of the junior duo. She hit a grand slam, the second of her career, and highlighted an offensive explosion by the Cowgirls that produced 21 runs against Florida State. Richbourg was a 2019 First Team NFCA All-Midwest Region honoree after she bashed 14 home runs, tied for the third-highest single-season home run total in school history.
Carrie Eberle, the 2019 ACC Pitcher of the Year, continued to be dominant in the circle in her Cowgirl debut. The senior finished the weekend with a 1.91 ERA and compiled 14 strikeouts over 11 innings pitched. She matched a career-best 11 strikeouts against Florida State. Redshirt freshman Kelly Maxwell was perfect against Florida A&M in her first collegiate outing and official OSU debut. She recorded five strikeouts through five innings and sat down all 15 batters faced in order. Her perfect game was the seventh in Oklahoma State history.
ABOUT FLORIDA STATE
Florida State began 2020 with a perfect 5-0 record, most notably knocking off No. 1 Alabama in both meetings (8-7 in eight innings, 8-0 in five innings). The Seminoles also defeated Detroit Mercy (22-0, 12-0) both in five innings, and North Carolina (2-1) in eight innings. In 2019, Florida State earned a No. 4 ranking and the opportunity to host the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. Their season fell short of a World Series berth and ended in the Super Regional after falling to Oklahoma State.
After the first weekend of play, the Seminoles have two players batting .500 or above. Redshirt freshman Kiersten Landers started all five games and finished batting .579 with a double and seven RBIs. True freshman Devyn Flaherty impressed and hit .500 with two triples and two home runs.
Senior Caylan Arnold saw most of the time in the circle and threw one complete game. She did not give up a run, struck out seven and allowed just six hits in 12.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Kathryn Sandercock went 2-0 in 8 innings and notched three strikeouts. Sandercock was a 2019 All-ACC Freshman Team honoree.
ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH
The Hokies started the season strong after an ACC regular-season title and NCAA Regional final in 2019. They traveled to Coastal Carolina for Kickin' Chicken Classic and finished the opening weekend with a record of 4-1. They took down Coastal Carolina (11-2), East Carolina (4-2), and Campbell (11-3) in six innings. Virginia Tech split with Iowa, winning the first game (9-1) in five innings and falling (4-3) in eight innings later in the weekend.
Leading the charge offensively was Jayme Bailey. The sophomore produced a .467 average over the first five games, hit a home run and batted in six runs. As a true freshman last season, Bailey had the highest batting average for a freshman in school history (.380) which earned her First Team All-ACC honors. Sophomore outfielder Kelsey Brown was also very productive this past weekend with a team-high 10 hits and six runs through the first five games.
Keely Rochard led the Hokies with stellar pitching. She started three games and posted a 1.64 ERA in 21.1 innings. The junior struck out 34 batters and issued only two walks. Rochard was named to the 2020 preseason All-ACC team and was a First Team NFCA All-Mid Atlantic Region honoree. Also in the circle, freshman Kaylee Hewitt made her collegiate debut and secured a 2-0 record. Hewitt pitched 11 innings with 11 strikeouts.
ABOUT MISSOURI
The Gophers will face the Tigers for the second weekend in a row. Mizzou was a perfect 5-0 at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic and handed Minnesota their first loss of the season after a 7-4 battle in eight innings. Missouri also defeated Notre Dame (3-1), South Alabama (7-5), Baylor (9-1) and Louisville (5-1). In 2019, Mizzou finished with a 35-25 overall record and reached the NCAA Tournament.
After the first weekend of play, Jazmyn Rollin leads the team with a .529 batting average and 1.638 OPS. The sophomore was very productive with a double, triple and two home runs. Rollin was named a 2019 NFCA/Schutt Sports Freshman of the Year Top-25 Finalist and was selected to the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Eli Daniel was a commanding force out of the bullpen. The senior did not allow a run, struck out 11 batters in five innings pitched and earned two saves in four appearances.
All four of the Gophers game will be available on ESPN3. Minnesota is just one of two Big Ten teams invited and the only Big Ten team to be invited in both seasons of the SPC Elite Invite. They will face three top-20 teams in No. 16/16 Oklahoma State, No. 5/5 Florida State and No.19/18 Missouri. The fourth team Minnesota will play is Virginia Tech who is receiving votes in both major polls.
Last Time Out
The Gophers went 3-2 at the NFCA Div. I Leadoff Classic to open the season. They picked up victories over Missouri State, NC State and South Alabama and fell to Missouri and No. 15/14 at the time Kentucky.
The Gophers won in different ways on opening day. They topped Missouri State 1-0 in a pitcher's duel and used timely hitting to outscore NC State, 13-7. The Gophers fought back to force extra inning against Missouri but lost 7-4 in the eighth. They used eight runs in the seventh inning to cruise past South Alabama 10-0. A Sunday tradition was snapped against Kentucky when the Gophers fell 7-0. Last season, Minnesota went 14-0 on Sunday games.
In the circle, sophomore transfer Autumn Pease impressed in her Minnesota debut. She made two starts and a total of four appearances. She finished the weekend 1-0 with 13 innings pitched and 19 strikeouts. All-American Amber Fiser led the entire tournament with 38 strikeouts on the weekend.
MaKenna Partain was named to the NFCA D1 Leadoff All-Tournament Team after an outstanding performance. The senior finished the weekend with three doubles, a triple, five RBIs and drew four walks to finish with a .389 batting average and a .500 on base percentage. Natalie DenHartog led the team with a .429 batting average, five runs and had the team's lone home run. Emily Hansen started five games at first and recorded a team high seven RBIs.
Fiser's Finest
Amber Fiser has already cemented herself as one of the top players in Gopher softball history and is making a case for one of the top players in all of NCAA softball. She is fifth all-time in program history in wins (74) and strikeouts (704). With UCLA's Rachel Garcia taking an Olympic redshirt, Fiser is the NCAA active leader in strikeouts.
In 2019, Fiser was named a First Team NFCA All-American, was a Honda Cup Award Finalist and was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. She ranked third in the NCAA in wins, fifth in strikeouts and 12th in ERA. Her 31 wins on the season tied for second all-time in program history and 346 strikeouts was third all-time. She set a school record and matched a conference record with six Big Ten Pitcher of the Week awards. She also picked up two NFCA Division I Pitcher of the Week awards.
Fiser is stuck on the 13 strikeout mark. She has hit the impressive number seven times in her career including twice already in opening weekend. She tossed 38 strikeouts last weekend and leads the NCAA in season strikeouts. Fiser pitched four complete game one-hitters in 2019. She has thrown two no-hitters in her career, both in 2018. Her last one was a perfect game at Purdue on Apr. 27, 2018.
The Van Horne, Iowa native opened the season as the No. 7 ranked player on Softball America's Top-100 list. She is also a Softball America Preseason All-American and was named to the USA Softball Top-50 Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
Run MaKenna, Run!
MaKenna Partain has etched her name into Gophers history and has a chance to leave as one of the most productive offensive players in team history but has done so quietly when it comes to national attention. She has already made 180 career starts with the majority of her action coming at second base. She is tied for fifth in career runs at 165 and seventh in career doubles at 45. Both records are in reach as Tyler Walker holds the record with 197 career runs and Kaitlyn Richardson has the doubles record with 64. Partain spent last season as the Gophers leadoff batter and broke the program single season record with 66 runs. She also set program and Big Ten record with five runs scored at Maryland on Mar. 23.
Partain led Minnesota in batting average (.383), runs (66), hits (72), triples (4) and on base percentage (.484) in 2019. She is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree and a three-time NFCA All-Great Lakes All-Region selection. She was named a Preseason All-American by Softball America and earned NFCA D1 Leadoff All-Tournament honors a week ago.
Fresh Faces
Last year the Gophers were boosted in a big way by freshman Natalie DenHartog and transfer Hope Brandner. DenHartog was an NFCA Top-3 Freshman of the Year finalist and earned First Team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors. She hit .373, with 17 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs with a team leading 64 RBIs and a .780 slugging percentage. Brandner led team with 19 home runs which is the third highest in program single season history.
This year the Gophers have eight new faces looking to make their mark. They brought in transfers Brooke Vander Heide (All-Region outfield honoree from BYU) and Autumn Pease (Big SkyCo-Freshman of the Year in the circle from Idaho State). They also welcome freshmen Sydney Strelow, Olivia Peterson, Delanie Cox, Kianna Jones, Ava Dueck and Shyann Beddow. Strelow and Peterson split time as the team's starting catcher a week ago. Peterson scored the game winning run against Missouri State while Strelow led the team with a .615 on base percentage.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls started their 2020 campaign going 2-2 in Baton Rouge, La. facing LSU and Florida A&M twice each in the Tiger Classic. They defeated Florida A&M twice (21-0, 6-2) and fell to the LSU Tigers in both contests (1-0, 3-2). Oklahoma State is coming off a World Series appearance and a 45-17 campaign during 2019. They were the No. 13 seed in the tournament, but their magical postseason run was cut short when they were defeated 1-0 by the Washington Huskies on survival Saturday.
Oklahoma State's offense had a strong start to the season, led by two juniors. Sydney Pennington was very consistent at the plate. The infielder hit for a .462 average, had four RBIs and led the team with a 1.533 OPS after she hit a double and launched two home runs. Michaela Richbourg was the other big hitter of the junior duo. She hit a grand slam, the second of her career, and highlighted an offensive explosion by the Cowgirls that produced 21 runs against Florida State. Richbourg was a 2019 First Team NFCA All-Midwest Region honoree after she bashed 14 home runs, tied for the third-highest single-season home run total in school history.
Carrie Eberle, the 2019 ACC Pitcher of the Year, continued to be dominant in the circle in her Cowgirl debut. The senior finished the weekend with a 1.91 ERA and compiled 14 strikeouts over 11 innings pitched. She matched a career-best 11 strikeouts against Florida State. Redshirt freshman Kelly Maxwell was perfect against Florida A&M in her first collegiate outing and official OSU debut. She recorded five strikeouts through five innings and sat down all 15 batters faced in order. Her perfect game was the seventh in Oklahoma State history.
ABOUT FLORIDA STATE
Florida State began 2020 with a perfect 5-0 record, most notably knocking off No. 1 Alabama in both meetings (8-7 in eight innings, 8-0 in five innings). The Seminoles also defeated Detroit Mercy (22-0, 12-0) both in five innings, and North Carolina (2-1) in eight innings. In 2019, Florida State earned a No. 4 ranking and the opportunity to host the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. Their season fell short of a World Series berth and ended in the Super Regional after falling to Oklahoma State.
After the first weekend of play, the Seminoles have two players batting .500 or above. Redshirt freshman Kiersten Landers started all five games and finished batting .579 with a double and seven RBIs. True freshman Devyn Flaherty impressed and hit .500 with two triples and two home runs.
Senior Caylan Arnold saw most of the time in the circle and threw one complete game. She did not give up a run, struck out seven and allowed just six hits in 12.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Kathryn Sandercock went 2-0 in 8 innings and notched three strikeouts. Sandercock was a 2019 All-ACC Freshman Team honoree.
ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH
The Hokies started the season strong after an ACC regular-season title and NCAA Regional final in 2019. They traveled to Coastal Carolina for Kickin' Chicken Classic and finished the opening weekend with a record of 4-1. They took down Coastal Carolina (11-2), East Carolina (4-2), and Campbell (11-3) in six innings. Virginia Tech split with Iowa, winning the first game (9-1) in five innings and falling (4-3) in eight innings later in the weekend.
Leading the charge offensively was Jayme Bailey. The sophomore produced a .467 average over the first five games, hit a home run and batted in six runs. As a true freshman last season, Bailey had the highest batting average for a freshman in school history (.380) which earned her First Team All-ACC honors. Sophomore outfielder Kelsey Brown was also very productive this past weekend with a team-high 10 hits and six runs through the first five games.
Keely Rochard led the Hokies with stellar pitching. She started three games and posted a 1.64 ERA in 21.1 innings. The junior struck out 34 batters and issued only two walks. Rochard was named to the 2020 preseason All-ACC team and was a First Team NFCA All-Mid Atlantic Region honoree. Also in the circle, freshman Kaylee Hewitt made her collegiate debut and secured a 2-0 record. Hewitt pitched 11 innings with 11 strikeouts.
ABOUT MISSOURI
The Gophers will face the Tigers for the second weekend in a row. Mizzou was a perfect 5-0 at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic and handed Minnesota their first loss of the season after a 7-4 battle in eight innings. Missouri also defeated Notre Dame (3-1), South Alabama (7-5), Baylor (9-1) and Louisville (5-1). In 2019, Mizzou finished with a 35-25 overall record and reached the NCAA Tournament.
After the first weekend of play, Jazmyn Rollin leads the team with a .529 batting average and 1.638 OPS. The sophomore was very productive with a double, triple and two home runs. Rollin was named a 2019 NFCA/Schutt Sports Freshman of the Year Top-25 Finalist and was selected to the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Eli Daniel was a commanding force out of the bullpen. The senior did not allow a run, struck out 11 batters in five innings pitched and earned two saves in four appearances.
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