University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 28
Auburn, AL
12:30 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Binghamton
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
Weekend Preview: Auburn Tournament
2/27/2020 10:06:00 AM | Softball
The No. 18/18 University of Minnesota Gophers head back south for the Auburn Tournament this weekend in Auburn, Ala.
The Gophers will play their first game on Friday against Binghamton at 12:30 p.m. Minnesota will then play the host Auburn at 6 p.m. in their second game of the day. Saturday will be another doubleheader as Minnesota faces Georgia Southern at 10 a.m. and Auburn at 3:30 p.m. The Gophers wrap up play at 9 a.m. Sunday against Binghamton again. Both games against Auburn can be watched on SEC Network +. Follow Gopher Softball on Twitter for live updates on the other three.
Last Time Out
The Gophers finished 3-2 last weekend at the Baylor Tournament. Minnesota beat Tulsa twice and Texas State once, but took losses against Texas State and Baylor. Baylor and Tulsa were both receiving votes in major polls going into last weekend.
Minnesota lost 3-2 to open the weekend against Texas State, but bounced right back as Amber Fiser threw a no-hitter in an 11-0 victory in five innings against Tulsa. The Gophers took the rematch against Texas State on Saturday morning with a 4-0 victory. Later that day, they fell to the Baylor Bears in a 2-1, eight-inning battle. The Gophers finished the weekend strong with a 3-1 win over Tulsa.
Amber Fiser has been named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the eleventh time in her career after a dominant weekend. The 2019 All-American tossed a five-inning no-hitter against Tulsa on Friday and followed it up with a complete game shutout against Texas State the following game. She took the loss in relief against Baylor but did not allow an earned run, as Baylor walked it off under international tiebreak rules. Fiser pitched 19.1 innings and only allowed six hits all weekend. She tallied 20 strikeouts and just three walks.
MaKenna Partain shined defensively and booked herself the No. 7 spot on SportsCenter Top-10 Saturday night after a diving stop and back-handed flip to get the out at second base. The highlight clip has reached 90,000 views and was featured on SportsCenter and NBC Sports. She also lifted Minnesota to Sunday's win with a game winning home run in the fifth inning against Tulsa.
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 (77) and strikeouts (757). 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 were 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 can't seem to get over the 13-strikeout mark. She has hit the impressive number seven times in her career including twice already in opening weekend. She tossed 20 strikeouts last weekend and is third in the NCAA in season strikeouts with 91 already. The All-American tossed a no-hitter against Tulsa at the Baylor Invitational. Fiser pitched four complete-game one-hitters in 2019. She has thrown three no-hitters in her career, one in 2020 and two in 2018. Her last perfect game was at Purdue on Apr. 27, 2018.
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 190 career starts with the majority of her action coming at second base. She is fifth in career runs at 173 and seventh in career doubles at 47. 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.
Leading the Way
Natalie DenHartog leads Minnesota in batting average (.439), runs (10), home runs (3), slugging percentage (.707), and on-base percentage (.574). The sophomore from Hopkins, Minn. has also been hit by seven pitches and ranks seventh in the country in HBPs per game.
Pass the Pease, Please
In the circle, Autumn Pease has impressed with five starts and a total of eight appearances. The sophomore transfer has tossed 36 strikeouts and has allowed only ten earned runs over 33 innings of work for a 2.12 ERA and 3-1 record. Pease was an instrumental piece in the upset over No. 5 Florida State. The sophomore tossed six innings of work in that Feb. 14 game and struck out six.
Atta Kid!
Sydney Strelow is batting .316 with five doubles, one home run, nine RBIs and has scored five runs this season. She has also drawn five walks and has been hit by one pitch for an on base percentage of .409 on the year. The freshman shined in Minnesota's victory against No. 5 Florida State. She launched her first career home run and followed it up with a seventh inning, two-out walk-off single to lift the Gophers to victory.
About Binghamton
Binghamton is looking for their first win of the 2020 season and has an overall record of 0-5. They were swept in the Aggie Classic in their last time out, falling to St. John's University twice (6-1 and 5-2), Lamar University twice (1-0 and 4-1), and dropped their game against Texas A&M (10-2). The Bearcats went 19-29 overall in 2019 and finished fourth at the American East Tournament to end last season.
Senior outfielder Stephanie Ragusa hit a team-high .300 during the weekend after moving into a starting role.
The Bearcats return five pitchers from last season. Junior Chelsea Howard has thrown in two games for Binghamton and is 0-2 with a 5.25 ERA. Howard led the staff with a pair of saves in each of her first two seasons.
About Auburn
The Tigers are 9-7 going into the fourth week of the season. Auburn is coming off a 1-4 weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic after they beat Northwestern (6-4) and dropped games against Arizona State (13-0 in five innings), California (8-1), Arizona (2-0) and last year's World Series Champion UCLA (11-1 in five innings). Auburn's 2019 campaign came to an end in the Tucson Regional Finals.
After starting each of the 16 games in the season, senior Tannon Snow is batting .390 with five runs, three doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs. The infielder earned a spot on Softball America's Top-100 Collegiate Players at No. 58. Another Tiger, Alysaa Rivera, was also featured on the Top-100 Collegiate Players list coming in at No. 81. Rivera is currently hitting .271 with 12 runs, three home runs and 10 RBIs.
Senior Ashlee Swindle is a force in the circle for Auburn. She has worked 48 innings and is 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Swindle was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team in 2019. Junior Lexie Handley has also had a lot of work. The left-handed pitcher is 2-3 in nine starts for the Tiger and has compiled a 3.17 ERA with 27 strikeouts.
About Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern has got off to a 10-4 start to the season. They competed in the Eagle Round Robin this past weekend where they went 2-2. They defeated Monmouth (13-2 in five innings) and Furman (5-1). The Eagles fell to Evansville (14-8) and Maryland (4-2). Georgia Southern had a 23-28 record last season and set a program record 49 home runs.
Center fielder Mekhia Freeman is off to a strong start to 2020. The senior leads the team with a .419 batting average and has complied 18 hits, 17 runs, two doubles, two triples and three home runs in 14 games. Selected as a 2020 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honoree for the second time in her career, Freeman hit .325 as a junior in 2019 and her career .326 batting average is fifth best in Georgia Southern softball history. She is also on pace to become just the fifth player in school history to collect 200 career hits.
Splitting most of the time in the circle has been junior Rylee Waldrep and freshman Aaliyah Garcia. Waldrep is leading the pitching staff with a 3-1 record in five starts. In seven appearances overall, she has a 0.64 era and 18 strikeouts over 33 innings of work. Garcia has made an immediate impact in her first year with the Eagles. She has made six starts and pitched 35.2 innings. The freshman has a 2.16 ERA and has struck out 26 batters.
The Gophers will play their first game on Friday against Binghamton at 12:30 p.m. Minnesota will then play the host Auburn at 6 p.m. in their second game of the day. Saturday will be another doubleheader as Minnesota faces Georgia Southern at 10 a.m. and Auburn at 3:30 p.m. The Gophers wrap up play at 9 a.m. Sunday against Binghamton again. Both games against Auburn can be watched on SEC Network +. Follow Gopher Softball on Twitter for live updates on the other three.
Last Time Out
The Gophers finished 3-2 last weekend at the Baylor Tournament. Minnesota beat Tulsa twice and Texas State once, but took losses against Texas State and Baylor. Baylor and Tulsa were both receiving votes in major polls going into last weekend.
Minnesota lost 3-2 to open the weekend against Texas State, but bounced right back as Amber Fiser threw a no-hitter in an 11-0 victory in five innings against Tulsa. The Gophers took the rematch against Texas State on Saturday morning with a 4-0 victory. Later that day, they fell to the Baylor Bears in a 2-1, eight-inning battle. The Gophers finished the weekend strong with a 3-1 win over Tulsa.
Amber Fiser has been named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the eleventh time in her career after a dominant weekend. The 2019 All-American tossed a five-inning no-hitter against Tulsa on Friday and followed it up with a complete game shutout against Texas State the following game. She took the loss in relief against Baylor but did not allow an earned run, as Baylor walked it off under international tiebreak rules. Fiser pitched 19.1 innings and only allowed six hits all weekend. She tallied 20 strikeouts and just three walks.
MaKenna Partain shined defensively and booked herself the No. 7 spot on SportsCenter Top-10 Saturday night after a diving stop and back-handed flip to get the out at second base. The highlight clip has reached 90,000 views and was featured on SportsCenter and NBC Sports. She also lifted Minnesota to Sunday's win with a game winning home run in the fifth inning against Tulsa.
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 (77) and strikeouts (757). 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 were 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 can't seem to get over the 13-strikeout mark. She has hit the impressive number seven times in her career including twice already in opening weekend. She tossed 20 strikeouts last weekend and is third in the NCAA in season strikeouts with 91 already. The All-American tossed a no-hitter against Tulsa at the Baylor Invitational. Fiser pitched four complete-game one-hitters in 2019. She has thrown three no-hitters in her career, one in 2020 and two in 2018. Her last perfect game was at Purdue on Apr. 27, 2018.
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 190 career starts with the majority of her action coming at second base. She is fifth in career runs at 173 and seventh in career doubles at 47. 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.
Leading the Way
Natalie DenHartog leads Minnesota in batting average (.439), runs (10), home runs (3), slugging percentage (.707), and on-base percentage (.574). The sophomore from Hopkins, Minn. has also been hit by seven pitches and ranks seventh in the country in HBPs per game.
Pass the Pease, Please
In the circle, Autumn Pease has impressed with five starts and a total of eight appearances. The sophomore transfer has tossed 36 strikeouts and has allowed only ten earned runs over 33 innings of work for a 2.12 ERA and 3-1 record. Pease was an instrumental piece in the upset over No. 5 Florida State. The sophomore tossed six innings of work in that Feb. 14 game and struck out six.
Atta Kid!
Sydney Strelow is batting .316 with five doubles, one home run, nine RBIs and has scored five runs this season. She has also drawn five walks and has been hit by one pitch for an on base percentage of .409 on the year. The freshman shined in Minnesota's victory against No. 5 Florida State. She launched her first career home run and followed it up with a seventh inning, two-out walk-off single to lift the Gophers to victory.
About Binghamton
Binghamton is looking for their first win of the 2020 season and has an overall record of 0-5. They were swept in the Aggie Classic in their last time out, falling to St. John's University twice (6-1 and 5-2), Lamar University twice (1-0 and 4-1), and dropped their game against Texas A&M (10-2). The Bearcats went 19-29 overall in 2019 and finished fourth at the American East Tournament to end last season.
Senior outfielder Stephanie Ragusa hit a team-high .300 during the weekend after moving into a starting role.
The Bearcats return five pitchers from last season. Junior Chelsea Howard has thrown in two games for Binghamton and is 0-2 with a 5.25 ERA. Howard led the staff with a pair of saves in each of her first two seasons.
About Auburn
The Tigers are 9-7 going into the fourth week of the season. Auburn is coming off a 1-4 weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic after they beat Northwestern (6-4) and dropped games against Arizona State (13-0 in five innings), California (8-1), Arizona (2-0) and last year's World Series Champion UCLA (11-1 in five innings). Auburn's 2019 campaign came to an end in the Tucson Regional Finals.
After starting each of the 16 games in the season, senior Tannon Snow is batting .390 with five runs, three doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs. The infielder earned a spot on Softball America's Top-100 Collegiate Players at No. 58. Another Tiger, Alysaa Rivera, was also featured on the Top-100 Collegiate Players list coming in at No. 81. Rivera is currently hitting .271 with 12 runs, three home runs and 10 RBIs.
Senior Ashlee Swindle is a force in the circle for Auburn. She has worked 48 innings and is 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Swindle was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team in 2019. Junior Lexie Handley has also had a lot of work. The left-handed pitcher is 2-3 in nine starts for the Tiger and has compiled a 3.17 ERA with 27 strikeouts.
About Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern has got off to a 10-4 start to the season. They competed in the Eagle Round Robin this past weekend where they went 2-2. They defeated Monmouth (13-2 in five innings) and Furman (5-1). The Eagles fell to Evansville (14-8) and Maryland (4-2). Georgia Southern had a 23-28 record last season and set a program record 49 home runs.
Center fielder Mekhia Freeman is off to a strong start to 2020. The senior leads the team with a .419 batting average and has complied 18 hits, 17 runs, two doubles, two triples and three home runs in 14 games. Selected as a 2020 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honoree for the second time in her career, Freeman hit .325 as a junior in 2019 and her career .326 batting average is fifth best in Georgia Southern softball history. She is also on pace to become just the fifth player in school history to collect 200 career hits.
Splitting most of the time in the circle has been junior Rylee Waldrep and freshman Aaliyah Garcia. Waldrep is leading the pitching staff with a 3-1 record in five starts. In seven appearances overall, she has a 0.64 era and 18 strikeouts over 33 innings of work. Garcia has made an immediate impact in her first year with the Eagles. She has made six starts and pitched 35.2 innings. The freshman has a 2.16 ERA and has struck out 26 batters.
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