University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 7
Clearwater, FL
4:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Missouri State
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP/UT
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UT
/ Softball
INF
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RHP
/ Softball
UT
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IF
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OF
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Preview: NFCA Div. 1 Leadoff Classic
2/4/2020 3:20:00 PM | Softball
The No. 8/7 University of Minnesota Gophers begin the season at the NFCA Div. 1 Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. Friday, Feb. 7 will be opening day against North Carolina State and Missouri State. Saturday the Maroon and Gold will take on SEC foe Missouri who is receiving votes in both major polls and South Alabama. Sunday's matchup will feature a battle with 2019 Super Regional team Kentucky. The Wildcats open at No.15/16 in both major polls.
All five of the Gophers games will be available on a free stream courtesy of the NFCA Youtube page. Check gophersports.com and the Tournament Central page for links later this week.
Following History
The Gophers are coming off a historic season in head coach Jamie Trachsel's second season coaching in Dinkytown. After playing the nation's toughest nonconference schedule and going 20-2 in Big Ten play, Minnesota earned the No. 7 overall seed and went 5-0 through the Minneapolis Regional and Super Regional. Led by Amber Fiser in the circle, the Gophers earned their first ever trip to the Women's College World Series in the NCAA era.
Minnesota also set five top-10 all-time attendance numbers as Jane Sage Cowles Stadium shined on the national stage. The Gophers ended the season No. 8 in both major polls, a program record, and open the 2020 season with high expectations at No. 8 in the NFCA Coaches Poll and No.7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Softball America and FloSoftball have the Gophers at No. 6 and D1Softball puts Minnesota No. 7.
Dream B1G
In 2019, the Gophers became the first Big Ten team since Michigan in 2016 to advance to the Women's College World Series. They were the first Big Ten team other than Michigan since Nebraska in 2013 to advance and became just the fifth Big Ten program going back to 1987 to make it to the WCWS.
Minnesota has placed themselves firmly at the top of the Big ten year-after-year with seven straight seasons in the top-3 including a regular season title in 2017. They have also made it to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game in five of the last six seasons including the last four straight and have won four titles in that span.
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 going into the 2020 season. She is fifth all-time in program history in wins (72) and strikeouts (666). With UCLA's Rachel Garcia taking an Olympic redshirt, Fiser is the NCAA active leader in strikeouts going into the season.
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 hit double-digit strikeouts in 14 games including a career high 13 strikeouts five times. She also 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 opens 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 ever to don the Maroon and Gold, but has done so quietly when it comes to national attention. She has already made 175 career starts with the majority of her action coming at second base. She 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 in a single game 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 22 doubles and 34 runs away from owning Gophers career records in both categories. Her .379 batting average would place her in the top-5 all-time right now (record is .399 by Amber Hegland). Partain 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.
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 Sky Co-Freshman of the Year pitcher from Idaho State). They also welcome freshmen Sydney Strelow, Olivia Peterson, Delanie Cox, Kianna Jones, Ava Dueck and Shyann Beddow.
Security
A staple of any Jamie Trachsel team is great defense and the Gophers showcased that throughout the 2019 season. They finished the year ranked No. 9 in the NCAA with a .976 fielding percentage and return All-Big Ten Defensive Team third base Katelyn Kemmetmueller.
About North Carolina State
NC State went 31-27 overall and 9-15 in ACC conference play during their 2019 season. After upsetting No. 1 seeded Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals last May, the Wolfpack's season ended in the semifinals with a 6-1 loss to rival North Carolina.
Junior outfielder Sam Russ looks to build on a successful 2019 campaign. Named to the 2019 All-ACC Softball Second Team, Russ played a key role for NC State. She started all 55 games in left field and served as the team's leadoff hitter. Russ led the Wolfpack in batting average (.326) and at-bats (172). Also dangerous on the base paths, she set a program record with 32 stolen bases.
Veteran Devin Wallace brings experience and confidence to the Wolfpack pitching staff. The senior held a 13-16 record in 2019, a 3.47 ERA and threw 13 complete games with two shutouts. Wallace led the NC State staff with both 175.2 innings of action and 155 strikeouts.
About Missouri State
The MSU Bears had a 30-21 overall record and went 14-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2019. The club has posted 30 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 21 years and 2019 was the 13th time in program history the team recorded a 30-win season.
Standout infielder Payton Minnis looks to lead the Bears offensively this season. In 2019, the newcomer was second on the team with a .344 average and had nine multiple-hit games. Minnis earned 34 starts at second base as a freshman and appeared in 44 games overall.
Junior pitcher Steffany Dickerson was a 2019 All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team selection and was honored with an NFCA Midwest All-Region Second Team selection. The right-handed hurler led MSU in most statistical categories and ranked near the top of the league in several as well. She led MSU in innings pitched with 183.1 and threw 12 complete games. Dickerson finished the season with 20 wins and 144 strikeouts.
About Missouri
After finishing with a 35-25 overall record and a 12-12 conference record, the Tigers are predicted to finish 10th in the SEC this coming season. In 2019, Mizzou outperformed their last-place prediction and reached the NCAA Tournament. There, the team's season ended with a loss to the National Champion UCLA Bruins in the Los Angeles Regional.
Brooke Wilmes, entering her junior season, was recently named to the All-SEC Preseason Team. She was the lone Tiger recognized and was selected to the team as an outfielder after she finished the 2019 season with a perfect fielding percentage. Wilmes was also fantastic offensively for Mizzou. She led the team in batting average (.356), hits (67), doubles (17) and runs scored (43). Wilmes earned First-Team All-SEC honors in 2019 and was voted to the All-Southeast Region Second Team by the NFCA.
Senior Eli Daniel will be a force out of the bullpen this season for the Tigers. The closer put her name in Mizzou history during her junior season after she notched a program record 11 saves. Daniel was just one of two pitchers in the nation to finish the 2019 season with double-digit saves, despite earning her first save midseason on Mar. 24. She complied a career high 64 strikeouts and 64.2 innings pitched, with a team-best 2.71 ERA.
About South Alabama
The Jags' ended the 2019 season 18-31 overall and No. 9 in the Sun Belt Conference after they finished with a 7-20 conference record.
Infielder Victoria Ortiz ranked as one of the top freshmen in the conference during the 2019 season. She had stellar offensive output and was near league leaders in batting average (.357), home runs (6), and slugging percentage (.628). Ortiz led the Jaguars in doubles (17) and was second on the team in batting average (.357). Her consistency at the plate earned her All-Sun Belt Conference First Team honors.
Junior Jamie Finnical will gain more experience in the circle for South Alabama and will step up to lead the pitching staff after limited playing time last year. During her sophomore year in 2019, Finnical appeared in 17 games and made seven starts. The right-hander finished with a 2-4 record, struck out 22 batters, and had a 9.36 ERA in 50.0 innings of work.
About Kentucky
Kentucky's 2019 season ended in the NCAA Seattle Super Regional after a close loss to the Washington Huskies. They finished 36-24 overall and 14-10 in the SEC. The Wildcats graduated five seniors that left a lasting impact on the program, including Schutt Sports/NFCA Division 1 National Softball Player of the Year, Abbey Cheek. Looking towards the 2020 season, the Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the SEC preseason poll.
All-SEC infielder Alex Martens will return to the blue and white for her senior season. Martens was named to the 2020 Preseason All-SEC Team after coming off a 2019 season in which she set a Kentucky single season record with 66 RBIs. She hit .310 with 13 home runs in 187 at-bats and had 16 multi-hit games. Martens started and played in all 60 games for the Wildcats at second base.
All five of Kentucky's pitchers from the 2019 season will be back in the circle this spring. They are led by senior Autumn Humes and junior Grace Baalman. In 33 appearances and 23 starts, Humes struck out 84 and had a 4.14 ERA to go with a 15-11 record. She received All-SEC Softball Tournament Team honors following a dominant performance in the 2019 tournament. Baalman led the pitching staff with 34 appearances (22 starts) and had the most strikeouts with 102 on the season. She finished 10-10 with a 3.49 earned run average.
All five of the Gophers games will be available on a free stream courtesy of the NFCA Youtube page. Check gophersports.com and the Tournament Central page for links later this week.
Following History
The Gophers are coming off a historic season in head coach Jamie Trachsel's second season coaching in Dinkytown. After playing the nation's toughest nonconference schedule and going 20-2 in Big Ten play, Minnesota earned the No. 7 overall seed and went 5-0 through the Minneapolis Regional and Super Regional. Led by Amber Fiser in the circle, the Gophers earned their first ever trip to the Women's College World Series in the NCAA era.
Minnesota also set five top-10 all-time attendance numbers as Jane Sage Cowles Stadium shined on the national stage. The Gophers ended the season No. 8 in both major polls, a program record, and open the 2020 season with high expectations at No. 8 in the NFCA Coaches Poll and No.7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Softball America and FloSoftball have the Gophers at No. 6 and D1Softball puts Minnesota No. 7.
Dream B1G
In 2019, the Gophers became the first Big Ten team since Michigan in 2016 to advance to the Women's College World Series. They were the first Big Ten team other than Michigan since Nebraska in 2013 to advance and became just the fifth Big Ten program going back to 1987 to make it to the WCWS.
Minnesota has placed themselves firmly at the top of the Big ten year-after-year with seven straight seasons in the top-3 including a regular season title in 2017. They have also made it to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game in five of the last six seasons including the last four straight and have won four titles in that span.
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 going into the 2020 season. She is fifth all-time in program history in wins (72) and strikeouts (666). With UCLA's Rachel Garcia taking an Olympic redshirt, Fiser is the NCAA active leader in strikeouts going into the season.
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 hit double-digit strikeouts in 14 games including a career high 13 strikeouts five times. She also 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 opens 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 ever to don the Maroon and Gold, but has done so quietly when it comes to national attention. She has already made 175 career starts with the majority of her action coming at second base. She 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 in a single game 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 22 doubles and 34 runs away from owning Gophers career records in both categories. Her .379 batting average would place her in the top-5 all-time right now (record is .399 by Amber Hegland). Partain 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.
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 Sky Co-Freshman of the Year pitcher from Idaho State). They also welcome freshmen Sydney Strelow, Olivia Peterson, Delanie Cox, Kianna Jones, Ava Dueck and Shyann Beddow.
Security
A staple of any Jamie Trachsel team is great defense and the Gophers showcased that throughout the 2019 season. They finished the year ranked No. 9 in the NCAA with a .976 fielding percentage and return All-Big Ten Defensive Team third base Katelyn Kemmetmueller.
About North Carolina State
NC State went 31-27 overall and 9-15 in ACC conference play during their 2019 season. After upsetting No. 1 seeded Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals last May, the Wolfpack's season ended in the semifinals with a 6-1 loss to rival North Carolina.
Junior outfielder Sam Russ looks to build on a successful 2019 campaign. Named to the 2019 All-ACC Softball Second Team, Russ played a key role for NC State. She started all 55 games in left field and served as the team's leadoff hitter. Russ led the Wolfpack in batting average (.326) and at-bats (172). Also dangerous on the base paths, she set a program record with 32 stolen bases.
Veteran Devin Wallace brings experience and confidence to the Wolfpack pitching staff. The senior held a 13-16 record in 2019, a 3.47 ERA and threw 13 complete games with two shutouts. Wallace led the NC State staff with both 175.2 innings of action and 155 strikeouts.
About Missouri State
The MSU Bears had a 30-21 overall record and went 14-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2019. The club has posted 30 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 21 years and 2019 was the 13th time in program history the team recorded a 30-win season.
Standout infielder Payton Minnis looks to lead the Bears offensively this season. In 2019, the newcomer was second on the team with a .344 average and had nine multiple-hit games. Minnis earned 34 starts at second base as a freshman and appeared in 44 games overall.
Junior pitcher Steffany Dickerson was a 2019 All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team selection and was honored with an NFCA Midwest All-Region Second Team selection. The right-handed hurler led MSU in most statistical categories and ranked near the top of the league in several as well. She led MSU in innings pitched with 183.1 and threw 12 complete games. Dickerson finished the season with 20 wins and 144 strikeouts.
About Missouri
After finishing with a 35-25 overall record and a 12-12 conference record, the Tigers are predicted to finish 10th in the SEC this coming season. In 2019, Mizzou outperformed their last-place prediction and reached the NCAA Tournament. There, the team's season ended with a loss to the National Champion UCLA Bruins in the Los Angeles Regional.
Brooke Wilmes, entering her junior season, was recently named to the All-SEC Preseason Team. She was the lone Tiger recognized and was selected to the team as an outfielder after she finished the 2019 season with a perfect fielding percentage. Wilmes was also fantastic offensively for Mizzou. She led the team in batting average (.356), hits (67), doubles (17) and runs scored (43). Wilmes earned First-Team All-SEC honors in 2019 and was voted to the All-Southeast Region Second Team by the NFCA.
Senior Eli Daniel will be a force out of the bullpen this season for the Tigers. The closer put her name in Mizzou history during her junior season after she notched a program record 11 saves. Daniel was just one of two pitchers in the nation to finish the 2019 season with double-digit saves, despite earning her first save midseason on Mar. 24. She complied a career high 64 strikeouts and 64.2 innings pitched, with a team-best 2.71 ERA.
About South Alabama
The Jags' ended the 2019 season 18-31 overall and No. 9 in the Sun Belt Conference after they finished with a 7-20 conference record.
Infielder Victoria Ortiz ranked as one of the top freshmen in the conference during the 2019 season. She had stellar offensive output and was near league leaders in batting average (.357), home runs (6), and slugging percentage (.628). Ortiz led the Jaguars in doubles (17) and was second on the team in batting average (.357). Her consistency at the plate earned her All-Sun Belt Conference First Team honors.
Junior Jamie Finnical will gain more experience in the circle for South Alabama and will step up to lead the pitching staff after limited playing time last year. During her sophomore year in 2019, Finnical appeared in 17 games and made seven starts. The right-hander finished with a 2-4 record, struck out 22 batters, and had a 9.36 ERA in 50.0 innings of work.
About Kentucky
Kentucky's 2019 season ended in the NCAA Seattle Super Regional after a close loss to the Washington Huskies. They finished 36-24 overall and 14-10 in the SEC. The Wildcats graduated five seniors that left a lasting impact on the program, including Schutt Sports/NFCA Division 1 National Softball Player of the Year, Abbey Cheek. Looking towards the 2020 season, the Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the SEC preseason poll.
All-SEC infielder Alex Martens will return to the blue and white for her senior season. Martens was named to the 2020 Preseason All-SEC Team after coming off a 2019 season in which she set a Kentucky single season record with 66 RBIs. She hit .310 with 13 home runs in 187 at-bats and had 16 multi-hit games. Martens started and played in all 60 games for the Wildcats at second base.
All five of Kentucky's pitchers from the 2019 season will be back in the circle this spring. They are led by senior Autumn Humes and junior Grace Baalman. In 33 appearances and 23 starts, Humes struck out 84 and had a 4.14 ERA to go with a 15-11 record. She received All-SEC Softball Tournament Team honors following a dominant performance in the 2019 tournament. Baalman led the pitching staff with 34 appearances (22 starts) and had the most strikeouts with 102 on the season. She finished 10-10 with a 3.49 earned run average.
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