University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 26
Urbana-Champaign, IL
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Illinois
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
RHP/UT
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Gophers Back in Action Against Illinois
3/24/2021 2:36:00 PM | Softball
HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND
• After a weekend off, the University of Minnesota is back in action, March 26-28, as the Golden Gophers face Illinois in Champaign, Ill. Minnesota enters the weekend with a 9-3 record, while the Illini are 10-2 this season. It also marks the first week of competing at campus locations after the Big Ten teams spent the first two weeks in Leesburg, Fla.
• Games this weekend can be found on BTN +. The weekend format is a single game on Friday, doubleheader on Saturday and a single game scheduled Sunday. All games will be played at Eichelberger Field. It's first time a game has been played at that field since May 5, 2019.
• Illinois is off to its best start since 2010 and ranks second in the nation with a team ERA of 0.84. Sydney Sickels has allowed one run in 37.2 innings pitched this season. Avery Steiner leads Illinois with a .436 batting average.
• Minnesota opened the first two weeks of competition with a 9-3 start. The Golden Gophers went 3-3 the opening weekend and are coming off 6-0 weekend with wins over Rutgers and Michigan State.
• The Golden Gophers face Illinois for the first time since April 5-6, 2019, also in Champaign, Ill. The Gophers went 2-1 against the Illini, including a 10-3 win in the two teams' last meeting. With the series tied at 1-1, Minnesota launched five home runs en route to the 10-3 victory and a series win.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Senior MaKenna Partain is one run shy of tying the school record in runs scored. The super senior holds 196 runs, while the record sits at 197 by Tyler Walker.
• MaKenna Partain and Sara Kinch garnered Big Ten weekly accolades last week. Partain was named the Player of the Week, while Kinch received Freshman of the Week honors. It marked Partain's third Big Ten Player of the Week honor of her Gopher career and first of Kinch's short tenure. Partain, a fifth-year senior from Banks, Ore., batted .421 to help guide the Gophers to six-straight wins. Starting and leading off in all six games, Partain had eight hits, scored eight runs and had three RBIs. She also added two triples and two doubles in 19 at bats. In her first collegiate hit, Kinch also delivered her first collegiate home run. On the weekend, the Temecula, Calif., native hit .400 and started five of six games behind the plate. In 15 at bats, Kinch had six hits, scored four runs, added two home runs and two doubles.
• The Gopher pitching corps holds a 1.34 ERA this season, which ranks 16th nationally. Autumn Pease holds a 0.72 ERA, while Amber Fiser is at 1.64. The duo each has two saves and has pitched 38.2 and 47.0 innings pitched. Ava Dueck and Kianna Jones has also seen action in the circle this year.
UP NEXT
• The Gophers open the 2021 home season next weekend when they host the Purdue Boilermakers, April 2-4 at Jane Sage Cowles. A single game will occur on April 2 at 3 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at noon. The Gophers then close out the series on April 4 with a single game. All games will be streamed on BTN +.
• After a weekend off, the University of Minnesota is back in action, March 26-28, as the Golden Gophers face Illinois in Champaign, Ill. Minnesota enters the weekend with a 9-3 record, while the Illini are 10-2 this season. It also marks the first week of competing at campus locations after the Big Ten teams spent the first two weeks in Leesburg, Fla.
• Games this weekend can be found on BTN +. The weekend format is a single game on Friday, doubleheader on Saturday and a single game scheduled Sunday. All games will be played at Eichelberger Field. It's first time a game has been played at that field since May 5, 2019.
• Illinois is off to its best start since 2010 and ranks second in the nation with a team ERA of 0.84. Sydney Sickels has allowed one run in 37.2 innings pitched this season. Avery Steiner leads Illinois with a .436 batting average.
• Minnesota opened the first two weeks of competition with a 9-3 start. The Golden Gophers went 3-3 the opening weekend and are coming off 6-0 weekend with wins over Rutgers and Michigan State.
• The Golden Gophers face Illinois for the first time since April 5-6, 2019, also in Champaign, Ill. The Gophers went 2-1 against the Illini, including a 10-3 win in the two teams' last meeting. With the series tied at 1-1, Minnesota launched five home runs en route to the 10-3 victory and a series win.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Senior MaKenna Partain is one run shy of tying the school record in runs scored. The super senior holds 196 runs, while the record sits at 197 by Tyler Walker.
• MaKenna Partain and Sara Kinch garnered Big Ten weekly accolades last week. Partain was named the Player of the Week, while Kinch received Freshman of the Week honors. It marked Partain's third Big Ten Player of the Week honor of her Gopher career and first of Kinch's short tenure. Partain, a fifth-year senior from Banks, Ore., batted .421 to help guide the Gophers to six-straight wins. Starting and leading off in all six games, Partain had eight hits, scored eight runs and had three RBIs. She also added two triples and two doubles in 19 at bats. In her first collegiate hit, Kinch also delivered her first collegiate home run. On the weekend, the Temecula, Calif., native hit .400 and started five of six games behind the plate. In 15 at bats, Kinch had six hits, scored four runs, added two home runs and two doubles.
• The Gopher pitching corps holds a 1.34 ERA this season, which ranks 16th nationally. Autumn Pease holds a 0.72 ERA, while Amber Fiser is at 1.64. The duo each has two saves and has pitched 38.2 and 47.0 innings pitched. Ava Dueck and Kianna Jones has also seen action in the circle this year.
UP NEXT
• The Gophers open the 2021 home season next weekend when they host the Purdue Boilermakers, April 2-4 at Jane Sage Cowles. A single game will occur on April 2 at 3 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at noon. The Gophers then close out the series on April 4 with a single game. All games will be streamed on BTN +.
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