Gophers Ready for Home-Opening Series April 1-3

MINNEAPOLIS - For the first time this season, Minnesota softball gets a chance to play at home when it hosts Illinois April 1-3 for a three-game Big Ten Conference series at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. Watch the games Friday (4 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.) on B1G+ and tune in Sunday as the Gophers enter the national spotlight live on ESPN2 at 11 a.m.

Tickets are available for all three games by clicking HERE.

WEEKEND QUICK HITS
NEW HOME RUN QUEEN
On the third pitch she saw in the fourth inning Sunday at Rutgers, Natalie DenHartog sent a deep fly high over the center field fence and circled the bases for the 52nd time in her career. That set a Minnesota record as she became the all-time home run leader passing Jordanne Nygren's mark of 51 from 1999-2003. She matched Nygren on a solo shot against Drake Mar. 12 capping an incredible stretch where she belted eight home runs in a span of 28 at-bats. A senior from Hopkins, Minn., DenHartog is currently averaging one home run every 7.3 trips to the plate this year and has totaled 159 RBI across 156 career games played, needing just 11 RBI to crack the program's top five.

WELCOME TO MY HOUSE
After playing its first 28 games of the 2022 season away from home, Minnesota finally has a chance to play in front of a home crowd this weekend hosting the Fighting Illini. The Gophers have posted a 95-19 (.833) record at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium dating back to 2013 and are 8-1 in their last nine home openers winning six straight.

UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
The Gophers non-conference schedule ranked as the fifth toughest in all of NCAA softball as they played 14 games against opponents inside the top 50 of the RPI, including 11 in the top 25. Minnesota has posted a 13-11-1 record when facing a team outside of the Big Ten Conference this season.

OFFENSE COMING ALIVE
Minnesota's offense has come alive over its last seven games posting a .335 batting average and 30 extra-base hits that's led to 8.7 runs per game. Five players are all hitting .400 or higher led by Emily Hansen's .500 average. Chloe Evans has a team-best 10 hits in that span thanks to hits in all seven outings. Aiding the Gophers' .467 on-base percentage are 44 walks and six hit batters, while the team has struck out just 35 times during the stretch.

DENHARTOG AT THE DISH
The senior outfielder has collected a hit in 11 of the 13 games played in March, including six games with multiple hits as she remains one of the nation's most dangerous hitters. DenHartog is fourth in the country launching 13 home runs and ranks 14th in the NCAA registering 80 total bases. She has reached base safely in all but four games this season showing her consistent effort at the plate.

START THE INNING STRONG
Minnesota has recorded a .395 batting average (73-for-185) when leading off an inning. DenHartog is hitting .667 as the lead-off batter (10-for-15), while Dowell is .533 (8-for-15). Espalin has a team-best 20 hits in that position and a .500 average giving the Gophers offense early chances with runners on base.

RECOMMEND A DINGER (OR MORE) A DAY
Minnesota has launched 41 home runs in 28 games this season, including 17 over its last seven outings, to sit 18th in the NCAA averaging 1.5 home runs per game. Nine different players have hit a long ball, led by 13 from DenHartog and six by Evans, helping the Gophers to a 14-5-1 record when hitting at least one home run. The team's six home runs Sunday are the most in a single game since hitting six against Kent State March 1, 2019, and just the second time hitting that mark over the last decade.

MEMORIES FOR A LIFETIME
It was a memorable finish to the weekend in Austin, Texas, for a pair of Gopher freshmen as both Nani Valencia and Kayla Chavez hit their first collegiate home runs against the Longhorns. Valencia's came in pinch-hit fashion Mar. 12 during her first at-bat for the Maroon and Gold, while Chavez launched a three-run blast the next day helping Minnesota to a 10-4 lead on the road.

HANDLE THE WORKLOAD
The pitching duo of Autumn Pease and Emily Leavitt has combined to throw 176.1 of Minnesota's 182.2 innings in 2022 and struck out 168 opposing batters. They are responsible for all win-loss decisions this season and pitched 10 complete games as each has tossed five, including one shutout.

POSTSEASON PUSH
The Gophers have reached a NCAA Regional each of the last eight times it was conducted, including an epic run to the Women's College World Series in 2019. That streak was continued in 2021 under first-year head coach Piper Ritter when Minnesota advanced to the NCAA Los Angeles Regional final before falling to UCLA. Ritter is no stranger to the postseason event as she helped the team to seven NCAA appearances as an assistant coach and pitched in two NCAA regionals during her time wearing the Maroon and Gold in the circle.

UP NEXT
Minnesota extends its stretch of home games welcoming South Dakota State for a doubleheader April 6. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Kayla Chavez

Natalie DenHartog

Chloe Evans

Emily Hansen

Emily Leavitt

Autumn Pease

Nani Valencia