Gophers Host Maryland for B1G Series Apr. 22-24

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota softball returns to Jane Sage Cowles Stadium April 22-24 when it welcomes Maryland for a three-game series in Big Ten Conference play. Game one of the series has been altered to begin at 2 p.m. Friday adjusting for potential storms later in the evening.

Saturday's game will be a special day at the stadium as the Golden Gophers are set to retire the jersey of former All-American Gretchen Larson during a pre-game ceremony.

WEEKEND QUICK HITS
NEW HOME RUN QUEEN
On the third pitch she saw in the fourth inning Mar. 27 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. DenHartog is currently averaging one home run every 8.4 trips to the plate this year and has totaled 165 RBI across 166 career games played, needing just five RBI to crack the program's top five. She also is 15th in the country launching 15 home runs, 13 of which have come in Gopher victories, and ranks 33rd in the NCAA registering 95 total bases.

WELCOME TO MY HOUSE
After playing its first 28 games of the 2022 season away from home, Minnesota had a chance to play in front of a home crowd April 1-3 hosting Illinois and welcomed more than 2,500 fans into the stadium over the course of the series. The Gophers have posted a 97-21 (.822) record at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium dating back to 2013.

UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
The Gophers non-conference schedule ranked as the No. 1 most difficult in all of NCAA softball as they played 14 games against opponents inside the top 50 of the RPI, including 10 in the top 25. Minnesota has posted a 14-11-1 record when facing a team outside of the Big Ten Conference this season, while its overall strength of schedule ranks tenth in the nation.

ESPALIN AT THE TOP
A mainstay at the top of the batting order, Lauren Espalin remains the Gophers leading hitter in terms of batting average overall and in Big Ten games registering marks of .364 and .351, respectively. The graduate senior has put together a team-best 14 multi-hit performances and also paces Minnesota hitting 10 doubles with a .460 on-base percentage.

CHLOE IN CHARGE
Chloe Evans has reached base safely in 30 of 38 games played this season and been a run-producing machine for Minnesota. The sophomore paces the team with 36 RBI and ranks 77th in the country averaging nearly a RBI per game, including four, four-RBI performances. She has a hit in 17 of her last 21 outings, including her first career triple against South Dakota State, and scored at least one run in 12 of those contests.

GETTING OUR STEPS IN BY WALKING
Minnesota drew double-digit free bases (11) for the second time this season April 13 against the Jackrabbits continuing a trend of a disciplined approach at the plate. The Gophers have drawn five or more walks 11 times over their previous 17 games and are averaging 5.6 free bases, 86 walks and 10 hit batters, per game in that span. Sydney Strelow drew a walk in her seventh-straight game Apr. 15 at Nebraska totaling 11 during the streak.

RECOMMEND A DINGER (OR MORE) A DAY
Minnesota has launched 53 home runs in 38 games this season to sit 19th in the NCAA averaging 1.4 home runs per game. Ten different players have hit a long ball, led by 15 from DenHartog and seven by Evans and Strelow, while Sara Kinch, Megan Dray and Espalin also have at least five. The Gophers have posted an 18-7-1 record when hitting at least one home run in 2022. The team's six home runs Mar. 27 at Rutgers were the most in a single game since hitting six against Kent State Mar. 1, 2019, and just the second time hitting that mark over the last decade.

STRONG START TO THE INNING
Minnesota has recorded a .381 batting average (96-for-252) when leading off an inning. DenHartog is hitting .571 as the lead-off batter (12-for-21), while Jensen (.450), Dowell (.421) and Strelow (.429) also are hitting .400 or better. Espalin has a team-best 26 hits in that position and a .456 average giving the Gophers offense early chances with runners on base.

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.

HONORING A LEGEND
For the first time in program history, Minnesota will honor a former student-athlete with a formal jersey retirement as Gretchen Larson (1980-83) is set to have her jersey retired Saturday, April 23 in a pregame ceremony. She played pitcher, catcher, first base and in the outfield with the Gophers and achieved All-America recognition by both the AIAW, as an outfielder in 1981, and by the NCAA as a utility player in 1983. She completed her tenure in Gold Country as the all-time career record holder for earned run average at 0.81. Larson is a member of the M Club Hall of Fame (1985) and Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame (1987).

UP NEXT
Minnesota closes a shortened homestand Tuesday, April 26 when it faces St. Thomas in the first-ever meeting between the programs as NCAA Division I institutions. The Tommies made the jump to Division I this season and the contest is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. live on B1G+.

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Players Mentioned

Natalie DenHartog

Megan Dray

Lauren Espalin

Chloe Evans

Sara Kinch

Sydney Strelow