Gophers Meet Tommies Tuesday

MINNEAPOLIS - The Golden Gophers softball team ends a four-game home stretch Tuesday hosting St. Thomas at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium starting at 5:30 p.m. It'll be the first meeting between the two schools since the Tommies made the transition to NCAA Division I athletics this past fall.

Minnesota softball is teaming up with Gopher soccer to host a donation drive supporting our Minneapolis community at the game. Bring in an item from the list below and drop it off with the Gopher soccer players when you enter the stadium. The Dwelling Place, a local women's shelter, is in high need of many household essentials listed here:

Lysol wipes
Dish soap
Tall kitchen garbage bags
Smaller garbage bags for bathrooms
Hand soap in pumper
Toilet bowl cleaner and brushes
Plungers
Dish drainers
Bath and hand towels (new only)
Wash cloths (new only)
Twin and Full size sheet sets (flat, fitted, and pillowcase)
Kitchen dish cloths (no towels)
Shower curtain and hangers

MID-WEEK 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 nine trips to the plate this year and has totaled 165 RBI across 169 career games played, needing just five RBI to crack the program's top five. She is 22nd in the country launching 15 home runs, 13 of which have come in Gopher victories, and ranks 45th in the NCAA registering 99 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 had their first sellout of the season April 23 against Maryland as 1,050 fans attended the game. Minnesota has posted a 98-23 (.810) record at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium dating back to 2013.

UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
The Gophers non-conference schedule ranks as the No. 1 most difficult in all of NCAA softball as they have 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 14th in the nation.

CHLOE IN CHARGE
Chloe Evans has reached base safely in 32 of 41 games played this season and been a run-producing machine for Minnesota. The sophomore paces the team with 40 RBI and ranks 61st in the country averaging nearly a RBI per game, including four, four-RBI performances. She has a hit in 19 of her last 24 outings, including her first career triple against South Dakota State, and scored at least one run in 14 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 in which it ranks 24th nationally totaling 156 walks. The Gophers have drawn five or more walks 12 times over their previous 20 games and are averaging 5.6 free bases, 97 walks and 14 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 54 home runs in 41 games this season to sit 26th in the NCAA averaging 1.3 home runs per game. Ten different players have hit a long ball, led by 15 from DenHartog eight by Evans and seven from Strelow, while Sara Kinch and Megan Dray have six. The Gophers have posted a 19-7-1 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 .385 batting average (104-for-270) when leading off an inning. DenHartog is hitting .542 as the lead-off batter (13-for-24), while Makenna Dowell (.429), Ellee Jensen (.417), Sydney Strelow (.414) and Kayla Chavez (.412) also are hitting .400 or better. Espalin has a team-best 28 hits in that position and a .459 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.

UP NEXT
The Gophers head to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a three-game series against defending Big Ten Conference champion Michigan Apr. 29-May 1. All three games will be nationally televised on BTN with Lisa Byington and Jennie Ritter on the call.

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Players Mentioned

Kayla Chavez

Natalie DenHartog

Makenna Dowell

Megan Dray

Chloe Evans

Ellee Jensen

Sara Kinch

Sydney Strelow