University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, April 8
Iowa City, IA
3:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Iowa
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
Minnesota Travels to Iowa for Big Ten Battle
4/7/2022 11:00:00 AM | Softball
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota softball travels to Iowa City for a Big Ten Conference battle against the Hawkeyes April 8-10. Catch the action of all three games streaming on B1G+ live from Bob Pearl Field.
The series opens at 3 p.m. Friday, a time that was moved up to allow the contest to be played in a warmer part of the day, and continues Saturday at 2 p.m. before finishing Sunday at noon.
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. A senior from Hopkins, Minn., DenHartog is currently averaging one home run every 7.5 trips to the plate this year and has totaled 163 RBI across 159 career games played, needing just seven RBI to crack the program's top five. She also is eighth in the country launching 14 home runs and ranks 20th in the NCAA registering 86 total bases.
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 been on a tear over its last 10 games posting a .335 batting average and 41 extra-base hits that's led to 8.1 runs per game. Five players are all hitting .390 or higher led by Emily Hansen's .462 average and the Gophers have hit multiple home runs in six of the 10 games. Lauren Espalin has tallied five multi-hit performances in that stretch for a team-best 14 hits. Thirteen different players have drawn a walk during the 10-game span aiding Minnesota's .456 on-base percentage totaling 56 walks and seven hit batters.
STRELOW SURGING
Sydney Strelow has been surging through Big Ten play recording a team-leading .462 batting average in six games and has a 1.077 slugging percentage with two doubles and two home runs. Even more impressive are the seven walks and one hit-by-pitch as the junior has tallied a .667 on-base percentage.
STRONG START TO THE INNING
Minnesota has recorded a .382 batting average (78-for-204) when leading off an inning. DenHartog is hitting .667 as the lead-off batter (10-for-15), while Dowell is .471 (8-for-17). Espalin has a team-best 21 hits in that position and a .467 average giving the Gophers offense early chances with runners on base.
RECOMMEND A DINGER (OR MORE) A DAY
Minnesota has launched 44 home runs in 31 games this season to sit 20th in the NCAA averaging 1.4 home runs per game. Nine different players have hit a long ball, led by 14 from DenHartog and six by Evans and Strelow, helping the Gophers to a 15-5-1 record when hitting at least one home run. 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.
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.
HANDLING THE WORKLOAD
The pitching duo of Autumn Pease and Emily Leavitt has combined to throw 194.1 of Minnesota's 202.2 innings in 2022 and struck out 172 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 is scheduled for a road series at Nebraska April 15-17 facing the Big Ten Conference-leading Huskers.
The series opens at 3 p.m. Friday, a time that was moved up to allow the contest to be played in a warmer part of the day, and continues Saturday at 2 p.m. before finishing Sunday at noon.
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. A senior from Hopkins, Minn., DenHartog is currently averaging one home run every 7.5 trips to the plate this year and has totaled 163 RBI across 159 career games played, needing just seven RBI to crack the program's top five. She also is eighth in the country launching 14 home runs and ranks 20th in the NCAA registering 86 total bases.
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 been on a tear over its last 10 games posting a .335 batting average and 41 extra-base hits that's led to 8.1 runs per game. Five players are all hitting .390 or higher led by Emily Hansen's .462 average and the Gophers have hit multiple home runs in six of the 10 games. Lauren Espalin has tallied five multi-hit performances in that stretch for a team-best 14 hits. Thirteen different players have drawn a walk during the 10-game span aiding Minnesota's .456 on-base percentage totaling 56 walks and seven hit batters.
STRELOW SURGING
Sydney Strelow has been surging through Big Ten play recording a team-leading .462 batting average in six games and has a 1.077 slugging percentage with two doubles and two home runs. Even more impressive are the seven walks and one hit-by-pitch as the junior has tallied a .667 on-base percentage.
STRONG START TO THE INNING
Minnesota has recorded a .382 batting average (78-for-204) when leading off an inning. DenHartog is hitting .667 as the lead-off batter (10-for-15), while Dowell is .471 (8-for-17). Espalin has a team-best 21 hits in that position and a .467 average giving the Gophers offense early chances with runners on base.
RECOMMEND A DINGER (OR MORE) A DAY
Minnesota has launched 44 home runs in 31 games this season to sit 20th in the NCAA averaging 1.4 home runs per game. Nine different players have hit a long ball, led by 14 from DenHartog and six by Evans and Strelow, helping the Gophers to a 15-5-1 record when hitting at least one home run. 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.
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.
HANDLING THE WORKLOAD
The pitching duo of Autumn Pease and Emily Leavitt has combined to throw 194.1 of Minnesota's 202.2 innings in 2022 and struck out 172 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 is scheduled for a road series at Nebraska April 15-17 facing the Big Ten Conference-leading Huskers.
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