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Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
Pease Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year
5/10/2023 8:18:00 AM | Softball
Minnesota picked up four First Team and one Second Team All-Big Ten Honor
MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota led the Big Ten with four First Team All-Big Ten selections while Autumn Pease picked up Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.
In total, six different Gophers nabbed end of the year hardware. Pease earned Pitcher of the Year accolades and was a unanimous selection for First Team All-Big Ten. Jess Oakland was a First Team and All-Freshman Team selection. Taylor Krapf and Kayla Chavez were also honored with First Team accolades.
Graduate Natalie DenHartog picked up Second Team honors while Nani Valencia was named a Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Pease is 25-6 with a 1.31 ERA and 243 strikeouts. She has an 11-game win streak and has allowed one earned run in her last 58 innings pitched. Nationally, she is fifth overall in strikeouts, sixth overall in wins, and 21st in ERA.
The Murrieta, Calif., native is the third Golden Gopher to be named Pitcher of the Year. Pease follows in the footsteps of Sara Groenwegen (2014, 2017) and Amber Fiser (2019). All three have been under the guidance of current head coach Piper Ritter.
A mainstay in the lineup this season, Oakland earned First Team and All-Freshman honors as a shortstop. She is the only Gopher freshman to start all 52 games this season. The San Jose, Calif., native is batting .327 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI, with a .635 slugging percentage.
In Big Ten competition, the freshman is seventh in the league for RBI, fourth for home runs, and ninth for runs scored.
Krapf transferred to Minnesota after appearing in 16 games for the Blue Devils, including an NCAA Super Regional game against UCLA. She has quickly found her groove and wasted no time adding instant power to the Gophers' lineup earning First Team honors from behind the plate.
Krapf is batting .361, with 14 home runs, has 47 RBI, is slugging .722, with a .451 on base percentage, all categories she leads the Gophers in. Amongst the conference, she's third in slugging percentage, fifth in RBI and third in home runs.
Chavez, a sophomore out of Chino Hills, Calif., is batting .335 with 14 doubles, 61 hits, and 182 at bats. In the Big Ten, she ranks second in doubles, fifth in hits, and third in at bats.
Receiving First Team accolades in the third base spot, Chavez has recorded a hit in 18 of Minnesota's last 20 games. Most notably, the sophomore has hit two walk-off home runs this season, against Central Michigan on March 10th and Penn State on March 31st.
This is the fourth time that DenHartog has won All-Big Ten honors. The graduate has remained in the clean up spot all season long. The centerfielder is batting .321 with 12 home runs, 34 RBI and 40 runs scored.
Against Michigan State on March April 14, she hit her 66th and 67th home runs, making her the Big Ten's second overall career leader in the category.
Valencia, a sophomore out of Georgetown, Ky., has appeared in 34 games this season with 15 starts in right field.
Complete List of Minnesota's 2023 Big Ten Individual Awards
Autumn Pease: Big Ten Pitcher of the Year & First Team All-Big Ten
Jess Oakland: All-Freshman Team & First Team All-Big Ten
Kayla Chavez: First Team All-Big Ten
Taylor Krapf: First Team All-Big Ten
Natalie DenHartog: Second Team All-Big Ten
Nani Valencia: Sportsmanship Honoree
In total, six different Gophers nabbed end of the year hardware. Pease earned Pitcher of the Year accolades and was a unanimous selection for First Team All-Big Ten. Jess Oakland was a First Team and All-Freshman Team selection. Taylor Krapf and Kayla Chavez were also honored with First Team accolades.
Graduate Natalie DenHartog picked up Second Team honors while Nani Valencia was named a Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Pease is 25-6 with a 1.31 ERA and 243 strikeouts. She has an 11-game win streak and has allowed one earned run in her last 58 innings pitched. Nationally, she is fifth overall in strikeouts, sixth overall in wins, and 21st in ERA.
The Murrieta, Calif., native is the third Golden Gopher to be named Pitcher of the Year. Pease follows in the footsteps of Sara Groenwegen (2014, 2017) and Amber Fiser (2019). All three have been under the guidance of current head coach Piper Ritter.
A mainstay in the lineup this season, Oakland earned First Team and All-Freshman honors as a shortstop. She is the only Gopher freshman to start all 52 games this season. The San Jose, Calif., native is batting .327 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI, with a .635 slugging percentage.
In Big Ten competition, the freshman is seventh in the league for RBI, fourth for home runs, and ninth for runs scored.
Krapf transferred to Minnesota after appearing in 16 games for the Blue Devils, including an NCAA Super Regional game against UCLA. She has quickly found her groove and wasted no time adding instant power to the Gophers' lineup earning First Team honors from behind the plate.
Krapf is batting .361, with 14 home runs, has 47 RBI, is slugging .722, with a .451 on base percentage, all categories she leads the Gophers in. Amongst the conference, she's third in slugging percentage, fifth in RBI and third in home runs.
Chavez, a sophomore out of Chino Hills, Calif., is batting .335 with 14 doubles, 61 hits, and 182 at bats. In the Big Ten, she ranks second in doubles, fifth in hits, and third in at bats.
Receiving First Team accolades in the third base spot, Chavez has recorded a hit in 18 of Minnesota's last 20 games. Most notably, the sophomore has hit two walk-off home runs this season, against Central Michigan on March 10th and Penn State on March 31st.
This is the fourth time that DenHartog has won All-Big Ten honors. The graduate has remained in the clean up spot all season long. The centerfielder is batting .321 with 12 home runs, 34 RBI and 40 runs scored.
Against Michigan State on March April 14, she hit her 66th and 67th home runs, making her the Big Ten's second overall career leader in the category.
Valencia, a sophomore out of Georgetown, Ky., has appeared in 34 games this season with 15 starts in right field.
Complete List of Minnesota's 2023 Big Ten Individual Awards
Autumn Pease: Big Ten Pitcher of the Year & First Team All-Big Ten
Jess Oakland: All-Freshman Team & First Team All-Big Ten
Kayla Chavez: First Team All-Big Ten
Taylor Krapf: First Team All-Big Ten
Natalie DenHartog: Second Team All-Big Ten
Nani Valencia: Sportsmanship Honoree
Highlights: Gophers 6, Central Michigan 1
Saturday, February 21
Highlights: Gophers 7, LIU 6
Saturday, February 21
Highlights: Gophers 11, NMSU 4
Saturday, February 14
Highlights: Gophers 8, UTEP 6
Friday, February 13