(Photo Courtesy of Minnesota Athletics)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Minnesota softball team improved on its best start in school history by posting its eighth shutout of the season, capping its weekend at the UNCG Spartan Classic with an 8-0, five-inning win against tournament host UNC-Greensboro. Through three weeks, of play, the No. 20/21 Gophers’ record stands at 12-1.
Sara Moulton excelled in the circle again, pitching her seventh complete game shutout of the season while striking out six Spartan batters. With the victory, she upped her record 2014 record to 8-1 and her season earned run average dropped below one to 0.92.
After two scoreless innings, the Gophers’ offense started to produce in the third when Sydney Fabian and Erica Meyer reached base and Kaitlyn Richardson brought them both home with her second home run of the season, making it 3-0.
The long ball was the 22nd of Richardson’s career, tying her with fellow junior Tyler Walker for the fourth-most all-time at Minnesota.
The Gophers broke the game open in the next frame, stringing together a four-run inning. Fabian doubled home Kayla Wenner and Walker singled to drive in Fabian. Before the end of the inning, Bree Blancette singled with the bases loaded to score two more runs, making it 7-0.
Following another scoreless inning tossed by Moulton, freshman Sam Macken came on to pinch hit in the bottom of the fifth. The Rochester, Minn. native ended the game by belting her first-career home run over the right field fence, giving the Gophers the 8-0 decision and capping a 4-0 weekend.
Moulton now has 93 wins in her career and has thrown 98 complete games, of which 42 have gone for shutouts—all of those marks are school records. The Eagan, Minn. native now has 76 strikeouts on the season and 1,016 in her career.
Next weekend, the Gophers will compete in the Louisville Slugger Classic in Tempe, Ariz. On that trip, Minnesota will open play Friday with games versus Detroit and South Carolina before playing Ball State and Florida International Saturday. The weekend will conclude with a showdown against No. 4-ranked host Arizona State.
