JAKE FORD, Athletic Communications Assistant – University of Minnesota
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Minnesota softball team picked up two wins on its first day of the 2014 season Friday, taking down Murray State, 8-2, and 17th-ranked Louisiana State, 1-0, on the first day of play at the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La. The second victory was Gopher head coach Jessica Allister’s 100th with the program in three-plus seasons.
In the first game of the day, Minnesota got off to a fast start and never looked back.
Junior infielder Tyler Walker was hit by a pitch in the team’s first at bat of the season. Two batters later after Walker stole second and moved to third on a fielder’s choice, Sara Groenewegen singled in her first collegiate plate appearance to make it 1-0 Minnesota.
After Paige Palkovich, Taylor LeMay, and Kayla Wenner all reached base to start the second, Walker cleared the bases with a well-hit triple down the first-base line to cushion the lead. Walker scored her second run of the day on a Kaitlyn Richardson single up the middle that made it 5-0. The Gophers would tack on two more runs in the following inning.
Groenewegen was sharp in the circle for the Gophers, pitching no-hit softball into the sixth inning in her first-career start. The freshman tossed seven strikeouts in six innings of work allowing just five baserunners and no runs.
The Racers broke Minnesota’s shutout bid in the seventh inning with a pair of runs after the Gophers pushed across one final run in the top of the inning.
Senior Sara Moulton made her senior season debut in the team’s second contest of the day, picking up where she left off in her third All-Big Ten campaign in 2013.
Moulton pitched her 92nd-career complete game and held the Tigers’ offense to just two hits while striking out nine batters for her 36th-career shutout.
Walker provided the game’s only offense, reaching base to lead off the game before advancing to third on an Erica Meyer base hit and scoring on a wild pitch in the first inning.
With the victory, Moulton is at 86 for her career, two wins shy of Minnesota pitching coach Piper Ritter for the school’s all-time record.
The Gophers get back to action Saturday with a 9 a.m. contest against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and an 11 a.m. showdown with Central Arkansas.
