Minnesota vs Illinois | Big Ten Softball - Game 1 | Softball - Apr 5, 2019 at 5:50 PM EDT
The No. 19/12 University of Minnesota Gophers earned their seventh win in a row with a 5-0 shutout victory over Illinois this evening. The Maroon and Gold move to 26-9 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten.
MaKenna Partain went 2-3 with two runs while Katelyn Kemmetmueller was 2-3 with one home run and two RBIs. Hope Brandner added a three-shot home run to keep her hot streak going.
"We talked a lot before the game about punching first," Kemmetmueller said. "Not only did we do that by scoring first, but by taking the first game of the series. We knew we would be in for a fun, competitive series and have to come back aggressive tomorrow."
Minnesota is back in action tomorrow as they finish up the series with a doubleheader due to impending weather on Sunday. The first game will begin at the original 1 p.m. CT start time with the second game to follow.
The Gophers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first scoring first for the 27th time this season. Brandner smacked her 10th home run of the season after Partain and Maddie Houlihan reached base to start the game. Brandner is hitting .632 in Big Ten play with two doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs with a 1.368 slugging percentage and a .741 on base percentage.
The Gophers extended their lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth by way of a Kemmetmueller solo shot to the right center.
Illinois threatened in the bottom of the sixth. They loaded the bases with one out but Amber Fiser induced a groundout to Kemmetmueller who fired home for the second out and fired in a strikeout to get out of the jam.
Kemmetmueller stretched the lead to 5-0 in the top of the seventh with a bases loaded single to center.
In the bottom of the seventh the Gophers halted any final Illinois push with a strikeout them out, throw them out play. Fiser recorded her eighth strikeout as Emma Burns caught a runner stealing. Fiser pushed her strikeout total to nine with one more to end the game. The junior ace moves to 16-6 with a 1.43 ERA after the shutout victory.