| PENN STATE at MINNESOTA | | | | 8-39 (4-16, B1G) | 34-14 (15-3, B1G) |
| Friday, May 4-Sunday, May 6 Jane Sage Cowles Stadium | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
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May 3, 2018
PENN STATE WRAPS UP REGULAR SEASON
The Penn State softball team travels to Minneapolis, Minnesota for its final Big Ten Conference regular season finale against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota Friday, May 4-Sunday, May 6. The Nittany Lions will play a 7 p.m. EST contest on Friday night before taking on the Golden Gophers at 2 p.m. on Saturday and finishing the series on Sunday, May 6 at 2 p.m.
CATCHING THE GAMES FROM HOME
Fans who cannot make the trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota with the team can catch all the action live by following along with live Twitter updates @PennStateSB while also following live stats at GopherSports.com and watching live on BTN Plus with a paid subscription on Friday and Saturday. Finally, fans can catch the series finale on Sunday, May 6 on ESPNU.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MINNESOTA
Penn State leads the all-time series with the Golden Gophers 38-21 but Minnesota has been closing the gap sweeping the series in the 2017 season. Prior to the 2017 season, the two teams have not met up on the field since the 2014 campaign when Minnesota won all three contests in Minneapolis. Penn State is looking for its first win since it swept the Golden Gophers in the 2012 campaign. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions are looking for their first road win since 2011 when it split a doubleheader.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
The Golden Gophers are 34-14 overall on the season and are currently riding a 28-game home winning streak. Minnesota comes into the Big Ten Conference series with a 15-3 record, having lost to Northwestern twice and Michigan State once. Ellee Jensen leads the powerful Golden Gopher offense with a .408 batting average, which ranks third in B1G standings. Jensen has knocked 53 hits on the season hitting in the No. 9 spot in the lineup. Kendyl Lindaman has also seen a solid sophomore season for the Golden Gophers, hitting .362 with a conference-leading 18 home runs on the season. Lindaman also ranks first in the Big Ten in walks with 44 and second in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage. In the circle, Amber Fiser has filled the role as the ace since losing Sara Groenewegen to graduation following the 2017 campaign. Fiser has made 34 starts in 27 appearances and has pitched the Gophers to 24 of its 34 wins this year. The sophomore hurler has a 1.52 earned run average in 202.2 innings, allowing just 44 earned runs to touch home, while striking out 209 batters this season.
WALK-OFF DUBOIS
Junior Tori Dubois has proven time and time again why she is a leader for the Penn State offense. After securing just one hit in her first 11 at-bats of the Illinois series, the junior stepped in the box in the bottom of the ninth and drove a walk-off home run off the scoreboard in left field to secure the 4-3 victory over the Fighting Illini in the series finale. The walk-off RBI was the second time this season that Dubois has secured the victory on her hit as she also drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth against Kent State.
JOHNSON LOOSE AT THE PLATE
After transferring to Penn State in the fall of 2017, junior Paige Johnson has been looking for her groove in the batter's box. This past weekend, Johnson may have found the missing piece as she had two home runs against Illinois. The junior infielder drove a three-run home run over the fence in game one of the series to give Penn State the early 3-0 lead Friday night before the game was suspended due to rain. The Clarksville, Tennessee native followed it up with her second home run of the series in game two, this time a two-run homer. Johnson transferred from Northwest Florida State, where she hit 11 home runs in both her freshman and sophomore seasons.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHTS
>> Gianna Arrizurieta - Has appeared in 107 games with 85 starts in her four year career as a Nittany Lions in a variety of roles and positions. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native in a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a 2017 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.
>> Jessica Cummings - Has made 99 appearances with 57 starts in the circle, throwing a total of 338.0 innings for Penn State. The Owings, Maryland native is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a NFCA Easton Scholar-Athlete.
>> Ashton Mensinger - Walked on the team in 2018 after being a student manager for two seasons. Mensinger appeared in 16 games this season with one start and has thrown 23.2 innings.
