Minnesota Sweeps Big Ten Weekly Softball Awards

Player of the Week
Maddie Houlihan, Minnesota
OF – So. – Plymouth, Minn. – Benilde St. Margaret’s
Batted .526 with a .571 on-base percentage and .842 slugging percentage last week, collecting two home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored as No. 5/5 Minnesota swept five Big Ten games
Posted multiple hits in four of five games and drove in multiple runs in three contests
Drove in all three Minnesota runs in Sunday’s finale against Iowa, highlighted by a two-run inside-the-park home run
Earns her first career Player of the Week honor
Last Minnesota Player of the Week: Allie Arneson (April 10, 2017)
Pitcher of the Week
Sara Groenewegen, Minnesota
P – Sr. – White Rock, British Columbia – Elgin Park Secondary
Pitched 25.0 innings of scoreless softball last week, tossing two complete game shutouts and striking out 35 batters while walking two
Went the distance in a 12-inning midweek shutout at Wisconsin, striking out 15 and scattering nine hits
Fanned 20 Iowa hitters in two starts against the Hawkeyes last weekend, culminating with a two-hit complete game shutout in Sunday’s finale
Earns her 15th career Pitcher of the Week honor and fourth of the season
Last Minnesota Pitcher of the Week: Sara Groenewegen (April 17, 2017)
Freshman of the Week
Kendyl Lindaman, Minnesota
C – Ankeny, Iowa – Centennial
Registered a .417 batting average, .667 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage with a home run, four RBI, four runs scored and nine walks last week
Set a school record and tied the Big Ten mark with five walks in midweek win at Wisconsin before her two-run single in the 12th inning highlighted the Gophers’ six-run uprising
Tied the Minnesota record with her 15th home run of the season on Friday in the first of a three-game series sweep over Iowa
Earns her sixth career Freshman of the Week honor
Last Minnesota Freshman of the Week: Kendyl Lindaman (April 10, 2017)