Amber Fiser pitched a perfect game through five innings during Minnesota’s second matchup against Wisconsin Wednesday. 

The Gophers were one hit away from invoking the eight-run rule in the fifth inning, which meant that Fiser could have finished with a complete perfect game, but infielder Sydney Dwyer grounded out to end a scoring opportunity in the sixth.

Fiser was replaced by Carlie Brandt in the sixth, putting an end to what would have been the first complete perfect game at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. However, the Gophers (29-14, 12-3 Big Ten) still managed to beat the Badgers 8-0 in the second game, and they won 12-1 in the first game for the team’s third consecutive conference sweep.

When asked about the decision to pull Fiser for the final inning, head coach Jamie Trachsel said “did she have a perfect game?”

“We weren’t really thinking about that to be honest,” Traschel said. “They fouled off a bunch of pitches so her pitch count was up a bit. With our lead, [Brandt] is more than capable.”

In her second game of the double header, Fiser led the charge with an outing that included six strikeouts, zero walks and no hits allowed during five innings of work.

Infielder Danielle Parlich recorded all three outs in the third, which included a tough catch on a hard line drive to bookend the inning. 

“There were some many great defensive plays today, [Parlich] made so many good ones at third,” Fiser said. “Absolutely everyone played great today. I think we all executed well.” 

Minnesota’s offense helped in the victory, too. The Gophers recorded nine hits and struckout just five times. Parlich had two hits and two RBIs.

Gophers kickoff the double header with a victory

The Gophers’ offense was on display en route to a 12-0 victory.

Minnesota started the day by scoring eight runs off of seven hits in the first inning. Dwyer started the onslaught with a three-run homerun over the centerfield wall. 

Second baseman MaKenna Partain hit a grand slam — the first grand slam by a Gophers player this year. Partain and Dwyer each finished the game with four RBIs, while the team scored 12 runs on 12 hits.

“There’s nothing better than rounding third and seeing all of your teammates smiling and cheering for you,” Partain said. “Team chemistry is huge. Having that kind of energy gives you all the confidence in the world to make the plays that you need to make.”

The Gophers are currently riding a nine-game winning streak with only eight games left to play before the start of the Big Ten Tournament.