Minnesota defeated four teams in five games over the weekend, giving head coach Jessica Allister her 200th career-victory.
The Gophers competed in the Diamond Devils Tournament in Tempe, Ariz., and picked up victories against Mount St. Mary’s, Arizona State, Saint Francis University and Houston.
“We had great pitching at times. We had a tremendous offensive side, and we made some defensive plays,” Allister said. “So one of the strengths of our team is that we can win in different ways, and I think we did that this weekend.”
No. 21 Minnesota (10-4) started the weekend with a three-run first inning against St. Mary’s on Friday.
The Gophers took an 11-7 lead in the fourth inning off of a grand slam by freshman Maddie Houlihan and won 12-7.
Minnesota then recorded 10 hits against No. 19 Arizona State in its second game Friday and won 10-1.
The Gophers scored four runs combined in the third and fourth innings in their first game Saturday against St. Francis University.
The team added another three runs in the fifth after St. Francis scored two, and the Gophers won 9-2.
Minnesota trailed 2-0 early in its second game Saturday against Houston but then took the lead with a three-run fourth inning. The Gophers held out from there to win 5-3.
The victory against Houston was Allister’s 200th in her six-year tenure at Minnesota.
“The seniors were talking about how cool it is that we had seen the 100th win as sophomores, and now we’re seeing the 200th win as seniors,” senior outfielder Kayla Wenner said. “It shows how much [Allister] pushes us and how much she deserves it, and I think there are many hundreds to come for her.”
Minnesota won its second game against Houston on Sunday 6-1.
Houlihan hit her third home run of the weekend in the fifth inning for the Gophers. Sophomore Sydney Dwyer added a solo home run in the same inning to put her team up 5-0.
Houston scored one run, but it wasn’t enough to stop Minnesota from going 5-0 in the tournament.
