New Golden Gopher softball player Hope Brandner wasted no time making an impact in her first weekend donning the Maroon and Gold and has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
In the first action of the weekend, the Vacaville, Calif. native, broke the game wide open helping the Gophers score 11 runs in the fourth inning against North Florida. She hit a bases clearing double and a home run in the same frame to produce five runs in total.
The Oregon State transfer followed it up by belting two doubles and another RBI in a 7-0 victory over UCF. She gave the Gophers the lead against Ole Miss with a solo shot home run in the fourth inning on Saturday.
Brandner finished the weekend with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. She also drew two walks on the weekend and was responsible for 16 putouts at first base. Through three games, she is leading the team with a .556 batting average and a 1.556 slugging percentage.
Brandner and the Gophers are off to the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational this weekend. The Tennessee, Florida State and California matchups will all be on ESPN3.
MNN Sports Director Mike Grimm sat down with Gopher softball coach Jamie Trachsel to talk about the start of the season and more:
(Info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)