Sara Groenewegen

Personal: Most memorable sports thrill was winning her Canadian national championship game in the bottom of the seventh inning … diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of nine  … uncle, Leo, played 17 years in the Canadian Football League … sister, Marina, played softball at Bradley in 2013 and 2014 after transferring from Southern Idaho … hobbies include going to coffee shops, cooking and being in nature … began playing softball at the age of five. 

2022 Championship Season: Second-year performer who tallied 746 leaderboard points … appeared in eight games with two starts in the circle … ranked third in the league with 3.56 earned run average over 19.2 innings … accumulated 13 strikeouts, including season-high four against Team McCleney in Week Five … also had three strikeouts in season finale against Team Mulipola … threw season-high 4.0 innings three times. 

2021 Championship Season: Accumulated 1,032 leaderboard points in Athletes Unlimited debut … tied for the league lead with 13 appearances in the circle, including three starts … fashioned 3-5 record … ranked fourth in the league with 32.0 innings … ninth in the circuit with 16 strikeouts … hit by a pitch twice, which was tied for third in the league. 

International Experience: Member of the Canadian National Team since 2013 when she was 17 years old … led Team Canada to Bronze medal at 2020 Tokyo Olympics … went 2-for-6 at the plate in five games with a double … also posted a 1-0 record in five appearances in the circle, striking out 14 hitters in 13.1 innings … tallied four strikeouts in 2.0 innings against Team USA … earned win in Bronze Medal Game against Team Mexico, throwing 3.0 shutout innings in 3-2 victory … led Team Canada to Gold medal at 2015 Pan American Games, which marked Canada’s first Gold medal in 32 years … also became youngest starting pitcher in Team Canada history to earn a Gold medal … became first Team Canada pitcher to throw a perfect game on Aug. 5, 2019, against Venezuela at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.  

Other Professional Experience: No. 2 overall selection in the 2017 NPF Draft by the Akron Racers … garnered All-NPF honors in 2019 after accumulating a 6-4 record with three saves and a 1.52 earned run average … made 17 appearances, including 11 starts, with 64 strikeouts. 

At Minnesota: Four-year letter winner for the Golden Gophers who appeared in 233 games from 2014-17 … first player in program history to earn NFCA All-America honors three times, including a pair of First-Team commendations in 2016 and 2017 … two-time selection as Big Ten Conference Pitcher of the Year (2014, 2017) … named 2015 Big Ten Player of the Year in addition to 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year … First-Team Senior CLASS Award All-America pick in 2017 … four-time NFCA All-Region and First-Team All-Big Ten honoree … member of 2017 Big Ten All-Defensive Team … tabbed Most Outstanding Player at 2017 Big Ten Tournament … Third-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America pick in 2017 … compiled .305 career batting average with 36 home runs and 157 runs batted in … also tallied 196 hits, including 37 doubles with two triples, while scoring 99 runs … made 152 appearances in the circle, including 125 starts … fashioned 107-21 record as a pitcher with eight saves and a 1.58 earned run average … tallied school-record 1,214 strikeouts in 797.0 innings with 82 complete games and 31 shutouts … ranks fourth in Minnesota history in career pitching appearances … also stands fifth in career complete games … one of two pitchers in school history with 100 or more career victories … owns three of the top five single-season win totals as a pitcher in Golden Gopher history … posted 0.63 earned run average as a senior, the second-best mark in Minnesota annals … ranks second on school’s single-season list with 379 strikeouts during sophomore season … also threw 336 strikeouts as a junior to stand fourth on the list … threw eight career no-hitters, including a perfect game against Florida Atlantic on Mar. 12, 2016 … holds school single-game record with 19 strikeouts against Purdue on May 2, 2015.