Gophers' Amber Fiser earns Big Ten Pitcher of the Year award

Gophers junior Amber Fiser earned the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honor as a unanimous pick Wednesday.

The Iowa native is 25-7 as the Gophers head into the Big Ten tournament this week. Her 1.25 ERA and 281 strikeouts are conference bests, as is her .165 opposing batting average.

In the country, she ranks fifth in strikeouts, eighth in wins and 16th in ERA. Fiser is just the second Gophers player to receive the honor. Sara Groenewegen won it twice, in 2014 and 2017.

Against Big Ten teams, Fiser is 14-1 with a 1.21 ERA and 156 strikeouts. She has won six Big Ten pitcher of the week honors.

Fiser also was a unanimous selection to the conference first team, as was freshman left fielder/designated player Natalie DenHartog, who also unanimously made the all-freshman team.

Junior second baseman MaKenna Partain and sophomore first baseman Hope Brandner also garnered spots on the first team. The Gophers' four first-team picks were more than any other Big Ten team.

Senior right fielder Maddie Houlihan made the second team, and junior third baseman Katelyn Kemmetmueller and senior shortstop Allie Arneson made the all-defensive team. Emily Hansen was the Gophers' Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Megan Ryan