AUSL

Sara Groenewegen

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities '17

Hometown: White Rock, British Columbia

2020 Olympic bronze medalist with Team Canada

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.

Headshot of Sara Groenewegen

Career Stats

YEAR
W-L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
SO
BB
ER
HR
B/AVG
HP
CG
SHO
SV
B
S
WP
2022 Championship*
0-0
3.56
8
2
19.2
26
13
7
10
5
.310
1
-
-
-
140
217
2
2021 Championship*
3-5
4.59
13
3
32.0
40
16
14
21
6
.296
2
-
-
-
214
363
4
Career Totals
3-5
4.20
21
5
51.2
66
29
21
31
11
.301
3
-
-
-
354
580
6

*The AUSL All-Star Cup was known as the Championship season through 2024.

Game Log

DATE
HOME TEAM
AWAY TEAM
W-L
ERA
G
IP
H
SO
BB
ER
HR
B/AVG
HP
CG
SHO
SV
B
S
WP
8/28/2022
Team MulipolaTeam Chidester
0-0
8.75
1
4.0
7
3
2
5
2
.350
1
-
-
-
27
52
-
8/27/2022
Team ChidesterTeam McCleney
0-0
0.00
1
3.0
1
4
-
-
-
.100
-
-
-
-
11
26
-
8/20/2022
Team MulipolaTeam Jaquish
0-0
0.00
1
1.0
1
1
2
-
-
.250
-
-
-
-
12
15
-
8/19/2022
Team McCleneyTeam Jaquish
0-0
0.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8/14/2022
Team JaquishTeam Chidester
0-0
8.38
1
1.2
4
1
-
2
-
.444
-
-
-
-
12
23
-
8/13/2022
Team McCleneyTeam Chidester
0-0
14.00
1
1.0
3
-
1
2
1
.500
-
-
-
-
17
15
-
8/12/2022
Team ChidesterTeam Mulipola
0-0
1.75
1
4.0
4
1
2
1
1
.267
-
-
-
-
29
35
1
8/7/2022
Team EberleTeam Jaquish
0-0
0.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8/6/2022
Team JaquishTeam Harshman
0-0
0.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8/5/2022
Team JaquishTeam Mulipola
0-0
0.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7/31/2022
Team OcasioTeam Chidester
0-0
0.00
1
4.0
6
1
-
-
1
.353
-
-
-
-
29
43
1
7/29/2022
Team ZerkleTeam Ocasio
0-0
0.00
1
1.0
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
8
-

*The AUSL All-Star Cup was known as the Championship season through 2024.

Awards & Honors

2020 Olympic bronze medalist with Team Canada

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Seattle, we love you 🥹💜
the national champ leaves the yard for the first time as a pro 💣
a legendary first pitch in Seattle 🤩

@sbird10 x @mrapinoe
collab of the year? we think yes 🙂‍↕️
never count the Bandits out 🤠 

they erased a 5-0 deficit in ONE SINGLE INNING 😳
the Talons only losses so far this season have came from the Bandits 👀 

the top-2 teams in the league standings face off this weekend in a 3 game series. will the Talons hold onto first place or could the Bandits regain the top spot at the end of the series? 

tune into Game 1 on ESPNU at 6pm CT! 📺
TRADE ALERT:

@ausl_blaze acquire pitcher/first baseman @devynnetz from the @ausl_bandits in exchange for corner infielder @daniellegibsonwhorton.
It's going to be a battle for AUSL Rookie of the Year

@savvyco lists her standouts heading into the final few weeks of the season.
Pitch to her at your own risk

@erin.coffel leads the league in 6 offensive categories including batting average, slugging % and RBI
the rich history and future of women’s sports in Seattle was on display this evening at the Celebration of Women’s Sports, hosted by the Seattle Sports Commission in partnership with the AUSL 🥂

we look forward to an action packed weekend of professional softball in Seattle! 🥎
tfw you’re back at @uwsoftball tomorrow 🏡🥹
a weekend full of softball is ahead of us 🥎 

Talons take on the Bandits in Omaha while Volts and Blaze battle it out in Seattle!
the magic number for this past series? 3️⃣

Co-Pitchers of the Series: Georgina Corrick, Megan Faraimo
Player of the Series: Kayla Kowalik

Both, the Talons and Blaze, are back in action tomorrow night!
the crossover you didn’t know you needed 🥎⚽️🏀

Seattle legends @sbird10 and @mrapinoe will be throwing out the first pitch at Friday’s game!
HELLO OMAHA 👋 

this weekend is a battle between the Top-2 teams in the league standings 👀
headed to the west coast 🤩

catch @uwsoftball alums Sis Bates and Baylee Klingler back at home this weekend as the Volts take on the Blaze in a three game series 🏡
SIERRA ON SIERRA CRIME 😱

Sierra Sacco robs Sierra Romero at the fence to preserve a 2-0 lead in the Talons' win over the Volts

@gatorade
Georgina Corrick threw a complete game shutout yesterday and then Raelin Chaffin and Megan Faraimo combined for a shutout today 👏
Blaze defense was on another level 🤯

3 close plays at the plate ALL resulted in the runners being out 😤
it’s the Landry shirt for us 🥹💜💚