By: Drew Claussen

Junior Sara Moulton threw a no-hitter in a win last Sunday for the Gophers.

She almost had to in order to secure the victory.

The Gophers scattered six hits in defeating Albany 1-0, but they struggled to string any offense together. Sophomore Tyler Walker’s solo home run provided the game’s only run.

The Gophers (7-7) will look for some consistency in their bats this weekend at the War Eagle classic in Auburn, Ala. Minnesota is averaging 3.14 runs per game on fewer than six hits per contest.

The Gophers have three players with a batting average above .300, just like last year, when it averaged about five runs per game.

“We’ve got to find a way to string things together,” head coach Jessica Allister said after Sunday’s game.

The season’s only three weeks old, which Allister said could be attributed to a lot of Minnesota’s struggles.

“You can’t be outcome-focused,” Allister said of the team’s offensive approach. “You’ve got to be process-focused.”

The Gophers’ strong pitching and defense has helped them survive a shaky offensive start.

“Once we got the one run, I knew that our defense was going to shut it down,” Moulton said. “We’re doing really well with working together this year, so we don’t need a lot of runs.”