The Minnesota Golden Gophers softball team heads into the 2019 Big Ten Softball Tournament on a roll and tyring to lock up a home NCAA Regional next weekend. The Gophers have one the last three Big Ten Tournaments and will try and make it four in a row in Bloomington, Indiana. They kick off play in the quarterfinals on Friday night against Purdue. Minnesota comes into the Big Ten Tournament with the #3 seed. The Gophers finished with a Big Ten record of 20-2 on the season, behind regular season champion Michigan who went 22-1, and #2 seed Northwestern who despite losing two of three games in the last weekend of the regular season to the Gophers ended the season as 21-2. Minnesota lost out on one game earlier in the season to last place Michigan State due to weather, and a win in that game would have vaulted them over the Wildcats into the #2 seed. The real number that matters for the Gophers is #8. That is Minnesota’s current RPI. If the Gophers can make it through the Big Ten Tournament relatively unscathed, that number should stay pretty steady, which should in theory lock up at minimum a home NCAA Regional at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium next weekend. The Gophers hosted in 2015 and advanced through to the NCAA Super Regional where they lost to the Washington Huskies. If, and it’s a big if given the knowledge of how the NCAA likes to seed teams and reward western and southern teams, but if Minnesota can stay at that #8 slot or above, they would have the potential to host their first ever home Super Regional as well. We will all find out how that ends up during the NCAA Softball Tournament Selection Show in ESPN 2 at 8 PM Sunday night. If the Gophers want to get to that point, they need to win their initial game Friday night against Purdue. Minnesota swept a three game series from the Boilermakers in late March by scores of 5-1, 5-1 and 8-2. The #11 seed Boilermakers upset #6 seed Rutgers in a first round game that did not start until nearly 10:30 CDT Thursday night due to a rain delay. It will be interesting to see how Gopher head coach Jamie Trachsel plays their game against the Boilermakers. She would most likely love to start Sydney Smith and try to avoid needing to use Amber Fiser at all on Friday night. Assuming the Gophers win they would either play Northwestern or host Indiana at 1:30 on Saturday afternoon in the semifinal, with the championship game against either Wisconsin, Michigan , or Illinois immediately following. If you can save as many Fiser bullets for Saturday as possible, you need to do it. Offensively the Gophers will have a question of if second baseman and First Team All-Big Ten player Makenna Partain can go. She has been battling injuries and has both an injured shoulder and was seen wearing a boot on her foot earlier this week. It’s expected she will play, but if not Minnesota will have a rather large hole in it’s leadoff spot. The Gophers still have two of the best power treats in the country in their three and four holes. Hope Brandner led the conference in home runs in 2019 and has the second highest single season total in Gopher history. In the cleanup spot Natalie DenHartong continues to shine, and she was just named one of ten finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year award. DenHartog leads the conference in RBIs, is second in slugging percentage, third in home runs and sixth in batting average. She is 11th in the country in RBIs and 15th in slugging percentage. We have seen that the Gophers can match up against the best of the Big Ten. They took two of three from previously undefeated Northwestern last week. Michigan who won the regular season championship did not have to play the #2, #3, or #4 seeds in the regular season due to the Big Ten’s unbalanced schedule. But Minnesota has been in this position before. In 2018 the #2 seeded Gophers won the tournament defeating #3 seed Indiana and #4 seed Northwestern. #1 Michigan lost their quarterfinal game. In 2017 the Gophers ran the table as the #1 seed, but missed #2 Michigan as they....once again lost in their first round game. In 2016 Michigan tore through the first two rounds winning by a combined score of 16-1. Then the #2 seeded Gophers would knock off the Wolverines in the championship game on a walk-off hit in the 10th inning by Sam Macken. Minnesota plays very well in this tournament, and is ready to make another run. Hopefully the Gophers can take care of business, earn that home regional/Super regional and try to make an epic run to the College World Series in Oklahoma City. But it all starts Friday night against Purdue. HOW TO WATCH: Big Ten Softball Tournament Quarterfinal—Bloomington, Indiana #11 Purdue Boilermakers vs #3 Minnesota Golden Gophers Time: 6PM Friday TV: BTN Stream BTN2GO B1G Softball Semifinal vs Northwestern/Indiana Time : 1:30 PM Saturday TV: BTN Stream: BTN2GO B1G Softball Championship Game vs WI/MI/ILL Time 4PM Saturday TV: BTN Stream: BTN2GO<doc-sep>One was the magic number for Michigan in the Wolverines’ Big Ten softball tournament opener Friday against Illinois. One as in the Wolverines’ seed in the tournament, giving them the last at-bats at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington, Indiana. One, also, as in the run needed to defeat No. 9 seed Illinois, 1-0, provided in extra innings by freshman Lexie Blair on a walk-off home run. Blair sent the second pitch she saw from Taylor Edwards to open the bottom of the eighth inning over the right-field fence to send the Wolverines into the Big Ten semifinals, where they’ll face No. 5 seed Wisconsin at 9 a.m. Saturday (BTN). The Badgers needed just six innings to defeat No. 4 seed Ohio State, 10-1, on Friday. More:Michigan softball figured things out, now steamrolls into Big Ten tournament Meghan Beaubien got the victory — her 26th of the season — for the Wolverines with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Beaubien allowed one hit and struck out four after coming in with one out in the fifth for Alex Storako. Blair, from Florida, was the Wolverines’ top hitter, with a .431 average and .634 slugging percentage. Most of Blair’s power this season, however, had come in the form of doubles, with 20. Blair had just five homers, tied for fifth on the roster. The win for the Wolverines was their first in the Big Ten tournament since 2016, when they made it to the championship game before losing. U-M had been eliminated by Michigan State in the quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons. Michigan and coach Carol Hutchins are looking for their first Big Ten tournament title since 2015. Regardless of the weekend’s outcome, the Wolverines are likely to receive a berth in the NCAA tournament. The field for the tourney will be announced at 9 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. And, so, the Wolverines’ magic number moves to two — as in the number of wins needed Saturday to take the Big Ten tournament — the final is scheduled for 2 p.m. — and not have to wait for the selection show to find out their fate. Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.<doc-sep>It took until the fourth inning for Michigan to get a hit, it took a pinch-hit double from a sophomore with three hits all season to score enough runs, and it took plenty of stress as Minnesota stormed back after a rain delay, poised for a comeback until the game's final pitch. But by the time Saturday evening's festivities wound down, the Wolverines had survived, holding off the three-time reigning champions to capture the 2019 Big Ten Tournament title with a 3-2 win. The title snapped an 11-game win streak in the event for Minnesota (20-2 Big Ten, 41-12 overall) that spanned four seasons, while Michigan (22-1, 43-11) captured its first Big Ten Tournament since 2015 and just its second since 2006 despite 11 regular-season crowns. As many bouts between top-tier teams do, Saturday’s championship game opened as a dominant pitchers’ duel. Michigan ace Meghan Beaubien was crisp and controlled, allowing six hits in her first five innings of work but only two runners to get to second base. Minnesota’s Sydney Smith was even better early, not allowing a hit until the top of the fourth inning. But when Natalie Peters singled to open the fourth inning, it opened things up. Three batters later, Madison Uden doubled to drive Peters home and open the scoring. The next inning, Michigan began to take control. Former walk-on and Saline native Katie Alexander opened the fifth inning with a double to chase Smith. Then Lou Allan — who entered the game just 3-for-14 hitting off the bench all season — belted the second pitch she saw to the left-field wall to drive in a run. For good measure, Allan’s pinch runner scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 3-0 and give the Wolverines’ some security. As it would turn out, Michigan needed it. As an anticipated storm descended upon Bloomington, the two teams begrudgingly broke for a 22-minute rain delay in the top of the sixth inning. And despite little momentum entering the break, the Golden Gophers stormed out, delivering base hits on their first three at-bats out of the break, including a solo home run from Hope Brandner. Minnesota also scored on a sacrifice fly, but left a pivotal runner in scoring position and trailed 3-2. Michigan tacked on two more hits in the top of the seventh, but was unable to score any insurance runs. That made for a nail-biting bottom of the seventh, where a walk allowed Brandner to get on final at-bat as the go ahead run. But Brandner’s pop fly fell about eight feet short of the fence, and Michigan hung on to take home the title. With the win, the Wolverines capture their 10th Big Ten Tournament title to go with 21 regular-season titles in the last 28 years. They also appear far more likely to be able to host a regional round in the NCAA Tournament.<doc-sep>Lane Kizziah Special to Detroit Free Press It was as if history was daring to repeat itself. In the 2016 Big Ten championship, Michigan softball fell to Minnesota in a dramatic walk-off play. Three years later, the Wolverines almost found themselves in the same situation. Except this time, they avoided it, beating the Golden Gophers 3-2 in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Michigan led by a narrow one-run margin. Freshman right-hander Alex Storako — in her second inning in the circle — gave up a leadoff walk, leaving the Wolverines vulnerable to a walk-off hit. Storako took a minute to compose herself as teammate Madison Uden helped shake the mud from her cleats. With the heart of the Golden Gophers’ lineup due up at the plate, Storako couldn’t afford another slip. Two outs later, Minnesota first baseman Hope Brandner, who has the third highest batting average in Minnesota’s lineup, came to test her bat against Storako’s arm. Brandner fired the ball far into left field. The ball arched high, looking like it would clear the wall. Instead, the ball dropped into the warning track where freshman Lexie Blair was poised to make the game-ending catch. With that, No. 1 seed Michigan edged out No. 3 seed Minnesota, giving the Wolverines and coach Carol Hutchins their 10th Big Ten tournament title in program history and first since 2015. The Wolverines clinched both the Big Ten regular and postseason titles — a feat they hadn’t accomplished since '15 when they advanced to the elimination round of the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, where they lost to Florida in three games. While Storako pitched the final out, sophomore left-hander Meghan Beaubien dominated the rest of the game. The Wolverines’ ace — who has a 2.00 ERA — struck out four, keeping them in the game despite a lackluster offensive performance. “(Beaubien) is dominating,” Blair said. “I’m really confident when she’s on the mound. I have no doubt she’s going to get the job done.” When Minnesota did get a bat to Beaubien’s pitches, the outfield was there, ready to back her up. Senior Natalie Peters was an asset in the outfield, making several good snags. And it was Peters who made the difference at the plate with a leadoff single in the top of the fourth. She scored the first run off an Uden double. Michigan scored two runs in the fifth from a Lou Allan double and a Peters ground out. Minnesota finished with eight hits, three from the bat of Bradner. While Michigan squeaked out the victory, its offensive production was nowhere near its top capacity. In their semifinal game facing No. 5 seed Wisconsin, the Wolverines posted more runs (eight) than they got hits against Minnesota (seven). The momentum of this win will carry Michigan into the start of the NCAA postseason next weekend. The Wolverines will find out who they'll face in the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, when the 64-team field is announced at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. While locations will be announced during the selection show, Ann Arbor could be a regional site after winning both the regular season and postseason crowns. “Home field advantage (is important) for us, for sure,” Uden, a junior third baseman, said. “We’re just excited to get going and we topped it off this weekend. You should see more of this exciting ball going into postseason.”<doc-sep>
Lane Kizziah Special to the Detroit Free Press BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — No. 1 seed Michigan squeezed out a win, 3-2, against No. 3 seed Minnesota in the Big Ten softball tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon. The win gave Carol Hutchins and the Wolverines their first Big Ten tournament title since 2015, and 10th in her 35 seasons at Michigan. The Wolverines will find out who they'll face in the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, when the 64-team field is announced at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. With a slow start in Saturday's final — the game was scoreless after three innings — the Wolverines relied on their defensive prowess to hold down the Golden Gophers. Finally, in the fourth, Michigan’s offense had two doubles to put the Wolverines up, 1-0. Michigan added two more runs in the fifth for a 3-0 lead. But a rain delay in the sixth inning seemed to stop Michigan in its tracks. Minnesota cut into Michigan’s lead with two runs, bringing the score to 3-2. More:Michigan softball was taken over by its seniors. Why that saved their season In the bottom of the seventh, impressive outfield grabs saved the game for the Wolverines after a walk to lead off the inning. Freshman Alex Storako locked down the win for the Wolverines with two innings of scoreless relief. Sophomore Meghan Beaubien picked up her 28th win of the season — and second of the day — with five innings of work in which she allowed two runs on eight hits and no walks. The 2015 season saw Michigan advance to the elimination round of the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, where they lost to Florida in three games. Michigan returned to the World Series in 2016, but failed to win a game, finishing in a tie for fifth in Oklahoma City. Hutchins and the Wolverines won the national championship in 2005. Friday:Michigan softball hits walk-off HR for first Big Ten tournament win since 2016