University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHER SOFTBALL SWEEPS NORTHWESTERN, EXTENDS WINNING STREAK TO SEVEN
4/28/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
In the opener, Minnesota rallied from a 2-1 deficit to claim victory. In the sixth inning, Morgan Holden singled in two runs to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead. The Gophers broke the game open in the seventh inning, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six runs. Five Gophers had two hits apiece in a 13-hit attack. Steph Klaviter pitched the first six innings to earn her 17th victory of the season.
Angel Braden opened the scoring in the second game with a grand slam in the third inning to give Minnesota a 4-0 lead. The Gophers extended the lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning on a run-scoring groundout by Dana Ballard. After a Northwestern homer in the fifth inning, Minnesota scored the final two runs of the game on a single by Steph Midthun. Heather Brown scattered three hits over six innings to improve her record to 11-1.
Minnesota is in second place in the Big Ten, one game ahead of third-place Michigan State. The Gophers and Spartans will play a three-game series this weekend in East Lansing, Mich., with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. (EDT) and a single game Sunday at 12 noon (EDT).
Minnesota 9, Northwestern 2 Minnesota 000 102 6-9 13 1 Northwestern 001 100 0-2 5 3 Klaviter, Harrison (7) and Smith. Siebel, Ke. Campbell (7) and Shull. WP-Klaviter (17-7). LP-Siebel (18-16). HR-none. LOB-Minnesota 7, Northwestern 3. Minnesota 7, Northwestern 1 Northwestern 000 010 0-1 4 2 Minnesota 004 102 x-7 7 1 Siebel, Ke. Campbell (4) and Shull, Ka. Campbell (4). Brown, Harrison (7) and Smith. WP-Brown (11-1). LP-Siebel (18-17). HR-(MIN) Braden (2, 3rd inn., 3 on), (NU) Barnes (4, 5th inn., solo). LOB-Northwestern 5, Minnesota 5. A-50. BIG TEN SOFTBALL STANDINGS Michigan 17-1 .944 45-7-1 .858 Minnesota 11-5 .688 38-15 .717 Michigan State 10-6 .625 36-17 .679 Penn State 10-8 .556 29-19 .604 Wisconsin 8-7 .533 24-16 .600 Iowa 8-8 .500 34-22-1 .605 Purdue 8-9 .471 29-21 .580 Northwestern 6-10 .375 25-28 .472 Indiana 3-15 .167 17-34 .333 Ohio State 3-15 .167 17-28 .378 Wednesday's Games Minnesota 9-7, Northwestern 2-1 Michigan State 5-4, Indiana 4-0 Ohio State 5-3, Penn State 2-9 (1st-14 inn.) Iowa 2-3, Wisconsin 0-4
