University of Minnesota Athletics
MINNESOTA WINS 1999 BIG TEN SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
5/15/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Michigan (51-11-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and held the lead until the sixth inning. With one out, Tammi Hays singled in front of Shannon Beeler's 13th home run of the season, which tied the game at 2-2. Michelle Bennett singled to lead off the seventh inning and Hafemeyer came in the game to run for her. Hafemeyer advanced to second base on a passed ball, setting up Ballard's heroics.
Michelle Harrison relieved Steph Klaviter in the first inning and pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits. Klaviter re-entered the game with one out in the seventh inning and retired two batters for her fourth save of the season.
The Gophers are two wins shy of their 48-win total from last season, which equalled a school record. Minnesota is on a six-game winning streak, with all six victories coming by one run. The Gophers have qualified for their third NCAA Softball Tournament in four years, and will make back-to-back appearances for the first time in school history. The field and brackets for the 1999 NCAA Softball Tournament will be announced Sunday at 7 p.m. (CDT).
Minnesota qualified for the championship game with a 2-1 victory over Michigan earlier Saturday. Michigan took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning on Melissa Gentile's fifth home run of the season. The Gophers rallied for two runs in the seventh inning. Angel Braden was hit by the first pitch of the inning and advanced to second on a single by Bennett. Morgan Holden doubled to left-center, scoring Braden and advanced Bennett to third base. After a strikeout, pinch-hitter Ballard hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Bennett with the game-winning run. Klaviter went the distance to record her 22nd victory of the season. The win broke Minnesota's 14-game losing streak against Michigan and a 19-game losing streak against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, dating back to 1990.
MINNESOTA 2, MICHIGAN 1 Minnesota AB R H BI Michigan AB R H BI Midthun cf 3 0 0 0 Conrad 1b 3 0 0 0 Hays lf 2 0 1 0 Kollen 2b 3 0 1 0 Beeler ss 3 0 1 0 Davie lf 3 0 1 0 Nygren 2b 3 0 0 0 Volpe c 3 0 1 0 Braden 3b/1b 2 1 1 0 Kosanke 3b 3 0 0 0 Mohns pr 0 0 0 0 Gentile dp 3 1 1 1 Bennett 1b/3b 2 1 1 0 Tune ss 3 0 0 0 Holden rf 3 0 2 1 Mika cf 3 0 1 0 Hafemeyer pr 0 0 0 0 Taylor rf 1 0 0 0 Brophy dp/c 3 0 0 0 Gillies p 0 0 0 0 Smith c 1 0 0 0 Mooney ph 1 0 0 0 Ballard dp 0 0 0 1 Klaviter p 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 23 2 6 2 TOTALS 25 1 5 1 Minnesota 000 000 2 - 2 6 1 Michigan 000 010 0 - 1 5 0 E-Braden. DP-Michigan 1. LOB-Minnesota 4, Michigan 4. 2B-Holden. HR-Gentile (5). CS-Hays. S-Bennett, Taylor. SF-Ballard. Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO Klaviter (W, 22-9) 7 5 1 1 0 3 Michigan IP H R ER BB SO Gillies (L, 17-5) 7 6 2 2 1 5 HBP-by Gillies (Braden). U-Culp, Stoelting, Smith. T-1:40. A-792. 1999 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MINNESOTA 3, MICHIGAN 2 Minnesota AB R H BI Michigan AB R H BI Midthun cf 4 0 0 0 Conrad 1b 4 1 3 0 Hays lf 3 1 1 0 Kollen 2b 3 0 0 0 Beeler ss 3 1 2 2 Davie lf 3 1 1 0 Nygren 2b 2 0 0 0 Volpe c 4 0 2 0 Braden 3b/1b 3 0 0 0 Garza pr 0 0 0 0 Bennett 1b/3b 2 0 1 0 Kosanke 3b 2 0 1 0 Hafemeyer pr 0 1 0 0 Gentile dp 1 0 0 0 Holden rf 3 0 0 0 Conner pr 0 0 0 0 Brophy dp/c 3 0 1 0 Tune ss 3 0 0 1 Smith c/dp 0 0 0 0 Mika cf 3 0 0 0 Mooney dp 2 0 0 0 Taylor rf 3 0 0 0 Ballard dp 1 0 1 1 Barda p 0 0 0 0 Klaviter p 0 0 0 0 Harrison p 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 26 3 6 3 TOTALS 26 2 7 1 Minnesota 000 002 1 - 3 6 1 Michigan 200 000 0 - 2 7 1 E-Midthun, Tune. LOB-Minnesota 4, Michigan 11. HR-Beeler (13). SB-Conrad 2, Conner. S-Kollen, Bennett, Kosanke. Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO Klaviter 1/3 3 2 2 0 0 Harrison (W, 9-7) 6 4 0 0 4 2 Klaviter (S 4) 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 Michigan IP H R ER BB SO Barda (L, 22-3) 7 6 3 2 1 9 WP-Harrison. PB-Volpe. HBP-by Harrison (Kosanke). U-Ryan, Stoelting, Yarranton. T-2:08. A-1265. 1999 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT (Ann Arbor, Mich.) Friday's Games Game 1--Iowa 5, Michigan State 3 (Michigan State eliminated) Game 2--Minnesota 2, Penn State 1 Game 3--Michigan 8, Iowa 0 (5 inn.) Saturday's Games Game 4--Minnesota 2, Michigan 1 Game 5--Penn State 1, Iowa 0 (Iowa eliminated) Game 6--Michigan 11, Penn State 0 (Penn State eliminated) Game 7--Minnesota 3, Michigan 2 (Minnesota wins championship)
