University of Minnesota Athletics
Final Home Softball Series Welcomes Wisconsin
5/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Home finale
Golden Gopher Softball gets to take on a border rival for the second straight series, with Wisconsin coming to town for a midweek doubleheader. In the final home games of the season, the Badgers and Gophers play a double-dip on Wednesday, May 12 with the first game set for a 4:00 p.m. start out at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. The midweek tilt is the first homedouble header for the Gophers this season.
Border Battle Cup Standings
In the season long Border Battle Cup standings, the Gophers currently hold a 100-point lead at 330-230 with four events, and 120 points left on the table. Each softball game this week is worth 20 points, while 40 points each from men's and women's track & field are also still available. The Minnesota lead is comfortable, but Wisconsin can still steal the victory.
The Records
After their set with Iowa last weekend, the Gophers record sits at 15-35 overall on the season, with a 1-15 mark in Big Ten play. With their league record, Minnesota is in 11th lace in the Big Ten. The Badgers own a 19-29 overall record and are 4-11 conference play. In the league standings, Wisconsin is in eighth place.
The Series
In one of the Gophers' least played Big Ten series, they are dead even with the Badges, tied 16-16 all-time. Only 17 meetings with Illinois are less than the 32 with Wisconsin. The series is the Gophers only one in the Big Ten that is tied, but of late the Gophers have held the upper hand. Minnesota is 4-1 in the last five meetings, with the lone loss coming in a split last season. The Gophers won four straight games from 2007-09.
Last Match-Up
Last season the two teams split a doubleheader at Wisconsin. The Gophers took the first game 4-0, but Wisconsin scored a 2-1 win in the second game for the split. The Badger win was the first in the series since 2007, breaking a four-game Gopher win streak.
Follow Along
Fans can follow along with the all the Border Battle action from the doubleheader with Live Stats on www.GopherSports.com. Live play-by-play results will be available for each game, and can be found on the Golden Gopher Softball schedule page.
Last Time Out
Last weekend the Gophers were swept at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa won 8-0 in six innings on May 8, and came back with a 9-4 win to complete the sweep on May 9. The Gophers made it interesting with a three-run fourth, but Iowa added to their total late to seal the win.
Next Up
After closing out the home season, the Gophers finish off 2010 on the road at Illinois for a two-game series. On Friday May 14 the first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. and on Saturday May 15, game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Scouting Wisconsin
Currently 19-29 overall and 4-11 in Big Ten play ... had won three straight before losing to Northwestern in their last game ... have won 10 of their last 14 games ... opened Big Ten play 0-8 before beating Purdue on 4/17 ... rank fifth in the Big Ten in batting with a .270 team average ...rank 11th in the Big Ten in pitching with a team ERA of 4.64 ... rank second in the Big Ten in triples with 17 ... Shannel Blackshear and Molly Spence are each batting over .300, led by Spence with a .362 mark, as well as 8 HR and 38 RBI ... Letty Olivarez is 12-22 in 206.2 IP with 165 K's.
Get Score Updates on Your Phone
Fans can get scoring updates from all of Golden Gopher athletics through the Twitter page @GopherScores. Just find and follow @GopherScores, then set up your phone or mobile device to receive the text updates. If you are not already on Twitter, you will need to create an account.
Twitter
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