University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set for Season Finale With Illinois
5/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Let's Play Ball
The Minnesota softball team closes out the 2011 season this weekend at home against Illinois with a two-game series starting on Friday night. Over the last year, the program has seen a dramatic improvement under first-year head coach Jessica Allister. The Gophers have improved on the 2010 record by 14 overall wins while also quadrupling the team's conference wins to eight this season.
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Catch the Action Live - BTN Coverage
Friday's series opener against the Illini will be broadcast live by the Big Ten Network with Marney Gellner and Colleen Conway on the call. Meanwhile, both of this weekend's games may also be followed using the Minnesota softball blog on GopherSports.com. Recaps and box scores will be posted online at the conclusion of each day.
The Records
Minnesota enters the season finale with a 30-23 overall record after going 2-2 last week in the last road trip of the season. The Gophers swept Northwestern in a Wednesday doubleheader in Evanston before dropping two games at No. 2 Michigan over the weekend. The pair of losses marked just the second time this season that Minnesota was swept by an opponent while Saturday's loss snapped the Gophers' string of eight-straight wins in series openers. Minnesota is 8-10 in conference play and currently sit seventh in the Big Ten. The Illini come into Minneapolis with a 26-21 overall record and sit third in the Big Ten with an 11-7 conference record. The team has won six of its last seven and brings a four-game conference winning streak into the weekend.
The Series
With Illinois establishing a softball program in 2000, Minnesota has played fewer games against the Illini than any other Big Ten team with just 19 contests between the two conference rivals. Illinois holds a 15-4 record against the Gophers including sweeping the last five games in the series. Minnesota's last win over the Illini came on April 18, 2008 in a 2-0 win on the road. The Gophers' last home win over this weekend's opponent came in a 3-1 win on May 2, 2004.
30 Wins And Counting...
With 30 wins heading into this weekend, the Gophers have recorded their highest win total since 2004 when the program tallied 33 wins. Minnesota has already improved last year's record by 14 wins while the team has also quadrupled 2010's conference wins, heading into the weekend with eight Big Ten wins this season.
