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Minnesota Softball Begins Big Ten Play in Oklahoma City
3/12/2025 1:30:00 PM | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- -The 'U' continues their travels as they head to Oklahoma City to begin Big Ten play. The Gophers will take on Michigan State and Penn State while in Oklahoma. Minnesota will stay in the central time zone for the rest of the season after traveling to each time zone in the United States to start the season. Minnesota will take on MSU and PSU twice each.
GAME ONE
Minnesota (11-13, 0-0 B1G) vs. Michigan State (7-9, 0-0 B1G)
Date: Thursday, March 13
Time: 4:00PM (CT)
GAME TWO
Minnesota (11-13, 0-0 B1G) vs. Michigan State (7-9, 0-0 B1G)
Date: Friday, March 14
Time: 4:00PM (CT)
GAME THREE
Minnesota (11-13, 0-0 B1G) vs. Penn State (12-11, 0-0 B1G)
Date: Saturday, March 15
Time: 4:30PM (CT)
GAME FOUR
Minnesota (11-13, 0-0 B1G) vs. Penn State (12-11, 0-0 B1G)
Date: Sunday, March 16
Time: 12:30PM (CT)
MSU & PSU
The Gophers continue their 51st season of competition against Michigan State and Penn state. The Spartans are 7-9 on the year and will face the Gophers for their first conference matchup of the year. MSU comes into the matchup with the 'U' having won 3 straight games. They are 1-6 in true away games and 6-3 in neutral site games. Penn State is 12-11 having won 5 straight. They are 4-0 at home and 8-8 in neutral site games this season.
Checking Out the Field
Minnesota continues their run of facing stiff competition. The Spartans have also faced stiff competition this season. Including games against ranked teams such as Alabama, Georgia, and 2 matchups with Arizona. MSU has faced 1 similar opponent to the Gophers. Each team has played Miami(OH) with Michigan State going 1-1 and the 'U' going 3-0 against the Redhawks. The Cowboys have hit 11 home runs on the year and are slugging .420 as a team. Penn State has also faced good competition this season having faced Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, and Texas Tech. Common opponents between PSU and the 'U' are Duke and LSU with both Penn State and Minnesota losing to both.
History
The Gophers and Spartans will meet again this week after having faced each other last spring in Columbia, S.C. The Gophers are 18-12 all-time against MSU with the last Maroon and Gold win coming in 2023 when Minnesota took 2 out of 3 games in East Lansing. Minnesota last faced Penn State last season as well when the Nittany Lions traveled to Minneapolis for a 3 game series. The 'U' took 2 out of 3 games at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. The Gophers won the most recent matchup 3-1 and are 43-17 all-time against Penn State. The 'U' are 20-11 at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium and have a very similar record when they travel to State College as the Maroon and Gold are 20-6 against Penn State away from home.
Stats Highlights From Last Weekend
The Gophers went 2-2 beating South Alabama twice and falling to #4 LSU twice. Then fell to McNeese State in a midweek matchup in Beaumont, Texas. Taylor Krapf was one of the standout players at the plate as she hit .273 with 3 hits and 2 of those were solo homeruns. She recorded 10 putouts in the field and slugged .818 for the weekend. Margaret Tobias was another standout performer on the weekend. She hit .600 with 6 hits in 10 at-bats. She scored 1 run, had 2 RBI, and walked 3 times. Her on-base % was .692 for the weekend. Freshman Tinley Easton had a good weekend at the plate as well. She hit .308 with 4 hits, 1 RBI, and an on-base % of .308. Freshman Jae Cosgriff led the way for the 'U' against McNeese State. She had a double and made a few good plays in the outfield as well. Only 2 Gophers hit over .300 this weekend. Highlighted by Tobias hitting .600. In the circle, Sydney Schwartz had another standout weekend. She posted a 1.50 ERA going 1-1 with 1 save as well on the weekend. She threw a 9-inning complete game shutout against South Alabama to help the 'U' secure the win. She appeared in 3 games, having started 2 of them. She had 7 strikeouts and held opponents to a .217 average over her 3 appearances.
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