The University of Minnesota softball team has backed up its Big Ten regular season title with another championship—its second straight Big Ten Tournament title—and is now looking toward even bigger accomplishments in the NCAA Tournament.
The Gophers, with a program-best record of 54-3 and now riding a 25-game winning streak, claimed the B1G Tournament title with a 6-0 win over Ohio State in the championship game on May 13. Sara Groenewegen pitched a complete game and only allowed two hits while racking up 12 strikeouts. Groenewegen also pitched a no-hitter in Minnesota’s quarterfinal win over Northwestern a day earlier.
Despite being ranked No. 1 in the nation this week in the Coaches Poll, Minnesota was not awarded a top-16 seed for the NCAA Tournament and will open regional play on the road in Tuscaloosa. The Gophers will play Louisiana Tech Friday at 1:30 p.m., followed by regional host and No. 16-seed Alabama taking on Albany. The winners of the 16 double-elimination regionals will advance to super regionals, from which the eight NCAA Women's College World Series teams will emerge.
Update: The Gophers were eliminated by Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional and finished the season 56-5.
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