Softball

As the members of Minnesota's softball team milled around the dugout Thursday afternoon, there was one recurring question among players.

"What are we doing today, coach?"

Co-head coach Lisa Bernstein laid out the day's plans for the Gophers focusing on batting along with some infield work. With some chatter and zero hesitation the players took the field for one of their final practices of the season.

After a few days rest, Bernstein said everyone was feeling good and seemed to be in a good mood, ready to work and prepare for the weekend.

Minnesota's softball team was only supposed to play four games this weekend.

But with all the extra innings, the Gophers put in almost six games in a three-game span.

Minnesota came out with a 3-1 record on the weekend after facing Penn State and Ohio State. The Gophers now have an overall record of 35-16-1 and 11-7 in the Big Ten.

More importantly, the three-win weekend qualified Minnesota for the Big Ten tournament; the first conference tournament appearance for the Gophers since 1999 when they were the Big Ten tournament champions.

LBy Sam Campanaro

ast Sunday was an eye opener for Minnesota's softball team. Northwestern fought hard against the Gophers, forcing team unity to be mandatory.

Minnesota grasped the concept of what teamwork can truly accomplish in its two wins against the Wildcats. The notion wasn't one that coaches forced on the Gophers.

It just happened.

The plan for tonight and the rest of the weekend is to carry over that "working together" mentality.

Most little kids start playing a sport because their parents sign them up to play.

Jordanne Nygren was no exception. She started playing softball at the age of seven thanks to her mom and dad and cried because she hated it.

Now she's completing her senior season at Minnesota and finds it funny that she has come this far.

In her four years with the Gophers, Nygren has not only come a long way in the game of softball, but in life as well.

"If you can get through this you can get through other stuff," Nygren said.

Minnesota's softball team returned from its final road trip in Illinois trying to heal after a rough fight through the weekend.

The wounds were slightly mended at Northwestern with 1-0 and 3-1 wins after 3-2 and 12-1 losses at the hands of Illinois.

Going into the weekend, the Gophers' plan was to capitalize on opponents' errors, perform well on the road and stick together as a team.

The outcome against the Wildcats on Sunday closely followed the agenda.

The Land of Lincoln will be the travel spot for the Minnesota softball team this weekend.

The fifth-place Gophers (30-13-1, 6-4 Big Ten) face Illinois on Friday and Saturday, and then go to Northwestern for a doubleheader on Sunday. These will be the final Big Ten road games for Minnesota.

The competition this weekend will demonstrate the tough middle of the pack teams the Big Ten has to offer as the Gophers face the third ranked Illini (29-8, 7-3) record and sixth ranked Wildcats (24-12, 6-6).

Northern Iowa played scrappy softball against Minnesota on Tuesday night, just as Gophers' co-head coach Julie Standering anticipated.

For one full game at least.

The Panthers held Minnesota to a 1-0 game for seven tough innings Tuesday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.

The Gophers scored their only run and created most of the game's action in the first inning.

Lead-off Jordanne Nygren hit a single to the left side before Veronica Roberts singled up the middle.

Hailee Nanchy then drove in Nygren on what was a tough first at bat.

The state of Michigan brought some strong softball clubs to Minnesota over the weekend as the Gophers faced Michigan State and No. 13 Michigan.

Michigan broke the Gophers' six-game winning streak Sunday with 2-1 and 4-1 wins.

The streak only lasted one day as the Gophers beat Michigan State 9-0 on Saturday and 2-1 on Friday.

Connecting behind the plate was the difference in facing the two Michigan schools over the weekend.

Sunday saw Minnesota struggling to find the holes and getting hits to drop in against the Wolverines.

Home openers are supposed to be scheduled so the host team will win. The Minnesota softball team was able to follow that rule with its home opener Tuesday.

The Gophers shut out Wisconsin-Green Bay in both games 9-0 and 3-0.

Minnesota's plan was to keep ace Piper Marten out of the pitching circle by backing up Angie Recknor and Lyn Peyer with defense.

"Lyn and Angie knew exactly what their game plan was," coach Lisa Bernstein said. "They executed and got ahead in the count."

A year ago this spring, Minnesota's softball team ended the regular season on a down note by being swept at the hands of Wisconsin in a pair of close games.

The Gophers dropped to 7-8 in Big Ten play with the losses and did not make the conference tournament field. With an overall record of 37-19, the season appeared to be over.

To the team's surprise the NCAA soon came calling, however. Minnesota was not only one of the 64 teams selected to participate in the postseason tournament, it hosted Regional No. 2.