The Gophers were swept by the University of Wisconsin in this weekend’s Border Battle series, losing three straight games as they struggled to get hits and fell behind early in each matchup. The series marked Minnesota’s final home games of the season.
Minnesota opened the series on Friday with a 4-0 loss and struggled to create scoring opportunities. The Gophers could not get a runner past third base in scoring position, while Wisconsin scored early and stayed in control.
On Saturday, Minnesota out-hit Wisconsin 7-6, but they still lost 7-1. Sophomore Jae Cosgriff led the offense with two hits and an RBI double. Junior Brooklyn Jones contributed two hits, but the Gophers only scored once and left runners on base.
Sunday was the closest game of the series. Minnesota trailed 5-1 before freshman Cassie Johnson hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to cut it to 5-3, but the Gophers could not finish the comeback.
As their most reliable pitcher, senior Sydney Schwartz started all three games for the Gophers this weekend. Gophers’ pitching limited runners in scoring positions, but they knew it would not be enough to win. Schwartz said the team knows there are areas to fix heading into next weekend, especially in key situations.
“I think there are things that we could have done better, but there’s a lot of areas that we know we can work on,” Schwartz said. “Just kind of flush it, reset and go into Northwestern with a go mode mentality.”
One of the biggest things Schwartz said the team wants to improve is their situational hitting.
“We are putting up a good amount of hits, but it’s just not in the right moment,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz said the team tries to stay focused during games by taking things one pitch at a time.
“We talk about being 0-0 a lot […] just trying to win that pitch, win that moment,” Schwartz said.
Even with the sweep, Minnesota is still in position to make the Big Ten Tournament. They are currently 12th in the standings, with only 12 teams able to qualify for the tournament.
Looking ahead, Schwartz said the team is focused on finishing strong.
“Next weekend, just attacking Northwestern like we know we can,” Schwartz said.
Unfortunately for Gophers softball, facing Northwestern University will be just as challenging as their Wisconsin matchup. Northwestern is on a 10-game winning streak and sits sixth in the Big Ten rankings, one position above Wisconsin.
What’s Next
Minnesota will close out its regular season at Northwestern from May 1-3, with a postseason spot still on the line.
