The Gophers softball team routed No. 4-ranked Michigan 9-1 in six innings Friday in their home opener.

Sophomore righthander Sara Groenewegen threw a four-hitter for No. 12 Minnesota (30-5, 6-1 Big Ten), which took sole possession of second place in the conference with the victory.

Leadoff hitter Tyler Walker gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the first. Groenewegen had a two-run single in the third to give herself a 3-1 lead. Sam Macken hit another solo shot in the fourth for a 5-1 lead over the Wolverines (31-6, 5-2). And a four-run sixth, highlighted by Danielle Parlich's two run single, ended the game by the nine-run rule.

Etc.

• The Gophers baseball game at Rutgers was postponed by rain. The Big Ten teams will play a doubleheader at 11 a.m. Saturday.

• Freshman Agnes Esser won the discus in the Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas, with a toss of 173 feet, 10 inches. Emma Spagnola was second in both the 100-meter (13.78 seconds) and 400 hurdles (60.31), and Katie Murgic was second in the pole vault (13-4½).

• The Gophers men's golf team was in 10th place with a score of 579 after two rounds of the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational in Phoenix. Runnar Arnorsson, a freshman from Iceland, shot rounds of 70 and 71 to lead the Gophers with a 1-over 141. He is tied for 15th.

• Stephon Williams, a junior goalie for MSU Mankato, signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the New York Islanders which will take effect in the 2015-16 season. He will join the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the rest of this season.

• Four Lynx players — Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen and Monica Wright — will participate in the USA Basketball women's national team training camp May 4-6 in Las Vegas as it prepares for the 2016 Olympic Games. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve is one of the national team's assistant coaches.

• Austin Bruins defenseman Ian Scheid of Coon Rapids was named the NAHL's defenseman of the month. He had 10 points, including one goal, in eight games in March.

• The Gophers men's tennis team lost 4-2 at Ohio State.