SEATTLE – Not so long ago, Sara Groenewegen desperately wanted to play softball for the University of Washington. Now she desperately wants to end the Huskies' season.
Groenewegen's Gophers take on Washington on Sunday to determine the Seattle Regional champion of the NCAA tournament. The winner advances to one of 16 best-of-three Super Regionals next weekend.
The second-seeded Gophers (43-13) staved off elimination Saturday night by beating North Dakota State for the second time in as many days, winning 7-5 at Husky Softball Stadium to end the Bison's season at 39-15. Earlier in the day, third-seeded NDSU eliminated fourth-seeded Weber State 5-2.
Groenewegen and the Gophers fell to 0-2 vs. Washington this season when the Huskies won 5-2 Saturday afternoon. In the evening, Groenewegen threw four innings of relief to earn the save.
The Gophers must beat top seed Washington (38-13) twice on Sunday to advance. The Gophers seem eager to take another crack at them.
"We're really excited that we get to play them," right fielder Sydney Fabian said. "We know we can beat them."
Left fielder Kayla Wenner said: "I think the biggest thing is just to stay within ourselves and to not make it too big a game. Obviously, everyone on our team is aware that if we lose, we're done."
Morning rain pushed back all three Saturday games, and light rain returned for the late game. The wet, chilly night may have contributed to some sloppy play by both teams, but the Gophers wiped out a 3-0 deficit by scoring seven unanswered runs — five in the third inning and two in the fourth. A three-run homer by No. 9 hitter Fabian was the big blow.
