Gophers softball team beats Northwestern, closes gap on Big Ten leader

Emily Hansen went 3-for-4 with three RBI and MaKenna Partain hit a two-run homer to lead the Gophers to a 6-2 victory over No. 22 Northwestern on Saturday in Big Ten softball in Evanston, Ill.

With its second win of the four-game series, third-place Minnesota (17-5 overall/Big Ten) moved within one game of the first-place Wildcats (18-4).

Michigan (15-4) split with Ohio State on Saturday and is in second place based on winning percentage.

Autumn Pease got the win, giving up two runs and four hits in six innings to improve to 8-1. She struck out eight, walked two.

Ava Dueck relieved in the seventh and retired the Wildcats on seven pitches.

A scheduled second game Saturday was postponed one day by rain. The teams will play a doubleheader Sunday starting at 11 a.m.

The Gophers' Angus Flanagan, a senior from Woking, England, had a one-shot lead after two rounds of the 16-team Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind.

Flanagan was a third-team All-America pick after his junior year and won the Minnesota State Open last summer.

His closest pursuers in this tournament are Clay Merchant and Mitch Davis, two Indiana golfers, in second and third place at 139 and 140, respectively.

In the team competition, the Gophers were fifth at 573 after rounds of 281 and 292.

Behind Flanagan, teammates Ben Warian and Lincoln Johnson were tied for 20th at even-par 144.

The curling world championship playoffs are on hold because of positive COVID-19 test results inside the bubble in Calgary, Alberta.

Four members of three international, non-playoff teams tested positive for the virus in "exit" tests before departing Canada. They did not show symptoms of the coronavirus.

Four additional teams were in close contact with the infected individuals.

Scotland had already beaten Canada in the other qualification match, earning a semifinal matchup with the team from Russia.

Rescheduling options are being developed but will only be considered if athletes and officials can be kept safe under the current protocols. The tournament was scheduled to end Sunday.

All six playoff teams earned a spot for their countries in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

The 6-4 Thome was 19-14-4 in 42 games with the Fighting Hawks over four seasons mostly as a spot starter. He had a 2.22 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

The Tommies are joining the new CCHA, a Division I conference, for the 2020-21 season.

• The Gophers women's soccer team (5-3-3), the third seed in the West, will play seventh-seeded Iowa (3-8-1) at noon Sunday in Champaign, Ill., in a regional game. The winner will advance to the four-team Big Ten tournament starting Thursday at a site to be determined. Minnesota beat the Hawkeyes 1-0 on March 14 in Iowa City.