Gophers softball team sweeps Big Ten leader Northwestern

The Gophers softball team won both ends of a doubleheader Sunday to complete an impressive four-game road sweep against host Northwestern, which entered the series in first place in the Big Ten with an 18-2 record.

Minnesota won the first game 2-1 in eight innings and the second game 10-4. The Gophers improved to 19-5, just percentage points behind first-place Michigan (16-4). Northwestern (18-6) fell to third place.

Eleven of the Gophers' 12 runs on Sunday came by way of home runs, and two of the five blasts were provided by pinch-hitters Delanie Cox, a sophomore, and Chloe Evans, a freshman. Both were their first career hits as Gophers, and one was a game-winner.

Cox won the opener with her tiebreaking shot to deep left in the eighth. The Gophers hit four homers in the second game, including three-run blasts by Katelyn Kemmetmueller, Natalie DenHartog and Evans. Leadoff hitter MaKenna Partain also went deep for her third homer of the series and the season.

DenHartog's homer was her eighth of the season.

Autumn Pease was the Game 1 starter and winner. Amber Fiser got the save in Game 1 and the victory in Game 2.

Gophers senior Angus Flanagan shot a 3-under-par 69 and won the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind.

In the team competition, the Gophers tied for third with Purdue with a 5-under 859 total, their best finish in a tournament since they won the Macdonald Cup in 2019. Kent State won at 12 under.

Gophers freshman Ben Warian closed with a 70 and tied for ninth.

The United States, represented by John Shuster's rink, lost 7-6 to Switzerland as the curling world championship playoffs resumed Sunday. The players wore masks after taking a day off because of a positive COVID-19 test inside the Calgary bubble.

Shuster's rink had already secured a U.S. berth in the 2022 Olympics by finishing in the top six.

The player who tested positive Friday tested negative Sunday, the World Curling Federation said.

• The Gophers soccer team ended its season with a 2-0 loss to Iowa in Champaign, Ill. The Gophers finished 5-4-3; Iowa advanced to the Big Ten tournament.

• Host Penn State defeated the Gophers 4-3 in women's tennis. Juliet Zhang picked up her 50th career doubles victory for the Gophers, who are 3-12 heading into the regular-season finale Saturday against Wisconsin.

• The Gophers won four singles matches and defeated host Wisconsin 4-3 in men's tennis, improving to 8-6. The regular season concludes next weekend with two matches against Nebraska.