Maddie Schwartz, a senior from Chanhassen, pitched a three-hitter as Wisconsin defeated the Gophers 2-0 on Wednesday in a first-round game of the Big Ten softball tournament in East Lansing, Mich.
"I am so proud of our group," Schwartz said in a postgame interview on the Big Ten Network. "We lost to them twice a week ago. ... We battled until the end."
Schwartz, an All-Big Ten second team pick, improved to 23-10 this season. She has 17 complete games and three shutouts.
The Badgers (28-18), seeded eighth, had only seven hits off but scored single runs in the first and fifth innings on Morgan Kummer's RBI single and Ellie Hubbard's sacrifice fly.
Minnesota (26-24-1), the ninth seed, was shut out in the conference tournament for the first time since 2015. It was also the Gophers' first loss to Wisconsin since April 2016.
The Gophers had only four baserunners, three reached base on singles and one on a walk. They stranded two runners in scoring position.
Autumn Pease started for Minnesota in the circle. She gave up one run on four hits in four innings. Emily Leavitt allowed one run on three hits the final two innings.
The Gophers, who played the second toughest nonconference schedule in the country and were No. 35 in the RPI team rankings before this loss, now have to hope they make the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid. Those selections will be announced Sunday.
