Minnesota Bound Crappie Contest held on Lake Minnetonka

The biggest crappie caught Saturday during the annual Minnesota Bound Crappie Contest on Lake Minnetonka weighed 1.8 pounds. But the biggest prize went to an angler catching a crappie half that size.

Dave Truax of Wayzata took home the contest's grand prize, an ATV and trailer, by landing a .94-pound crappie, which was the registered fish whose heft came closest to the .935-pound "mystery weight'' set by organizers prior to the tournament.

The contest's adult winners were: Mitch Hartke, Farmington, 1.8-pound crappie; Matt Dodge, Minnetonka, 1.69; Nate Olson, hometown unknown, 1.56; Kolt Ringer, Deephaven, 1.5; Jeff Lindquist, hometown unknown, 1.44.

The junior winners were: Jenna Haefele, age 11, Minnetrista, 1.24 (weighed at 11:06 a.m., and in case of a tie, earliest catch prevails); Cole Lindberg, 15, Buffalo, 1.24 (weighed at 1:32 p.m.); Logan Vrieze, 15, Buffalo, 1.2; Addie Norum, 10, Mound, 1; Bryce Wurtzberger, 8, hometown unknown, .98.

DENNIS ANDERSON

The Gophers softball continued their dominant run against Big Ten champion Northwestern, scoring in all four innings in an 8-0 run-rule shutout over the Wildcats on Saturday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.

Lauren Espalin homered to start the game for the Gophers (25-22-1, 11-11 Big Ten) and capped the scoring in s four-run first inning with an RBI single.

Espalin went 2-for-3 on the day. Megan Dray had two hits and an RBI, and Delanie Cox added a pinch-hit, two-run single in the third inning vs. the Wildcats (38-9, 18-4), who have lost their past nine meetings with the Gophers, including an 8-0 loss on Friday.

Boston Merila's third hit of the game drove in the winning run in the 12th inning as the Gophers baseball team outlasted Nebraska 9-8 at Siebert Field.