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

U blanks Wildcats again

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.

Autumn Pease and Emily Leavitt limited the Wildcats to three hits and struck out five tossing a combined shutout for the second day in a row.

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.

U baseball wins in 12

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.

The Gophers (13-31, 3-14 Big Ten) forced extra innings with two runs in the eighth inning and another in the ninth and ended a four-game skid.