Gophers

Gophers softball team plays host to red-hot Indiana this week

The Hoosiers have won 25 games in a row and lead the Big Ten with an 8-0 record.

By Star Tribune staff

April 7, 2023 at 4:40AM

Gophers pitcher Autumn Pease, above during the 2021 season, will try to beat Big Ten-leading Indiana this weekend at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. (Jerry Holt, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Gophers softball team will return home for a three-game series against the Big Ten-leading Indiana Hoosiers. This is the first time the two teams have competed since the 2021 season.

The first game of the series will be at 5 p.m. Friday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.

The Hoosiers (29-9, 8-0 Big Ten) have won 25 straight games — the longest winning streak in Indiana program history. Minnesota (21-14, 2-4) won two of three games against Penn State at home last weekend.

NAHL playoffs back at Fogerty Arena

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) announced the format for the 2023 Robertson Cup playoffs and national championship, which for the fifth year in a row be played at Fogerty Arena in Blaine from May 19-23.

The Robertson Cup is awarded to the NAHL playoff champion of the NAHL.

"Last year's Robertson Cup was another fantastic event and we saw another huge crowd for the championship game," NAHL Commissioner and President Mark Frankenfeld said.

"The atmosphere we have been able to create is one that the participating teams, the scouts, and the fans can all enjoy and remember, so the decision to continue the event at Fogarty Arena was an easy one."

The four NAHL divisional playoff champions will advance to Fogarty Arena and be seeded. The No. 1 and 4 seeds and the No 2 and 3 seeds will play best-of-three semifinal series starting May 19.

The two series winners will advance to a winner-take-all championship game May 23.

The four current division leaders are the Austin Bruins, Maryland Black Bears, Oklahoma Warriors and Wisconsin Windigo.

Etc.

The Gophers baseball team (7-20, 2-1 Big Ten) will play Purdue (12-15, 3-3) at 3 p.m. Friday in the opener of a three-game series at Siebert Field. Its their first series at home outdoors.\
Junior pitcher Lauren Dixon of Minnesota Duluth softball team was named the Division II Wilson/NFCA pitcher of the week. She was 3-0 with 45 strikeouts in 22 ⅓ innings. She didn't give up any runs, allowed 10 hits and seven walks.
Gophers women's basketball signee Ajok Madol was selected to attend a U19 Canada women's national team training camp this week in Portland, Ore. Those athletes will be considered for this summer's FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup from July 15-23 in Madrid, Spain. Madol will join Minnesota for the upcoming season.
The Gophers rowing team will compete in the two-day Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, Fla., starting Friday. Seven other conference teams are also in the regatta along with a few teams from across the country at Nathan Benderson Park.
St. Thomas University women's basketball assistant coach Brian Silk announced he is stepping away from the program after 10 years.