Minnesota Scene: U wins in Big Ten softball tournament on Sara Groenewegen's one-hitter

Junior righthander Sara Groenewegen pitched a one-hitter and struck out nine as the Gophers edged Illinois 2-0 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten softball tournament in University Park, Pa.

Minnesota (39-12) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-out rally. The No. 7-9 hitters all singled. Kayla Wenner got aboard on a bunt, Sydney Dwyer hit a ball off the pitcher and Sydney Fabian hit an opposite-field line drive to left. Sam Macken had a two-out RBI single in the sixth to make it 2-0.

Groenewegen, who has three no-hitters this season, lost her bid for a fourth when the leadoff hitter in the sixth singled to shallow right. The next hitter walked, and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. But Groenewegen got the next two hitters out on a foul to the catcher and a fly ball to left field.

The No. 19 Gophers, seeded second, will play Northwestern at noon Saturday in the semifinals. The third-seeded Wildcats advanced with a 3-1 win over Ohio State in their quarterfinal. Minnesota went 2-1 against Northwestern in early April in Evanston, Ill.

Jordan Smith's sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning gave the Gophers a 4-3 victory over Purdue on Friday, which vaulted Minnesota (31-15, 13-5 conference) back into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten race.

Smith drove in Alex Boxwell, who had doubled to start the 10th.

The No. 25 Gophers' other runs came on Matt Fiedler's two-run homer in the third and Micah Coffey's solo shot in the eighth. Coffey has six homers in eight games.

• Senior Sean Donnelly of the Gophers finished second in the hammer throw in the Big Ten meet in Lincoln, Neb., with a throw of 223 feet, 10 inches. Teammate Luca Wieland was in first place halfway through the decathlon competition. He is the defending champion.

• Defending heptathlon champion Jess Lehman of the Gophers also is in first place after Day 1 of the conference meet. Liz Berkholtz of Minnesota was second in the 10,000 in 34 minutes, 21.89 seconds.

• St. Thomas finished tied for fifth in the NCAA Division III men's golf championship in Rochester, N.Y. Pete Sienko and Jack Riester of the Tommies tied for 16th with 15-over 302s.

• The fourth round of the Division III women's golf championship in Houston was rained out, meaning the third-round totals stand. St. Thomas tied for eighth, led by Emily Thul, who tied for third with a 6-over 222.

• St. Cloud State and Concordia (St. Paul) both won their second games in the NSIC baseball tournament. The Huskies beat Augustana 10-3 on Reese Gregory's complete game and Karl Sorensen's three-run homer. The Golden Bears routed Minnesota Duluth 10-1 on Gus Varland's six-hitter and Connor Olson's grand slam.