Big Ten softball tournament
Big Ten softball tournament at a glance
The tournament started Wednesday, when No. 6 seed Ohio State defeated No. 11 Rutgers. The No. 3-seed Gophers will open play against the Buckeyes at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
May 10, 2023 at 2:20PM
When: Wednesday through Saturday
Where: University of Illinois' Eichelberger Field
TV: Big Ten Network
Gophers outlook: The third-seeded Gophers (36-16, 18-6), riding an 11-game winning streak, open tournament play Thursday against Ohio State, which defeated Rutgers 7-4 in Wednesday's first round. To finish Big Ten play, senior righthander Autumn Pease picked up two victories in the U's first series sweep against Michigan since 1983. Last season, the No. 9-seeded Gophers lost 2-0 to No. 8 seed Wisconsin in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament in Michigan.
Big Ten outlook: Top-seeded Northwestern (35-11, 20-3) won the outright Big Ten regular-season title. No. 2 seed Indiana (40-15, 18-5) is on a nine-game win streak. The Gophers join Nebraska to round out the top four seeds with first-round byes to start Thursday.
Royston, a 2006 Cretin-Derham Hall graduate, spent three years at safety for the Gophers. He later coached at Armstrong High School and Hamline and Temple universities.
