BigTen.org, May 6, 2017

The Minnesota softball team earned the outright Big Ten Conference Championship, its first title since 1991 and the fourth in program history, following a 14-1 win in five innings at Penn State on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Golden Gophers also clinched the No. 1 seed for next week?s Big Ten Tournament.

Minnesota moves to 21-1 in Big Ten action this year and 50-3 overall, setting a school record for single-season wins while also extending their current winning streak to a school-record 21 games. The Gophers close out the regular season at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday with the finale of their three-game series at Penn State.

As was the case on Friday, Minnesota did not need long to take the lead in Saturday?s title-clinching victory, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning while sending 11 batters to the plate. The Gophers went on to score in each of the first four innings, plating five runs in the fourth inning to put the run-rule into play. Dani Wagner hit two home runs and had four RBI in Minnesota?s victory, while freshman pitchers Amber Fiser and Carlie Brandt combined on a four-hitter.

The 2017 Big Ten Softball Tournament will take place May 11-13 at the Wilpon Complex/Alumni Field on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.