Michigan State University Athletics
Spartan Softball Earns No. 7 Seed In Big Ten Tournament
5/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
2007 Big Ten Tournament Bracket
May 6, 2007
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - With its 7-0 victory over intrastate rival Michigan on Saturday, the Michigan State softball team secured a bid to its fifth consecutive Big Ten Tournament, earning the No. 7 seed with a 7-9 mark in league play. MSU will face No. 2 seed Northwestern (15-3, .833 winning percentage) in the tournament's opening game on Thursday at 5 p.m. The league championship tournament (May 10-12) will be hosted by Ohio State, which claimed the Big Ten regular-season championship on percentage points with a 4-0 victory over Penn State on Sunday.
In a season largely affected by adverse weather across the league, Ohio State earned the No. 1 seed with a 14-2 mark (.875), having lost two games to both Michigan and Michigan State during the regular season due to weather. The Buckeyes will play No. 8 seed Penn State (5-9, .357) in Thursday's opening-round nightcap scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
Michigan (12-4, .750) is the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 6 seed Illinois (7-8, .467) in game three at Noon on Friday, May 11. No. 4 seed Iowa (10-7, .588) and No. 5 seed Purdue (10-9, .526) round out the field, and will play their first-round game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the tournament, with ninth-place Wisconsin (6-12, .333) joining Minnesota (4-9, .308) and Indiana (1-9, .050) as the schools that did not make the field.
Northwestern, ranked eighth in the most recent national top 25 polls, swept a doubleheader with the Spartans earlier this season by scores of 11-3 (5) and 8-3 (6). The second game was called due to darkness. Northwestern holds a 58-28 advantage in the all-time series with the Spartans, including a 15-12 edge over the last 10 seasons. The last time MSU defeated the Wildcats in postseason action came during the 2004 campaign when State captured its first-ever Big Ten Tournament title.
Gametracker and free live audio of all Spartan games at the tournament will be available via msuspartans.com, while the championship game will be televised live on CSTV at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.
2007 Big Ten Softball Tournament
Buckeye Field- Columbus, Ohio
Thursday, May 10
Game 1: No. 2 Northwestern vs. No. 7 Michigan State (5 p.m.)
Game 2: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Penn State (7:30 p.m.)
Friday, May 11
Game 3: No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 6 Illinois (Noon)
Game 4: No. 4 Iowa vs. No. 5 Purdue (2:30 p.m.)
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 Winner (5 p.m.)
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner (7:30 p.m.)
Saturday, May 12
Game 7: Tournament Championship (1 p.m.)
All Times Eastern
