Jane Sage Cowles Stadium
7 p.m. Friday; doubleheader at 1:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
TV: All four games on Big Ten Network
BTN televising four-game showdown
Gophers at a glance: The Gophers (25-7), ranked No. 23, have won 11 of their past 13 games. They last played April 23-25, when they won three out of four games against visiting Iowa. The Gophers lead the Big Ten with 36 home runs. Natalie DenHartog, who is hitting .302 with 29 RBI, leads the Big Ten with 10 home runs. MaKenna Partain leads the Gophers with a .356 batting average. Autumn Pease is 11-1 with a 1.45 ERA and Amber Fiser is 12-5 with a 1.97 ERA. The teams are playing a regular-season series for the first time since 2015.
Michigan at a glance: The 19th-ranked Wolverines (29-5), who have won eight consecutive games, are coming off a 1-0, nine-inning victory over Michigan State on Wednesday. The Wolverines have a 1.04 ERA — best in the nation. Alex Storako, a junior, pitched a two-hit shutout against the Spartans with a program-record 22 strikeouts in nine innings. On the season, Storako is 18-2 with an 0.59 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 119 innings. The Wolverines, who are hitting .308 as a team, are led by junior outfielder Lexie Blair, who is hitting .427 after going 4-for-5 with the winning home run Wednesday.
Joel RIPPEL
