2018 Big Ten softball tournament

2018 Big Ten
softball tournament
Teams12
FormatSingle-elimination
Finals site
ChampionsMinnesota (5th title)
Runner-upNorthwestern (6th title game)
Winning coachJamie Trachsel (1st title)
MVPMaddie Houlihan (Minnesota)
TelevisionBig Ten Network

The 2018 Big Ten softball tournament was held at Goodman Softball Complex on the campus of University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin from May 10 through May 12, 2018. As the tournament winner, Minnesota earned the Big Ten Conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I softball tournament. All games of the tournament aired on BTN.

Tournament

2018 Big Ten Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Michigan ‍†‍‍y 18 – 3   .857 43 – 11   .796
No. 25 Minnesota ‍‍‡‍y 17 – 4   .810 36 – 15   .706
Indiana  ‍‍‍ 17 – 6   .739 25 – 29   .463
Ohio State ‍‍‍y 14 – 8   .636 34 – 13   .723
Northwestern ‍‍‍y 14 – 8   .636 36 – 16   .692
Illinois ‍‍‍ 13 – 8   .619 36 – 17   .679
Wisconsin ‍‍‍y 11 – 9   .550 27 – 20   .574
Michigan State  ‍‍‍ 10 – 12   .455 24 – 25   .490
Nebraska ‍‍‍ 9 – 13   .409 31 – 22   .585
Purdue  ‍‍‍ 7 – 15   .318 16 – 39   .291
Maryland  ‍‍‍ 7 – 16   .304 18 – 36   .333
Iowa  ‍‍‍ 6 – 16   .273 20 – 31   .392
Penn State  ‍‍‍ 5 – 18   .217 9 – 41   .180
Rutgers  ‍‍‍ 4 – 16   .200 19 – 31   .380
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of May 7, 2018[1]
Rankings from NFCA


1st Round
May 10th
BTN 		Quarterfinals
May 11th/12th
BTN 		Semifinals
May 12th
BTN 		Finals
May 13th
BTN
            
1 Michigan 0
8 Michigan State 7
8 Michigan State 4
9 Nebraska 3
8 Michigan State 0
4 Northwestern 11(5)
4 Northwestern 2(8)
12 Iowa 1
5 Ohio State 1
12 Iowa 5
4 Northwestern 6
2 Minnesota 9
2 Minnesota 6
7 Wisconsin 0
7 Wisconsin 8(5)
10 Purdue 0
2 Minnesota 9
3 Indiana 4
3 Indiana 2
6 Illinois 1
6 Illinois 5
11 Maryland 3
  • Only the top 12 participate in the tournament, therefore Rutgers and Penn State were not eligible to play.

Schedule

Game Time* Matchup# Television TV Announcers[2] Attendance
First Round – Thursday, May 10
1 12:00 p.m. #7 Wisconsin vs. #10 Purdue Big Ten Network Lisa Byington & Carol Bruggeman
2 2:30 p.m. #6 Illinois vs. #11 Maryland
3 5:30 p.m. #8 Michigan State vs. #9 Nebraska Dean Linke & Jennie Ritter
4 8:00 p.m. #5 Ohio State vs. #12 Iowa
Quarterfinals – Friday, May 11
5 12:00 p.m. #2 Minnesota vs. #7 Wisconsin Big Ten Network Lisa Byington & Carol Bruggeman –
6 8:45 p.m. #3 Indiana vs. #6 Illinois
7 11 p.m. #1 Michigan vs. #8 Michigan State Dean Linke & Jennie Ritter –
Quarterfinals – Saturday, May 12
8 11:30 a.m. #4 Northwestern vs. #12 Iowa Big Ten Network Lisa Byington & Carol Bruggeman –
Semifinals – Saturday, May 12
9 2:00 p.m. #2 Minnesota vs. #3 Indiana Big Ten Network Lisa Byington & Carol Bruggeman –
10 4:30 p.m. #4 Northwestern vs. #8 Michigan State
Championship – Sunday, May 13
11 11:00 a.m. #2 Minnesota vs. #4 Northwestern Big Ten Network Lisa Byington & Carol Bruggeman –
*Game times in EDT. # – Rankings denote tournament seed.

References

  1. ^ "Softball". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "#MAYhem: College Softball's Biggest Month Begins with More than 60 Conference Tournament Games, 11 Championship Games on ESPN's Networks". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved May 8, 2017.