MINNEAPOLIS – For the first time since the 2012 season, the Wisconsin softball team swept its Border Battle rivals, as the Badgers toppled No. 21 Minnesota 6-3 in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader before earning a 7-1 triumph in the second game at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. 

The sweep gave the Badgers (21-16-1, 6-4-1 Big Ten) their third and fourth wins of the season against ranked opponents. 

Katie Christner smacked a three-run home run in the fourth inning that gave the Badgers a lead in the first game that they would not relinquish. In the night cap, Sara Novak provided the spark in a four-run sixth inning that helped clinch the sweep. 

"It was a total team effort today and that's what was exciting to me," head coach Yvette Healy said. "We played great defense, we pitched pretty well and we pressured them with how we hit the ball. It was fun to see the whole package come together."

Kelsey Jenkins provided a consistent bat throughout the afternoon, including a 4-for-4 performance at the plate in the first game against Minnesota pitcher Sara Groenewegen, who entered 19-4 on the season.

"I really think things today started from the top and Kelsey Jenkins set the tone," Healy added. "To go 4-for-4 against Groenewegen, I think she really made the team believe that they could hit too. The short game set up a lot of the long balls.

"You get a senior, too, like Katie Christner coming out and hitting a three-run homer in the first game – that's special. That's your seniors buying in and playing hard and believing."

In the first game, Minnesota (27-12, 8-3 Big Ten) took a 2-0 lead in the third, but it didn't take long for Wisconsin to respond, as back-to-back singles from Chloe Miller and Ashley Van Zeeland got things set up in the top of the fourth. Following a Melanie Cross bunt, Groenewegen committed a throwing error, allowing Miller and Van Zeeland to score.  

Then came a go-ahead three-run home run by Christner, who brought in pinch runners Brianna Flugaur and Gabby Scherle, to lift UW to a 5-2 lead. 

UW added to its lead in the fifth after Van Zeeland scored from second thanks to a Minnesota error, which gave the Badgers their final run of the game. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Gophers scored after back-to-back singles put runners on first and second base. After Taylor-Paige Stewart stepped in to relieve starting pitcher Kirsten Stevens, Minnesota managed an RBI single to right field to make it a 6-3 game. After an intentional walk by Stewart to load the bases, Stewart forced a ground out to finish the inning. 

The team's leader with a .412 batting average this season, Jenkins singled four times in the day's first game, becoming the first Badger this season to go 4-for-4 in a game.

Stevens (9-7) earned the win after she pitched 4.1 innings and allowed six hits and three earned runs. Stewart earned her fourth save of the season, which ties her for second in the Big Ten, after she pitched 2.2 innings and allowed four hits.

Similar to the first game, Minnesota was first to get on the board in the second game, as the Gophers scored in the bottom of the fourth. 

The Badgers wasted no time responding, scoring three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Van Zeeland got UW on the board first, singling to left field to plate Kelly Welsh. Chloe Miller then grounded out to short stop, but it was enough to bring Macy Oswald home from third base. Cross brought in the third run of the inning with a sac fly to right field that scored Jenkins and gave UW a 3-1 lead. 

The Badgers carried their momentum over into the sixth inning, tacking on four more runs. Novak blasted a two-run home run that scored Christner, extending UW's advantage to 5-1. Van Zeeland later tripled to left field and drove in pinch runner Flugaur. Van Zeeland later scored on a Cross single to plate the Badgers' final run of the game. 

Stewart (11-9) earned the win in the second game, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing no hits. Stevens started and went 3.1 innings allowing four hits and one earned run.

Van Zeeland led the way at the plate for Wisconsin in the second game with one run, two hits and two RBI. Novak had one run, one hit and two RBI, while Cross had one hit and two RBI.

Wisconsin returns to the road this weekend for a series against Iowa that begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CT) in Iowa City.