For the first time since its 2005 National Championship, the No. 6 Michigan softball team owns a share of the Big Ten regular-season title after sweeping Penn State this weekend in State College, 2-0 (10 innings) Saturday and 3-0 Sunday.

But the winner's prize - hosting the Big Ten Tournament - won't go to the Wolverines.

Instead, Michigan (18-2 Big Ten, 48-5 overall) will travel to Evanston next weekend as the No. 2 seed and co-Big Ten champion Northwestern (18-2, 34-13) will host the tournament.

The Wolverines and Wildcats were deadlocked in the conference standings and split their two meetings. To break the tie, a coin toss last week at the Big Ten headquarters gave Northwestern hosting privileges if the standings remained the same after this weekend.

"We're going to the Big Ten tournament," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "Whether we're going to it or whether we're hosting it, it's a tournament to be won. And we need to go into it with that attitude. Period."

But to claim their 11th conference crown, the Wolverines had to come out with their best at Nittany Lion Field. And the wins didn't come easily.

Michigan was fighting for a conference championship, and it proved to be a battle with the Nittany Lions (6-12, 34-22) needing a win to secure a spot in the post-season tournament.

The Wolverines broke a 10-inning scoreless tie Saturday when sisters Angela and Samantha Findlay hit back-to-back solo home runs to end Michigan's longest game of the season.

Despite the low score, the Wolverines had their chances to bring in runs. Like its split with Northwestern last weekend, Michigan failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 on base including seven in the three extra innings.

Freshman pitcher Jordan Taylor (27-2) relieved sophomore Nikki Nemitz in the seventh inning after Nemitz gave up a two-out triple to Penn State's Sam Hovanec. Taylor continued to hold the Nittany Lions scoreless in the extra innings and posted a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 10th after Michigan scored its two runs.

Taylor had another solid performance in Sunday's matchup. Her stoic demeanor on the mound kept the Penn State hitters in check all afternoon. The Valencia, Calif. native struck out five and gave up five hits in her 12th complete-game shutout of the season.

"Jordan gave us every opportunity to win as she continues to do all year," Hutchins said.

And the Wolverines wasted little time scoring Sunday.

In the second inning, freshman first baseman Dorian Shaw belted out a two-run home run about 40 feet past the fence in left-center field to give Michigan a 2-0 lead.

Samantha Findlay added to the lead in the next inning with her second solo home run of the weekend. The long ball was Findlay's 21st of the season, which tied her own single-season program record.

The Wolverines will host an exhibition game against the U.S. Olympic softball team Tuesday at Alumni Field.