The Gophers took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten baseball standings Saturday by rallying for a 10-5 victory over Michigan State at Siebert Field.
The Gophers (33-13, 15-4) and Michigan (31-16, 14-5) began the day tied for first, but Michigan lost to Illinois 10-4 on Saturday. Each team has four regular-season conference games remaining.
Michigan State (18-27, 9-10) took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh. The Gophers scored eight runs in the seventh to take a 9-4 lead. Cole McDevitt led off the Gophers seventh with a solo home run and added an RBI single later in the inning as the Gophers batted around. Riley Smith's two-run single capped the inning.
Purdue (30-17, 14-5) moved into a tie with Michigan for second place.
Gophers tennis makes Sweet 16 via upset
Freshman Jackson Allen's three-set victory lifted the Gophers men's tennis team to a 4-0 sweep of 14th-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., and gave Minnesota its first berth in the NCAA Sweet 16 since 2000.
The Gophers posted doubles victories in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Felix Corwin earned the 6-4 win for himself and partner Josip Krstanovic in the No. 1 spot with an ace on match point. Corwin, ranked 53rd, also won at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-2 over 30th-ranked Alex Bakshi.
Division III softball
Hayley Dunning's second no-hitter in 14 days led seventh-ranked St. Thomas to a 1-0 win over visiting Central (Iowa) in their NCAA Division III softball regional championship game.
• St. Benedict advanced to the championship game of its Division III regional in Decorah, Iowa, with two elimination-game victories by Alex Smith, 7-0 over Lake Forest and 6-1 over Cornell. The Blazers will play host Luther for the championship on Sunday.
UMD reaches final
Minnesota Duluth overcame a two-run deficit and beat Arkansas Tech 7-4 in Winona, Minn., advancing to the championship of their NCAA Division II softball regional.
Seniors Hannah Schmoll and Becky Smith each had two RBI in a six-run rally for Minnesota Duluth, and Breanna Swint recorded her 20th victory.
The Bulldogs (42-13) faced Emporia State later Saturday, needing to beat the Hornets twice to win the regional.
A second game, if needed, would be played Sunday.
Burnsville hires former Mr. Basketball
Rob Mestas, who was Minnesota's Mr. Basketball in 1995, was hired as the boys' basketball coach at Burnsville. Mestas has been the head basketball coach at Minneapolis Roosevelt, his alma mater, since 2012.
Etc.
• Augustana erased a four-run deficit and went on to defeat Concordia (St. Paul) 10-9 in the NSIC baseball championship game in Sioux Falls, S.D. Augustana secured an automatic NCAA bid .
• Whitman College won four of six singles matches and held off No. 6 Gustavus 5-4 in their NCAA Division III men's tennis regional championship match in St. Peter, Minn.
• Minnesota State Mankato lost 4-3 to host and champion Southern Arkansas in the Division II softball regional.
