University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
South Dakota State
Gophers Win Fifth Straight in Tuesday Tilt
4/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score: Minnesota 7, South Dakota State 3 
Minnesota took its fifth straight decision on Tuesday afternoon in a 7-3 victory against South Dakota State at Siebert Field. The Gophers (19-10) tallied 10 hits for the 21st time in 2016 and were paced by Alex Boxwell, Matt Fiedler and Jordan Smith, who each contributed two-hit outings.
Nick Lackney earned the win on the mound in his first career start. Lackney tossed 3.1 innings that featured three strikeouts. The southpaw was efficient on the start as he didn't allow a baserunner in the 10 batters he faced.
The Gophers put runners in motion all game long and set a new season-best mark with six stolen bases. They also advanced a total of eight bases through seven wild pitches from the Jackrabbits (10-21). The Maroon and Gold successfully advanced runners at a .471 clip in the nine-inning bout.
Minnesota opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning by plating two runs on three hits. J. Smith led off the stanza with a single through the right side and then stole second base. He advanced over to third on a ground out and was brought in from a Boxwell sacrifice fly.
With two outs, the Gophers rattled off back-to-back hits from the bats of Riley Smith and Dan Motl to score the inning's final run and make it 2-0.
The Maroon and Gold then extended their lead to 6-0 by scoring one in the fourth and three in the fifth. Boxwell flared a single to right field and was moved to second and third via wild pitches. R. Smith then brought in the outfielder on a sacrifice fly.
In the fifth, Fiedler singled between the third baseman and shortstop and then swiped second base before heading to third and eventually home on wild pitches. J. Smith laced an RBI single and Micah Coffey scored on another wild pitch to cap the scoring in the frame.
South Dakota State responded in the top of the sixth by scoring three runs on a two-RBI double and RBI single to bring the score line to 6-3 in favor of the home team.
Minnesota brought the lead back to four in its at-bat in the home half of the sixth. Fiedler popped a sacrifice fly that plated Boxwell and made it a 7-3 ballgame.
The Gophers' bullpen senior-laden duo of Ty McDevitt and Jordan Jess shut the door in the final three innings and did not allow a hit to send Minnesota to its fifth straight win and sixth win at home this campaign.
The Maroon and Gold return to action this weekend for a Big Ten series against Maryland, April 15-17. First pitch on Friday has been changed to 6:30 p.m. at Siebert Field.
